Instead of beach balls, soccer balls flew through the air. And the songs dealt with hot legs and infatuation and all things sexual, not sailboats. Other than that, Rod Stewart's concert at Riverbend Sunday night had the same feel of a Jimmy Buffett show: a 2 1/2-hour excuse for Cincinnati's conservative majority to don the proverbial lamp shade and act like party animals.

        Mr. Stewart cooperated, delivering a set that included his beloved hits from the early '70s, a few old R&B covers, a couple campy modern-rock covers, and all those ballads that have made him a light-FM staple for the last 20 years.

        The 56-year-old's voice was as raspy as ever, but it lacked muscle. It has declined since his Riverbend appearance three years ago (a show with a very similar set list), and it didn't sound too strong then, either.

        Three backup singers helped to beef up things. So did a big band, which included an orchestra of four local musicians. The 2 1/2 hours included a 15-minute intermission, and Mr. Stewart disappeared backstage twice during the show — once while his backup singers did Martha and the Vandellas' “Heat Wave,” the other while his saxophonist played a drawn out, otherwise pointless solo at the end of “Downtown Train.”

        The first set was stronger. It began with three '70s hits in a row: “Handbags and Gladrags,” “The First Cut is the Deepest” and “Reason to Believe.” Later in the set he did more '70s stuff: Jimi Hendrix's “Angel,” “Stay With Me” from his days with the Faces, and “Maggie May.” Today he's not the same singer-songwriter of that era, but that doesn't mean he can't play more of those songs instead of, say, his Oasis cover of the cocaine homage “Cigarettes and Alcohol.”

        Set two also started strongly but in the end dissolved into what was the artistic equivalent of “Sweatin' to the Oldies,” a bunch of up-tempo party tunes: “The Motown Song,” “This Old Heart of Mine,” “It Takes Two,” “Having a Party.”

        Everyone danced. Mr. Stewart kicked soccer balls into the crowd. Everyone cheered. The party animals — even those people up front who paid over $100 face value for their tickets — were certain they received their money's worth.

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