Aftermath: Rod Stewart at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Ageism has always pissed off Aftermath immensely. There's something awfully arrogant and defeating about shamming older cats for still wanting to rock out, even if they are edging dangerously close to seventy years of age, as Rod Stewart is. No one begrudges B.B. King or Leonard Cohen for still shilling their songs, each sitting at eighty-three and seventy-four respectively.

True it is, that to most people "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Bird on the Wire" hold much more weight than say, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" The point is that Mr. Stewart can still captivate and thrill an all-ages crowd, neverminding what the cynics say. Imagine telling a writer that he's told to exercise his craft, or telling a painter that they must stop painting because they are too old to be relevant or expressive.