Spare a thought for the more, shall we say, experienced members of the rock community as temperatures soar this summer. Rod Stewart, who turned 81 earlier this year, had to use an oxygen tank to get through a gig in Utah last week.
The show was at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater in West Valley City last Friday and in social media clips from the gig, Stewart can be visibly struggling during Young Turks. He can be seen propping himself up against his keyboard player and then against a microphone stand. At other times he leans over, as if he is short of breath. To his credit, he doesn’t miss a note.
Before the end of the number, Stewart can be seen beckoning a stagehand who brings on an oxygen tank. Rod takes a few gulps and steadies himself, before addressing the crowd: “The show must go on. I nearly f***in’ fainted up there, I’m telling you. Trying to do a little step and a dance, I nearly f***in’ fainted,” he rambled, before asking the crowd: “Would you mind if I sat down for this one?”
It should be said that West Valley City is around 4,300 feet above sea level, which could account for Stewart’s breathlessness. Heat and altitude – as a football fan, Rod will undoubtedly know how difficult it is to acclimatise to those sort of conditions.
Talking of which, the singer has come in for a fair bit of criticism from fans for cancelling a show in California due to ill health last week before turning up in Boston to see the Scotland v Haiti match the following day. To make matters worse, Stewart even posted a sprightly-looking pic of himself and his sons on a plane, to social media, captioned by: “Me and the boys off to Boston to see our Scotland in the World Cup! No Scotland no party.”
One fan posted: “This feels rather disingenuous, especially after your cancellation last night. Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?”
Meanwhile another wrote: “I understand that shows sometimes have to be canceled, and if there was a legitimate reason, most fans would have accepted it. What's hard to accept is seeing you apparently celebrating on a plane with friends less than 24 hours after thousands of people were sent home disappointed in San Diego.”
Well, yes. We all know Rod loves his football and Scotland haven’t qualified for the World Cup for 28 years, but surely his booking agent could have rearranged his schedule accordingly, instead of leaving it all to the last minute and pissing off fans…?
