Rod Stewart really got Charlotte fired up

It was one of those hot and humid July evenings in North Carolina when, despite the uncomfortable air temperatures, around 15,000 people in the city of over 900,000 inhabitants made their way to the PNC Music Pavilion. None other than superstar Sir Rod Stewart had invited them to a two-hour show – packed with rock, roll and pop from over six decades. Among them was reporter Theoden Janes from the Charlotte Observer, who will have his say a few times in the course of this review.
The journalist, who has been reporting on all kinds of cultural events for his newspaper for almost 20 years, asked himself a question at the beginning: "What do you get when you put an 80-year-old former heartthrob with a penchant for Vegas-style showmanship, attractive young blonde women and deceased colleagues in front of about 15,000 people? - a) great fun b) a hopeless mess c) a sobering reminder of the mortality of our heroes d) all of the above.
The writer should find his answer pretty quickly, without any jokers. Because as soon as Sir Rod took to the stage and kicked off the evening with his hits ‘Infatuation’ and ‘Tonight I'm Yours,’ it was clear from the very first chord that the audience was having a great time.
Rod rocked his heart out, regardless of the heat and the sweat running down his face. A true professional who doesn't let things like that throw him off his game.
And the audience thanked him for it, reaching operating temperature after just a few moments and dancing and singing to the best of their ability.
Our roving reporter Theoden Janes was also impressed. "It was great fun, mainly because Sir Rod simply refuses to behave his age. He appeared under the rising curtain, held his microphone stand above his head, had his Mr. Darcy-like white shirt unbuttoned below his sternum, swung his arms, moved his wrists, shook his bum and flirted with the audience in the front row while singing his hot hit “Infatuation”," he wrote.
And that's exactly how it continued. Rod dropped to one knee with ‘a quick, dramatic movement, ... hopped across the stage with surprising liveliness and ... while playing “Ooh La La” by his old band Faces, he jumped up the steps of the stage, only to strike a classic rock star pose at the top; that too made the fans scream.’
Janes, who has seen a lot in his time as a reporter, couldn't help but ask the obvious question: ‘Did I mention that the man is already 80 years old?’ There was no sign of that in the sweltering heat of North Carolina.
Sir Rod defied the high temperatures and still refrained from wearing summery stage outfits, for which the Observer writer demanded great respect. ‘He would always wear that double-breasted jacket with horizontal stripes over a polka dot shirt and pinstriped trousers; he would always wear that canary yellow top with pleated, wide-cut, electric blue trousers; he would always wear the various other outfits that weren't exactly summer-appropriate that he wore on Tuesday night,’ Janes admired.
The reporter also highlighted Rod's tributes to deceased music greats such as Christine McVie, Tina Turner and Ozzy Osbourne in his article. During the first verse and chorus of ‘Forever Young,’ AI-generated videos were played on the big screen showing Ozzy taking cheerful selfies in ‘heaven’ with a number of deceased musicians: Prince, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, Juice WRLD, Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, 2Pac, David Bowie and several others.
‘Very sad. Many of these people died because of drugs,’ Stewart said sombrely to the audience as he reflected on the images. Then his expression brightened and he added, ‘But I'm still here!’
Thunderous applause from the audience and a journalist who finally answered his initial question with option C, remembering the mortality of our heroes. But that didn't change the fact that Sir Rod's performance in Charlotte was also great fun for him, Theoden Janes from the Charlotte Observer.

Setlist:
1. Infatuation
2. Tonight I’m Yours
3. It’s A Heartache
4. Havin‘ A Party
5. It Takes Two
6. The First Cut Is The Deepest
7. Tonight’s The Night
8. Forever Young
9. Ooh La La
10. Young Turks
11. Maggie May
12. I’d Rather Go Blind
13. Downtown Train
14. Lady Marmalade (Band only)
15. If You Don’t Know Me By Now
16. You’re In My Heart
17. Have I Told You Lately
18. Proud Mary (Band only)
19. Da Ya Think I‘ Sexy
20. Hot Legs
21. Some Guys Have All The Luck