Review: Rod Stewart at Hard Rock Calling

When: June 26th 2011

Reviewed by: Elliot Kuruvita

Despite Glastonbury dominating the music headlines this weekend, it’s fair to say that Hyde Park’s Hard Rock Calling is certainly worthy of a few headlines itself.

Now in its staggering 40th year, Hard Rock Calling can lay claim to hosting the capital’s best weekend of music, and no more so than with with Sunday’s closing act Rod Stewart.

After some stellar support from Stevie Nicks and Adam Ant, Rod took to the stage a little after 8.30pm with blue skies and blazing sun looking down over a lengthy Las Vegas style intro. The band, consisting of female backing singers fitted into tight red dresses, struck up the first strains of The O’Jay's soul classic Love Train before the 66 year old father of eight shimmied onto the stage in a gold sequinned jacket.

Tonight was all about the classics as Rod announced that he would be cutting back on the chat and concentrating on the music, and there wouldn’t have been a single person in the 70,000 strong crowd who would have disagreed with that statement come the end of the night.

Charging head on into a barrage of hits such as Downtown Train, Baby Jane and Cat Stevens’ First Cut is the Deepest, Rod proved early on that he could entertain an eclectic crowd of both twenty somethings and fifty somethings.

Sun still glaring down, Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks was introduced onto the stage for a rendition of Young Turks. Nicks, who has been supporting Rod on his current Heart and Soul tour this year, looked a class act dressed head to toe in black and blended her vocal talents well with Rod’s trademark gravelly tones.

Plaudits to the band must be given, whose sound was clean, crisp and note perfect throughout, none more so when Rod popped off for a quick costume change leaving the backing singers to take centre stage for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s timeless Proud Mary.

Back on stage and decked out in a purple suit that was nothing short of dazzling, Rod and the band fired up the ukulele led opening of Maggie May, only for proceedings to be halted for the introduction of Faces/Stones legend Ronnie Wood. Rapturous appreciation from the crowd, and Maggie May was back under way, Wood prowled the stage with guitar in hand and a cheeky grin strewn across his sinewy face.

The two old friends and one time band mates exuded a devilish rock n roll swagger with Wood remaining on stage to take up guitar duty for the classic Stay With Me, a track co-written by the pair during their days together in the early 70’s.

It wasn’t until after 9.30pm when the sun slowly sunk away that the lighting effects on the colossal stage truly came into play. And once the sun went in, the real crowd favourites came out.

I Don’t Wanna Talk About It had the whole of Hyde Park singing in unison before Rod showed off his kicking skills by launching a volley of footballs into the crowd during Hot Legs.

A touching rendition of You’re In My Heart saw pictures of Rod’s four month old son Aiden dressed in a mini Celtic FC romper suit flash onto the giant screens which, of course, were greeted with the obligatory ‘awwwws’ from the crowd.

Things really began to heat up with the raunchy Do Ya Think I’m Sexy before Rod dashed off once more, leaving the iconic intro echoing through the night and a euphoric crowd wanting more.

The predictable yet timeless Sailing was the one and only encore of the evening, played out with gratitude for what was a true spectacle of a performance, especially from a pensioner.

So, Hard Rock Calling is forty years old, and done and dusted for another year. Hats off to a superb weekend that surely cements London as one of the true homes of great live music.

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