Rod Stewart appears at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta

The man from England rocked a packed house at the Verizon Amphitheatre Wednesday night with a night of his hits. The 63 year old made plenty of soccer moms and old fans from across North Fulton as his set featured a run-through of all the songs that made his name.

In a stage that was literally all white (from the lace curtains surrounding it to the material spread across the stage to the band's instruments), Stewart stood out in his distinctively shiny silver jacket. But, a few songs into the show and screams were heard all over as he eschewed the coat and left on his white shirt which was practically see-through from sweat.

This was a night billed as "Rod Stewart Rocks His Hits," and he didn't disappoint, coming out of the gate swinging with his big hit "Some Guys Have All the Luck." This immediately followed an intro video with a mock movie trailer depicting Stewart as a robot dubbed "The Rodinator" with him there to "save the world by singing."

I'm not a huge Stewart fan, but his band definitely seemed on point, but the singer himself looks to be getting up there in years. He seemed to struggle a bit when dancing and his voice is a little worse for the wear, but that comes with the territory when you're still doing it for so many decades.

Only a few songs in the set the drummer and percussionist went on an extended solo which allowed the rest of the band to head backstage for a breather. I've been to tons of shows where these types of solos happen, but they're usually towards the very end of the set, never less than halfway through.

Stewart emerged in a new black shirt and seemed a little rejuvenated so I suppose it was good for him.

One thing I got a kick out of was Stewart's apparent affection for Glasgow's Celtic Football Club. Both drummers had the team's shield on their bass drums and through several songs the video behind the band showed highlights from over the years. They're my second favorite team, so I've got to give the man respect for that.

All in all, for me it wasn't the greatest night musically, but I'm a young cynical journalist. And plenty of the crowd seemed to love every moment so that's what really counts. Stewart is still selling out places all over the country and making people happy, so props for that.
- www.northfulton.com

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