Text: STORYTELLER/MH – Photos: Tina Villardi / Jini Sachse / Richard Marx / Erin Willis / Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre
A few days ago, technical problems with the aircraft’s flight path prevented Sir Rod Stewart from performing as planned in Niagara Falls. Yesterday, a storm over Bridgeport threatened to cause the show to be cancelled, but in the end it went ahead as planned. Sir Rod defied the weather gods!
And then it went dark. Shortly after the doors opened and the first fans streamed into the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre in Bridgeport, the sky darkened over the town of 150,000 inhabitants in the US state of Connecticut, and a storm was brewing. On large noticeboards and screens, the organiser advised visitors to seek shelter in their vehicles until further notice.
After about half an hour, the rain and thunderstorm had still not subsided, and the organisers asked the guests for patience: “We are monitoring the weather conditions; the show will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.”
A further 30 minutes later, the all-clear was given: “Good news! All clear!” The show was able to go ahead, although special guest Richard Marx, who was due to open the evening, had to bow to the weather gods. His performance was cancelled at short notice by the organisers due to the storm.
At around 8.45 pm local time, however, things finally got underway – Sir Rod took to the stage and 5,700 fans in the sold-out arena, many of them soaked to the skin, were ready for the big party.
After the opener ‘It’s A Heartache’, there was, of course, one song that simply had to be played on such a rainy evening: ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’ – originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival and covered by Stewart in 2006 for his album *Still The Same* – became the perfect theme for the evening, which Rod had to rock Bridgeport through, at times in the pouring rain.
Just like the man on stage, the audience braved the weather and had a great time despite the adverse conditions.
And the singer made it easy for them to enjoy the evening with a veritable deluge of big hits.
‘Infatuation’, ‘Forever Young’, ‘Young Turks’, ‘Maggie May’, ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’ – with such a deluge of classics, even those annoyed by the weather had hardly any time to give free rein to their frustration.
And Rod had another treat in store for his fans: for the songs ‘Some Guys Have All The Luck’ and ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’, the 81-year-old brought his mate Richard Marx onto the stage, and together they gave these Stewart classics a very special touch. The fans loved it; there was dancing, singing and drinking. Nobody cared about the weather anymore; Bridgeport was simply throwing a massive party – despite, or perhaps precisely because of, the evening’s capricious weather.
After just over two hours, however, the show came to an end and the audience made their way home, wet but happy. “Rod Stewart was fantastic, but I would have loved to have seen Richard Marx too,” said Doreen from Brideport. “What a brilliant show,” agreed Chris. “Rod is an incredible performer.” And Edivania simply couldn’t stop gushing: “My husband asked me to dance during ‘Have I Told You Lately’ – it was indescribable.” With that, she planted a big kiss on her husband’s lips.
One person whose T-shirt was still soaking wet even after the show was Robert. “I don’t give a damn,” he croaked, his voice hoarse from singing along. “That show was just brilliant. It was worth the wait and the rain – thank you, Sir Rod.” Pete – also soaked to the skin – took it in his stride with a good sense of humour. “Great show, but we waited two hours for it and just kept seeing the same thing on the screen over and over again. Next time you should either show a short film or send a juggler, a comedian or even an accordionist onto the stage!!
Anything!!” he laughed with a wink, not forgetting to add: “But Rod was simply sensational. I can overlook the rest,” he winked, before hurrying off to his car at a brisk pace.
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