Una notte magica: Rod Stewart’s performance in Bassano del Grappa

What remained were many beaming faces, enthusiastic Tifosi and the certainty that you can certainly miss out on a World Cup and still enjoy some fantastic evenings.
This is exactly what happened last night in the Italian town of Bassano del Grappa, which has a population of 42,000 and is situated in the province of Vicenza, around 100 kilometres west of Venice.

At the Bassano Music Park there – also known as Parco ragazzi del ’99 in honour of the Italian heroes of the First World War – none other than music legend Sir Rod Stewart invited the crowd to dance on Thursday. And 9,000 visitors heeded the Brit’s call and celebrated a magical night under the Venetian sky.

For Sir Rod, it was his only concert in Italy this year and, following Lisbon and Valencia, his third in Europe this summer.
Right on time at 9.30 pm, a Rod Stewart who was once again in high spirits took to the stage and was greeted by the 9,000-strong crowd with thunderous applause and cheers. From the very first beat, the fans were in full swing. People were dancing, singing along at the top of their voices, and everyone – absolutely everyone – was enjoying the evening, knowing full well that this might well have been the British star’s final performance in Italy.
And Sir Rod gave his audience exactly what they wanted. As violinist Andrea Young had said in the big Storyteller interview: “Rod knows what his fans appreciate and delivers it at every show”.

That’s exactly how it was at Bassano Music Park.

After the opener Infatuation, it was one hit after another, whether rocking, raucous and rousing, as with Young Turks and Maggie May, or gentle and emotionally wistful, as with the world-famous ballads such as You’re In My Heart or Have I Told You Lately. Fortunate indeed is the man who can draw on a song repertoire spanning six decades full of hits and classics.

Rod Stewart’s performance yesterday once again left nothing to be desired, except perhaps that there was hardly anyone in the audience who wasn’t hoping that Sir Rod would return to Italy for yet another magical night.

Stewart and his band are now taking a summer break of just under four weeks. The tour resumes on 31 July with a concert in Wantagh, NY, in the United States.