Concert Review
Rod Stewart
Cheap Trick
PPG Paints Arena
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday August 26, 2023
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
Sir Rod Stewart mentioned how this seemed to be the loudest he heard a Pittsburgh crowd. Much louder than the old building (meaning Civic Arena or Mellon Arena) he exclaimed. And the crowd roared. Hard to believe Stewart is still touring at the age of 78 much less going out and knocking the crowd dead like he did this past Saturday. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick opened and did a fantastic job kicking off a great night of music.
Stewart is a freak of nature. To see him dancing and moving about the stage in the manner that he did was uncanny especially at his age. His voice is still in great shape. Stewart hit the stage with the Robert Palmer cover “Addicted To Love”, an odd choice but it seemed to go over quite well before belting into one of his big songs “You Wear It Well”. Other early highlights from the set included “Young Turks and what set is complete without Stewart’s anthem “Forever Young”.
The song of the night however was his #1 smash 1971 smash “Maggie May”. He began the song with a slight hint of background music before kicking the song into overdrive. Stewart has always found a way to make things look seamlessly easy take for instance the song “Downtown Train.” Right from the start Stewart knew he butchered the lyrics. Rather than stop the show his band did a fast detour and smoothly started the song from the top and Stewart sang it as if nothing happened except for the wide smirk on his face. That is how a professional does it. The lone downside to the show was the absence of the Faces big song “Stay With Me.” Stewart had been saving it as the final song of the encore until this night when he slipped in another song that did well for him 1983’s “Baby Jane.”
Will this be the last time we see Stewart with this type of concert? Probably not. Amid reports that he planned to put the rock and roll side of him to rest after this tour, he issued a statement “I shall never retire! I was put on this earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good lord lets me.” That statement says a lot. It also gives us a warm feeling that as long as he is able to keep touring and playing shows that he will. Stewart is a true icon in every sense of the word and if you get the see him perform treasure each and every moment.
Rod Stewart Photo Gallery
Set List
Addicted to Love (Robert Palmer Cover)
You Wear It Well
Ooh La La (Faces Cover)
Infatuation
Young Turks
Forever Young
The First Cut Is the Deepest (Cat Stevens Cover)
You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
Maggie May
I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James Cover-Dedicated to Christine McVie)
Downtown Train (Tom Waits Cover)
Rhythm of My Heart (Marc Jordan Cover)
I’m So Excited (The Pointer Sisters Cover)
I Don’t Want to Talk About It (Crazy Horse Cover)
Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison Cover)
Lady Marmalade (Lady Marmalade Cover)
Some Guys Have All the Luck (The Persuaders Cover)
It Takes Two (Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston Cover-Dedicated to Tina Turner)
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?
Encore
Baby Jane
Cheap Trick Photo Gallery
Cheap Trick Set
Magical Mystery Tour
Hello There
Ain’t That A Shame
Tonight It’s You
She’s Tight
Light Up the Fire
Downed
I Know What I Want
The Flame
I Want You to Want Me
Dream Police
Surrender
Goodnight
