Main photo By Iris L. Alexander
Austin, TX Moody Center ATX
Rod ended last week with a Friday night show in Austin Texas with cheap Trick
And Misty Clements, Charles Kamen, Jason Evans, John Kump and Beth Rowley were all at the show and got some fabulous photos
And Martin Heidt sent us his review of the evening..
Live music events are nothing unusual in the Texan capital Austin, as the US metropolis of just under one million inhabitants has always been one of the hotspots for live music events, especially when it comes to country, blues and rock.
However, when a superstar like Sir Rod Stewart pays his respects to the city, it is something very special, even for Austin, which is well versed in live music. And the 80-year-old did not disappoint his fans at the sold-out Moody Centre. Rod and his band presented hit after hit for around two hours and took the 15,000 visitors on a musical journey through six decades.
The evening began – in this writer’s opinion – with the best concert opener of all time: ‘Tonight I’m Yours’. The song was already part of the programme when it was released in 1981 and has lost nothing, absolutely nothing, of it to this day.
Musically hooked in this way, the fans in Austin were there from the very first second. They danced, sang along at the top of their voices and, of course, this spilled over onto the stage, where Sir Rod and his excellent band threw a big party. The second song ‘Havin’ A Party’ naturally fit like a glove.
‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’, “Young Turks” and “Rolling & Tumblin” – in the first part of the show, the Brit really didn’t give his audience a break. Only then did Sir Rod slow down the tempo a little with ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ and ‘Tonight’s The Night’, before announcing a guest: ‘Ruby Stewart, my daughter.’ And the 37-year-old then took over the stage and presented the audience with a cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’’, before performing the classic “Forever Young” together with her father.
Rod then let out his ‘Maggie May’ and immediately followed it up with the next 70s hits: ‘You Wear It Well’ and ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’. The cover version of the Etta James classic ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ in particular is interpreted by Rod Stewart again and again in a very impressive way, demonstrating exactly what powerful singing the music legend is still capable of even in old age.
With ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’ and ‘Downtown Train’, the band went into a short break before performing ‘I’m So Excited’ by the Pointer Sisters. Sir Rod returned to the stage in his new outfit and inserted a short, quieter part, which in Austin also included ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ and ‘Mandolin Wind’.
The band then rang in the final phase with ‘Proud Mary’, in which Sir Rod rummaged through his box of hits again and pulled out the 80s song ‘Some Guys Have All The Luck’, ‘It Takes Two’ and ‘You’re In My Heart’.
The singer then said goodbye to his fans with ‘Hot Legs’: ‘Good night everybody’, Stewart called out to the enthusiastic audience and left the stage with a wave to the crowd.
And we end the Austin photos with a big shout out to the guys at The Moody Center who came up with this work of art..Excellent work!
Thackerville, OK Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino
On Saturday show came to WinStar World Casino
No Wolfie’s Rod carboard cut outs here but some fans found the next best thing..
Watt Casey tool these fantastic photos of the highlights
Cheryl Hudgins Ogle was hoping to catch a football ..but went one better and got Rod’s tie!
Cheryl also gave Rod a baby Onesie with “Elsie” on the back. and a soccer ball pattern on the back
Cheryl told SMILER “When the other grandbabies were born May 2023, I handed him two onesies with their names so it was fun that the timing worked to do this one” .
Rosie Sandoval also took these shots of the concert
Wednesday night in Vegas
On Wednesday Rod kicked off his “The Encore Shows” residency at Caesars Palace
On the night Rod was presented with a gold plaque by Caesars Entertainment Regional President Sean McBurney, accompanied by X Burlesque performers, to commemorate his 200th show at The Colosseum. A tray of Wolfie’s, was then brought out. “I’m gonna have a shot of whisky,” he told the crowd. After throwing back a quick tipple, He toasted the crowd with one word “Showbiz.”
Dale Libby and Joy Ward captured the moment and Roland Macher and Iris L. Alexander got some fantastic shots from the show
“I’m a bit nervous,” Rod commented early in the show, before joking “Now I know what I’m doing.”
After the show Marcy Braunstein met Rod and got this wonderful photo
Young Rod
Chris Southwood has now created a website to display his books
Have a look, the Rod books (4 variations) are all listed and click on the coloured version to see Rod come to life!
https://bronzecatpublications.com/
North Walsham Live Aid
You can bid on this great Rod signed CD from North Walsham Live Aid and help raise money for local children’s charities
Please contact Barry Holden at the above email for details.
This week’s Rod Art
We had not shown any Rod art for a while, so we were pleased to show the stunning work by Canadian artist Mark Tumber earlier this week
As promised here is the finished work of art and you can now buy a limited edition of 50 print of his work Mark told SMILER this week “The original was commissioned by a New York patron. There is 50 numbered and signed prints, measuring 11.5”x14.5” (ideal for any frame with a standard 11×14 matte opening), printed on thick acid-free water colour stock and sell for $75 Canadian + shipping. Further details on my Facebook timeline. Anyone can message me on Messenger or email me at [email protected] to order. Cheers … accepting now!!”
Ronnie’s Bar
On Thursday Ronnie Wood held the launch of Ronnie’s Bar at Nexus in London.
Among the guests were Kenney Jones and his wife Jayne, as is the rule if two or more Faces are in attendance it is an official Faces night!
for more information on Nexus go to https://www.nexusclublondon.com/
And Finally..
Rod is featured on this week’s cover of Las Vegas Magazine Tap to subscribe to our there weekly edition: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/X7z573B
And don’t forget you can win tickets to see Rod in Vegas with your bottle of Wolfie’s from TESCO
https://wolfieswhisky.com/pages/tesco-vegas-competition?
If any SMILER‘s are going to any of the Vegas shows tonight, tomorrow or Wednesday please send in your photos or thoughts on the show
And we will see you next week..