I heard of Rod Stewart coming to Nottingham in the beginning of 2016. When I looked for tickets in February they were all sold out for his May concert!!! I was not fast enough. Fortunately he added more dates!! So in March I booked for December! That's how fast you have to act in order to ensure a ticket at Sir Rod Stewart's concert!

I went with a friend that enjoys live concerts. We missed the supporting act. We got in time for Rod Stewart to enter the stage. The support at was actually his daughter Ruby's folk band The Sisterhood.  It's unfortunate that we didn't get there earlier to hear them  as I looked the girls up after the concert and they are really good. 

I actually didn't know he had a daughter that sings so good. To be honest, I don't follow his life so I don't know much about him. I have heard he had been married a few times and that he was knighted by the Queen recently but other than that, I only know him through his music.

So, we found our seats. The Motorpoint Arena was packed. A sold out concert - as it was expected. I have never been to such a massive concert before. What made it even more impressive was our seats. 

The bleachers are very steep and we were quite on the high end so it made me feel as if I were hanging from the ceiling! Having said that and taking into account that it was a seat from the cheapest ticket price - the view was panoramic! The banner picture proves that!

The concert started with a curtain hiding the stage. The light show started, the music came to life and Rod Stewart started singing. It took about a minute or two after the first song began before the curtain was lifted. The stage was lavish! Big video walls on the background and a 50s decor checkered floor stage.  Unfortunately, due to my seating you don't get a clear view of the stage - but trust me it's of no value watching pictures of a Rod Stewart concert anyway. You gotta be there and live it. 
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​The man is an entertainer! The real deal! First of all, I need to point this out - he had as many costume changes as the video wall background color changed and that's a lot! I counted - 12 different set of clothes.... including change of shoes each time!!! 

We are not talking about subtle clothes either. Gold, beaded... you name it - he wore it! 

And the levels of energy were off the charts!

In his opening talk he commented that it was a Saturday night so we would make the most of it. He would sing as long as they allowed him too. He said the show would last 2 hours solid and told us to keep track of the time so he can prove it.

I did check my watch and when the gig ended it was a solid 2 hour show - which (1) flew by sooo fast and (2) he was singing for a solid 1 hour and 40 minutes of it! He kept his promise!

He sang all of his great hits and gave time to his musicians to showcase their talent. I should say here, one thing I didn't enjoy was the river dance bit. I love that type of music but it just felt totally out of context. And frankly, it felt a bit too long - dragging along. While we are at, talking about what I didn't like about the show, I didn't like the female musicians attires. They were dressed like over-aged teen-aged girls with their white shirts and checkered short skirts. Or tacky motown singers with their gold fringed dresses. It felt a bit disrespectful. 

All musicians were brilliant in what they did. There was one particular woman (the brunette!) who was excellent and quite a few instruments. She seemed to play each one effortlessly. Rod Stewart at some point even gave her the microphone to sing...not her strongest talent however!
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I found this video on youtube of this particular concert. I have not uploaded it so if in time it is not available anymore I apologize in advance. Anyway, this is actually the bit the brunette sings. You can see how effortlessly she plays the mandolin (?).

​You can also understand just from this one clip the electrifying atmosphere in the Motorpoint arena.

The crowd and I loved him. We sang along for all of the songs. He let us lead too.  There was a point that even the music silenced and it was just us - 10,000 voices singing as one!! 

A truly magnificent feeling. One that I will never forget!

The man was so full of energy, as I previously mentioned, he sang for a solid  hour and 40 minutes and all this time he was also dancing. Running from one edge to the other. Jumping in the air and falling to the floor. If there was one word to characterize him it's that he is a true showman. If you ever get a chance to attend one of his concerts, don't pass up that opportunity. 

Ah, to get an idea of the energy, at some point he was even passing footballs to the crowd. The balls seemed to never end. I think he passed 20 footballs to the crowd. In the center, and on each side. Too bad I was too far away for him to reach! 
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Close to the end of the show there were also balloons that fell from the ceiling onto the crowd. They got ecstatic and played with the balloons. Those balloons almost made it to us!

​The concert started with 'We are having a party' and ended with 'Enjoy yourself (it's later than you think'. Funny observation, on our way out a cute old lady said  to her companion 'Isn't it funny we went to a Rod Stewart concert and all is stuck in your head is 'Enjoy yourself?'

And it's true - I left the concert thinking 'Rod Stewart sang Doris Day!' 

All in all, a wonderful experience. Sir Rod Stewart is a legend and rightly so. He is a one of a kind showman and if you ever have the chance to see him live - grab that chance, even if you have to wait a whole year for it! He's worth it!

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