In Concert
What: An Evening With Rod Stewart
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, 1925 Blanshard St.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:30)
Tickets: $99 and $199 by phone at 250-220-7777, in person at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre box office, or online at and
Rod Stewart鈥檚 popularity had rebounded when he was set to make his first appearance in Victoria, which was good news for operators of the then freshly minted Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
After weeks of speculation that the venue鈥檚 inaugural show would not go ahead, Stewart strode on stage March 26, 2005, wearing a hard hat and construction vest 鈥� a tongue-in-cheek reference to last-minute efforts to ensure the building was concert-ready. It remains one of the most talked-about performances at the Blanshard Street venue in the past 13 years.
Completion of the $30-million building was originally set for August 2004, then re-scheduled for Nov. 15. That deadline was missed, too. Stewart鈥檚 first-ever Victoria stop wound up happening just weeks after one of Victoria鈥檚 most significant buildings began to resemble a finished product.
City inspectors delayed issuing an occupancy permit until a number of deficiencies were completed, which they eventually were, hours before the concert began.
Tickets were hard to come by. Stewart was touring behind his third entry in The Great American Songbook series, which debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian sales charts months before he appeared here. That made for a perfect storm for fans.
Online demand for tickets to see the British rocker was so heavy that it crashed the arena鈥檚 server minutes after tickets went on sale. Fans hoping to buy tickets in person were no better off. Because the building was under construction, in-person sales were at a temporary box office on Fort Street.
That was all water under the bridge once the Maggie May hitmaker took to the stage before 7,000 fans. Stewart was scheduled to perform for a second time at the arena in 2009, but that show was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. He will return to Victoria on Tuesday for his first appearance at the arena since opening night.
What cans fans expect? The 73-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer appears to be in a playful mood these days, despite calling off some recent concerts because of laryngitis. He has done away with the Songbook side of his personality, and is refocused on writing original material.
鈥淚鈥檓 of the age now where I could bare my soul quite comfortably,鈥� Stewart said in a recent interview with Forbes magazine.
鈥淢y life is an open book, like an autobiography. I鈥檝e got no skeletons in the cupboard as far as I can remember. So I think honesty is one aspect of songwriting that is really important. I like to write songs, but being personal is a wonderful thing.鈥�
Last month, Stewart released his 30th studio album, Blood Red Roses 鈥� his third album of original material since 2013 鈥� which hit No. 1 in the U.K. On the recording, he writes about his new-ish family, which includes sons Alastair, 12, and Aidan, seven, and wife Penny Lancaster, whom he married in 2007.
His North American tour to support Blood Red Roses comes to a close Nov. 3 in Reno, Nevada, after which he will close out the year with a six-show run in Las Vegas. Stewart, a huge soul fan, tipped his hat to several classics during a recent concert, including the Bar-Kays鈥� Soul Finger and Ike and Tina Turner鈥檚 Nutbush City Limits.
鈥淚鈥檓 just a singer from north London and I was very lucky to be given a voice, that certainly I鈥檝e worked on, of course. But I can cover most songs. I can sing sadness, I can sing blues, I can do R&B, I can do folk music. I鈥檓 just very, very lucky.鈥�
Stewart has homes in London, Florida and California, and six grown children. He isn鈥檛 slowing down, either, despite having two young children and several grandchildren.
鈥淚 like to think I鈥檓 still a pretty normal guy,鈥� he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
鈥淥bviously, when you鈥檝e got a lot of money, it changes you. But I do a lot of regular things when I鈥檓 with my wife in London. I go around to the supermarket. I don鈥檛 send people to shop for me.鈥�
