Vancouver Review
 

Vancouver Sun, April 23, 2011
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertai...940/story.html
ROD STEWART & STEVIE NICKS

When: Friday night

Where: Rogers Arena

When you take two of rock's most memorable vocalists and put them together, you can expect sparks to fly.

And that's exactly what happened Friday night at Rogers Arena, where fans were treated to lengthy sets by both Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart, performing on the same stage on what was dubbed the Heart & Soul Tour.

The pairing made sense not only stylistically -each boasts a set of wellworn, sandblasted pipes -but it also served to highlight two new releases: Stewart's fifth instalment in his Great American Songbook series, released late last year, and Nicks' first studio effort in 10 years, In Your Dreams, to be released on May 3.

Considering the breadth and impact of both artists' careers -with millions of records sold and armfuls of Grammy nominations and awards -new material would play just a small part in what turned out to be two fairly classics-heavy sets, which is probably what their 12,000 fans in attendance wanted more than anything.

They certainly would not leave disappointed.

Stewart surprised just about everyone by stepping onto the stage right off the bat to introduce "one of the great voices of the 20th century," and the crowd on the floor rose to its feet as Nicks, draped in her signature black dress with sequined arms and gloved hands, made her way to the microphone to kick off her set with a rocking Stand Back.

Even at 62, Nicks certainly didn't shy away from pulling a few cool moves, spinning around and letting her silver-blond hair follow her, even finishing off the song with a nice kick.

Though her range may have narrowed through the years, her nasal voice still packs a punch.

If Nicks seemed a tad shaky at times, her six-piece band and two backup singers overpowering her on a few occasions, she found her balance with Fleetwood Mac's Dreams, which shimmered with the same glory it did on Rumours all those years ago.

Nicks followed with latest single Secret Love, and then she took on a priestess-like quality for Sorcerer and Gold Dust Woman, waving her hands in the air as if to conjure ancient, forgotten spells, dancing around longtime guitarist Waddy Wachtel as he bent the strings on his Stratocaster and fed off Nicks' quasi-mystical energy to send the song soaring skyhigh.

Sure, Nicks may not be able to hit the notes on Rhiannon the same way she used to, but it didn't seem to sway her fans, who clapped and sang along to Fleetwood Mac's classic radio hit.

Topping it off with an acoustic Landslide (another where Nicks has been forced to adjust her pitch slightly) and a butt-kicking Edge of Seventeen (which probably had many in the audience feeling like teenagers again), it was mission accomplished for Nicks.

As Stewart's set began, it was obvious he was going to be pulling an entirely different set of strings.

As a huge drape featuring a cartoon version of Stewart riding a train lifted, a massive white stage was revealed, soon to be populated with red-clad female singers and musicians and black-suited male band members. Stewart -dressed in a slick gold jacket -kicked into The O'Jays Love Train as the screen behind him became a cascade of colourful animations.

Stylish? It was Vegas chic-meets-Motown style mixed with a hint of mod à la Top of the Pops.

With Tonight's the Night, a giant moon rose on screen as Stewart made the crowd sing the "gonna be all right" part, hamming it up something fierce with the crowd loving every moment. Nicks would soon return to give Stewart a hand on Young Turks, while Wachtel would also reappear to help Nicks and Stewart share a heartfelt Leather and Lace.

As of press time, Stewart had barely dug into his covers and classics-heavy song list, but it was easy to see where the rest of the evening was headed, with a snappy Forever Young making the crowd sing its lungs out and shed a few collective years in the process.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertai...#ixzz1KNc4hTLF

I find it funny that they said she's been forced to alter Landslide in the vein Rhiannon/Dreams... when, she usually sings it pretty spot-on with the studio recording, and in the same key.

My thoughts exactly. I don't get it. I really believe Stevie has a mental block about "messing up" and dares not go near any note onstage she feels is out of her "safety zone".

So, did she sing it differently at this show? Or does this reviewer just not know the tune lol?

She sounded great
 

She didnt really alter anything. She sounded fantastic. Really strong voice and was obviously happy.

