Personally, I was never a big Rod Stewart fan, but when wife, Danny, and I were invited to attend his concert last Tuesday evening at the Brandon Amphitheater, by daughter Rachel-Johanna and her boyfriend Robert, we couldn’t say no. Their friend — ours too, I suppose — Nadia provided the tickets for her and her husband, his parents, and our family of four to attend, and attend we did. Row three as a matter of fact, super seats! Thanks, Nadia!
Cheap Trick opened for Stewart and truth be told I couldn’t have named a single one of their songs before they started singing, but did remember some of their stuff as they played their set.
Gotta give credit where credit is due, though, and Stewart, at 80 years old, put on a great show especially considering it was outside, in August, in Mississippi, and it was a bit warm and humid as it is outside, in August, in Mississippi. Perhaps even a bit warmer in our “super seats” so close to the stage lights. One time as he danced over in front of one of the huge electric fans on stage I even saw the rock and roll superstar smile at one of the dancing girls on stage and raise his eyebrows high as if to say “my God can it get any hotter out here.”
He actually told the audience early on that it was a bit warm and he believed he might have to go “change his knickers!” He did come out of his show jacket and let those fans blow up his shirttail too. And, he “changed his knickers” I expect during one of several costume changes.
All in all we had a great time and it appeared that the thousands of other geriatric concert-goers did as well. I didn’t hear a single complaint about the heat, or the seats, or the climbing the stairs, or walking the long walk back to our cars that night nor have I since.
The Amphitheater appears to work like a well-oiled machine. Lines for food and drink moved freely as did those at the restrooms. There were friendly event workers everywhere to help lost folks find their seats, and others find their “real” seats.
We don’t go to many concerts these days. A few years ago we went to New Orleans to see Fleetwood Mac and had a grand time there. Prior to that the last time we had been to a concert was in the 1990s when Elton John played in Jackson. You can see right there that we are old people going to see older people.
I just don’t understand when, or why, the powers that be have moved concerts to week nights rather than weekends. I mean a Tuesday night of all nights. Even with traffic moving fairy smoothly — from our parking spot anyway — it was still a late night and we got into bed around midnight. Be honest with you, Rod Stewart’s portion of the show didn’t even start until after my normal mid-week bed time, and that is in the summer when I’m typically hoping for a cloudy evening so it is dark enough to go to bed!
I like the good old days of the ‘70s when it seemed like someone was playing at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson almost every weekend. We would load up a car in Newton head to Jackson and stay out for what seemed like all night. Often times it probably was.
Last week I think it took two days to get over staying up too late and having to get up and get to the office on time as well.
Time takes its toll. It does on Danny and me anyway. Ole Rod looks like he might still be rocking with the rest of them for several more years. He might just choose not to come back to Mississippi in August where the temperature is high and the humidity is higher.
I would go again tomorrow, though. That’s how it is with just about everything I’ve ever said I’ll never do that again about. Time may take its toll, but it also heals, or perhaps these days helps us in the aging population forget more quickly, what it was we said we would never do another time.
I know for certain that if I had row three seats offered for free again I would certainly be there no matter how old the artist might be. People like Rod Stewart hold up better in the heat than us average people anyway!
I do wonder, though, how many days it took the 80-year-old rocker to recover if it even did.
