Rod Stewart

August 16, 2022 – PNC Bank Art Center, Holmdel NJ

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

The Knighted, Sir Rod Stewart visited The Garden State, Tuesday night, August 16th at the PNC Arts Center and played for 2 hours to the sold out amphitheater. Cheap Trick joins Sir Rod as the opening act on their rescheduled North American tour, which was originally scheduled for 2020 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the sold out crowd filled in for Sir Rod, there were still plenty of Cheap Trick fans excited to hear and see them play beforehand. While Cheap Trick are always great, there was something extremely noticeable missing from the stage that had everyone asking… where the hell is Rick Nielsen? It felt like a “Cheap Trick” to not have known Rick would be missing and with no word from the band on where he is. As an original founder of the band, his large presence and multi guitar swaps on stage were noticeably missing. The sound was a bit different too. It took me a while to find the reason, but my research informs me, and it’s rumored, that Rick is making up for lost family time, playing with his two sons and his daughter in law in their newly formed family band The Nielsen Trust. One can only assume that he may be taking a back seat to the Cheap Trick tour to spend time with his family who are all musicians and who he never really played with that often, due to all his time on the road over the many years. And those are Rick’s words I came across as he references The Nielsen Trust and his enjoyment in touring with family.

However, by the time the 77 year old Rod Stewart was to go on there was not an empty seat in the house. Yes, 77 and still at it and sounding as good as ever! I was a fan growing up and seeing him now was an enlightening refresher on remembering just how great he is. The uber talented singer and songwriter played all his hits throughout the entire 2 hours. And to his fans delight danced and moved about the stage with his iconic moves and striking poses. It was great to see. Apart from knowing every song and singing every word, as a more mature listener now, I was in awe with the lyrics to each song and what a creative writer he is with regard to the many hits he wrote. His raspy voice prevailed throughout the evening as the place erupted with cheers and applause at the conclusion to each song. As I absorbed each word and tune, it became clear to me that he’s embraced his age and who he is now. The music icon seems appreciative for the ability (and opportunity) to continue to perform. He sang each word to each song with a smile. He pointed to audience members, smiled with them, fist bumped a few and even tossed one of his hats to a lucky adoring fan. He soaked in every applause as if hugging the sound waves delivered to him in appreciation his fans have for the many years of entertainment he’s provided them all.

The stage design was great… shiny, and glossy-black almost looking like the floor was wet from a recent rain. The backdrop was set with cool LED images showing Rod throughout the years and joining him on stage were his female dancers/performers, a drummer, and one great harp player/percussionist, who plucked away rock & roll style. It was a cool set up.

Sir Rod mixed in some covers too and even opened the show with Robert Palmers “Addicted to Love”, utilizing his female dancers (one including his model and singer daughter, Ruby) dressed in black outfits holding white guitars resembling the iconic 80’s music video played frequently on MTV of early years.