Rod Stewart had the crowd in raptures at Abu Dhabi concert

The 72-year-old flamboyant singer delivered as promised, his raw energy on stage.

When Rod Stewart took to the stage on Thursday, March 2 at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi, the only voice you could hear was of thousands of fans that came out to hear the legend. The stadium echoed to the sounds of the singer's hits Forever Young and Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, but the collective high decibel vocal power of the 8,500 strong audience drowned Stewart's raspy vocals.
In fact, the scene was reminiscent of a football game taking place at London's Wembley Stadium where the stadium is known to roar at each goal scoring move during an FA Cup final, the only difference here in Abu Dhabi was the audience was roaring to each and every hit by Stewart. and believe they were all in tune.
"This is a more intimate session than the concert I did last week at London's O2 stadium," Stewart told the audience as he joked and kept the audience entertained with his one liners throughout the night.
The 72-year-old flamboyant singer delivered as promised, his raw energy on stage was infectious and he had the crowd on their feet, dancing and swaying to his music for two hours.
Keeping in mind  Scotsman Stewart's fetish for checks, the entire stage was dressed in black and white checks, including some of the instruments and the musicians. Even backing singers wore Scottish Tartan kilts to go with stage theme. The backdrop played various newspaper clippings and videos from Stewart's past including a clipping of the singer being knighted by Prince William at Buckingham Palace.
His talented band featuring, guitar, drums, violin and saxophone, as well as a solo tap dance by one backing singer made the night an unmissable experience. Each member of the band proved their class during their respective solos.
The flamboyant Stewart indeed pulled out all the stops and singing won everyone's heart as he belted out hit after hit. Of course, the night wouldn't be complete without his hits such as Maggie May, Da Ya Think I'm Sexy, Baby Jane, The First Cut is the Deepest, I Don't Want To Talk About It, Tonight's The Night and Sailing. The singer also performed some songs from his most recent platinum-selling albums 'Time' and 'Another Country'. His voice, singing and moves on stage were on point - it almost felt like you were watching a music video.
It was truly remarkable to see a a septuagenarian prance, dance and jump on stage with the vim and vigour  of a 20 year old. At times he would sit down on stage, briskly walk from one end of the huge stage to the other, and at time he would come in front of the stage and amuse the front row with his entertaining moves.
The night also featured an acoustic session where Stewart enraptured the crowd with his raspy vocals on softer songs, even then the audience didn't stop singing and they accompanied him right till the end of ballad session. I was in awe of the singer's ability to hold his own during the quieter songs. It was remarkable!
However, the main highlight of the night was when Stewart, a die-hard Celtic fan (even the drum set had the Celtic crest imprinted on it) came on stage wearing football shoes and surprised fans by kicking hundreds of autographed footballs into the crowds, showcasing his passion for the sport. The one's who got the ball for keeps should consider themselves lucky as each ball is worth it's weight in gold.
I consider myself to be very fortunate to be among the thousands of fans who showed up for the concert. Stewart's energy one stage so captivating that time just flew past and before we even knew it the gig was over. Long after the singer signed off after an encore, the crowd was not ready to call it a day. They just kept singing "oooohoohoooo" ( a refrain from his hit Do Ya Think I'm Sexy), egging the legend to come back for a second encore. But, alas, Sir Rod had done his part! He delivered as promised. Guess that's what makes them legends! Sir Rod we salute you!
- michael@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi