Since he doesn’t seem to age anyway, perhaps Stewart will sail back to Israel for that encore in another few years.
By GIL HOFFMANUpdated: JUNE 17, 2017 22:24Rod Stewart arrives in Israel ahead of his concert in Tel Aviv, June 13, 2017(photo credit: LIOR KETER)
A 72-year-old crooner who has been singing for more than five decades is not supposed to be able to keep a crowd of 20,000 people happy and dancing for close to two hours.But that is exactly the feat that Sir Rod Stewart accomplished Wednesday night at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park. Stewart displayed the energy of a teenager as he pranced around the stage with his much younger dancers, and changed clothes every few songs.Stewart went from a black and white shirt to a silver jacket, a gold suit, and then a silver jacket, changing his shoes with similar colors as well. A die-hard British and Scottish soccer fan, he kicked 20 balls into the crowd, just as he did the last time he came to Tel Aviv in 2010.He spoke to the crowd, starting the concert with “Shalom” and saying “I like Israel” mid-way through. He boasted his age before singing “You wear it well,” a song that makes much more sense now than when he released it in 1972. When he sang “Forever Young,” the screen behind him showed pictures of his children.Stewart has eight kids from five wives. Friday is his 10-year anniversary with his current wife, 46-year-old former model Lady Penny Lancaster, with whom he has two boys, ages 11 and six.During the song “Maggie May,” which he said made him a star, the screen featured tabloid headlines from Stewart’s career, including “Dad at 60” and “I’ve slept with so many women, I’ve lost count.”In an acoustic portion of the show, Stewart got the crowd to sing along with him to his hits “The First Cut is the Deepest,” “You’re in My Heart,” and “Have I Told You Lately that I Love You.”The show ended with two surprises, one negative and one positive. The negative was that there was no encore. But before that, veteran Israeli singer Rita came on stage and joined Stewart in a duet of his hit “Sailing.”Since he doesn’t seem to age anyway, perhaps Stewart will sail back to Israel for that encore in another few years.