Hot Rod: a vintage holiday concert on VH1 Classic
12/21/06 10:49 AM
By ED BARK
It's Christmas Eve 30 years past. Do you know where Rod Stewart was?
In heavy makeup and harem pants, he's onstage at London's Olympia Theatre for a BBC concert previously unseen on these shores. Its American debut is Thursday night (Dec. 21) at 7 central on VH1 Classic. As time travels go, it's time well-spent. Backed by a well-oiled 6-piece band, Stewart gives full voice to some of his best-known ballads ("Tonight's the Night, Maggie Mae") and one of The Beatles' better rockers ("Get Back").
"Yeah, this is a good number," he says of the latter before slipping into his own inventive version. Stewart's a prancer and a poser throughout the one-hour performance. But he also bequeaths a good deal of time to his band, which includes former Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and Chuck Berry disciple Billy Peek, a duck-walking exhibitionist who's dressed like a big teaspoon of The Lovin' Spoonful.
Appice's sticks it to the crowd with a furious drum solo on "Losing You." You don't see these much anymore. But pound for pound, Appice is a beast. His extended bout with the skins also gives Stewart time to leave the stage and change only his pants. You don't see that much anymore either.
Emcee Bob Harris wishes the packed-in crowd a Merry Christmas before bringing Stewart into view. It's the first and last reference to the season. Stewart, not a small-talker, is on a tight time leash as well. So he gets right to it without a speck of ado: "All right, let's sing 'Tonight's the Night,' shall we?" And so they shall.
Sound quality is reasonable if you pump the volume way up. And the presentation is refreshingly spare and straight-on, meaning there probably are fewer cameras than band members.
Stewart also is accompanied by guitarists Gary Grainger, Jim Cregan and Philip Chen, and keyboardist John Jarvis. Jamming is a big part of the show, particularly during "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller" and "Losing You." On the former it's fun seeing the guitarists form a four-member front line while wielding their swords in unison.
Everything ends in a pretty big hurry, with Stewart quickly launching into "Sailing" after noting, "All right, we've got three minutes on the air."
The crowd sings along as a white curtain closes behind him. They got an encore, apparently. But viewers then and now don't. The show's allotted TV time runs out just as Stewart and the band look ready to re-take the stage. Guess you had to be there.
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