Rod Stewart signs two-year deal with Caesars Palace Colosseum

Rod Stewart will join the rotation of headliners at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, with about 50 shows over two years. But, "there'll be no dancing ladies, no midgets, no magicians, no puffs of smoke or any of that," he cautioned.

"I can't stand all that. Ours is just balls-to-the-wall rock 'n' roll," the 66-year-old singer said.

The first 18 shows begin Aug. 24, with tickets going on sale Sunday.

Stewart first played the Colosseum in November, in a stint characterized as a trial engagement that would continue if both sides were happy.

Those dates also might have tied back to a decade-old court case between Stewart and the company now known as Caesars Entertainment. The lawsuit, involving a $2 million deposit and "millennium" concerts the singer canceled when he was battling cancer, was settled and voluntarily dismissed by the casino company in 2008.

While Caesars is the host property, the Colosseum is separately operated by AEG Live, a promoter that usually likes its headliners either to appear exclusively or offer a unique production design.

But Stewart said, "I can only do what I know. Ten dancers dancing behind me is not the way to go. I like to do my own choreography, which I make up on the spur of the moment."

The first round of Colosseum shows turned out to be more intimate than the sports arenas he usually plays.

"As the evenings progressed and I got more comfortable, I was inviting people up onstage," he said. "I go down in the crowd, and the crowd comes up onstage. ... We're going to call it 'Club Vegas' from now on in."

The fast commute from Los Angeles also suits his current domestic situation. In February, Stewart and wife Penny Lancaster welcomed Aiden, their second baby together.

"He's a tremendous-looking kid. ... As they say in Scotland, bonnie," Stewart said.

Becoming a father for the seventh and eighth time was "a desire of my wife's."

"I said, 'Yeah, why not.' I've still got the equipment to do it," he added with a chuckle.

But eight is enough. "We have closed up the shop now. No more, no more."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.