When she said "Are you happy, yes I am" in Love Is, I really believed it. :)

That is my favorite part of the song! The expression on her face makes ME happy!

Agreed...I made sure to look at the big screen for that moment :)

24 Pictures from Vancouver Times Colonist http://www.timescolonist.com/Photos+...tml?id=4662686

Straight. com
http://www.straight.com/article-3888...t-it-vancouver

By Steve Newton, April 23, 2011

Rod Stewart, thankfully, chose more tasteful attire when he sang "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" in Vancouver. The answer to his question was still, however, 'Um, hell no!"

At Rogers Arena on Friday, April 22

Who’d have thought that two Vancouver concerts in the same week by a couple of ancient rock headliners from the ‘70s would be so damned impressive? Rod Stewart’s hugely entertaining show at Rogers Arena Friday night was a real nice follow-up to Robert Plant’s impeccable performance at the Queen E. the previous Sunday. It came down partly to both singers choosing the right material and still being able to perform it well, but mainly to the fact that they surrounded themselves with some of the finest instrumentalists and vocalists on the planet.

Although what’s been dubbed the Heart and Soul Tour billed Stewart as coheadlining with Stevie Nicks, the former Fleetwood Mac member only sang about 10 songs to Stewart’s 20, and her stage setup wasn’t nearly as lavish. But the 62-year-old Nicks still managed to keep the near-capacity crowd happy with her mix of Mac standards (“Rhiannon”, “Landslide”) and solo hits (“Stand Back”, “Edge of Seventeen”). On the downside, when she draped herself in a frilly scarf and twirled around in her frilly dress all I could think of was that scene in Sid and Nancy where Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) sees herself wearing Sid’s grandmother’s clothes and freaks out with “Aaggh! I look like ****in’ Stevie Nicks in hippie clothes!”

When it came time for Rod the Mod to hit the stage the energy level in the rink rose a notch or two. The stage had been transformed into a thing of beauty; it appeared to be constructed of white marble, with a two-level platform for a six-piece band that was dressed in dark suits like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Adding to the ‘60s-style spectacle were another half-dozen women in bright red miniskirts, including three backup singers, two horn players, and one who looked fine just banging a tambourine.

Not to be outdone, Stewart strolled out in a gold-lamé jacket, then kicked the show off with the unbeatably upbeat O’Jay’s stomper, “Love Train”. That was the first of several well-chosen covers, including Tom Waits’s “Downtown Train”, Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Rock and Roller”, Cat Stevens’s “The First Cut is the Deepest”, and Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young”, which the 66-year-old Stewart dedicated to his two-month-old son Aiden and his other children, “all eight of them!”.

The sparkling talent in the backing band included J’Anna Jacoby, the first female to win the Grand Master Fiddle Championship. She was killer on “You Wear It Well”, and expertly handled the mandolin on Stewart’s biggest hit, “Maggie May”. Also on hand to help him sound great was saxophonist Jimmy Roberts, who blew some serious **** on a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away”.

“Have a seat, ladies and gentlemen,” coaxed Stewart at one point, “you paid a lot for those seats.” He wasn’t kidding, as the top ticket price was 235 smackers (before service charges and fees). Then again, he’s got a lot of overhead tied up in soccer balls. He must have kicked and thrown about 40 of them into the crowd during “Hot Legs”, many finding their way into the hands of fans wearing the green-and-white striped jerseys of his fave soccer team, Celtic F.C..

By the time Stewart encored with his disco-era smash, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, he’d won over most everyone in the building, and even earned forgiveness for all those lame Great American Songbook CDs. I wouldn’t trade this show for the Rod Stewart & the Faces gig I saw at the Pacific Coliseum back in ‘75—with Foghat opening up!—but it was still pretty sweet.

Former Fleetwood Mac singer.I did not know she quit the band.
Hippie clothes.

I never pay attention to reviewers or critics.with their opinion .As everybody knows here I'm a big fat one when it comes to tadays misic and tv programming.

P.S.I almost got clobbered with one of those soccerballs.It got away from me.