Live and Kickin - 25 years later

RICK SPRINGFIELD ROCKS UNIVERSAL "Gibson" Amphitheater
August 3, 2007
Review and photo by Laurie Bennett

I must say, I LOVE this venue - if you've never been, it's the same venue as on the Live and Kickin' DVD. And I'll say, when I saw Rick perform there in 1982, I sat in the balcony, on the side, LAST row!!! My how things have changed... and stayed the same. Still the same energy, lots of rocking, and lots of very happy fans.
The venue seats just over 6,000 people. They had the very side sections and most of the balcony blocked off, so I guess about 4,000 fans were there. John Waite opened up for Rick and did a great job.
Rick's portion of the show started about 9:30 or so. We got to see the new video presentation, that shows parts of his life story... starting with a photo of Rick as a baby, then an Aussie interview, TV performance of Jessica from Wait for Night, announcement of his Grammy award win and bit of his acceptance speech ("This is for my mom"), and other interviews/performances throughout the years; I did notice at the end was a clip from last year in MKE when Rick got the proclamation from the city mayor. The last photo in the video presentation is a still of a rose explosion from the Rockford DVD (in the picture section), and then Roger starts the drum beat for Who Killed Rock and Roll, the opening song. There were lots of screams from the audience and the song was very well received.
Then we heard Will I? (NICE to have a song from S/D/A/A!), then on to Affair of the Heart, with the first rose explosion (roses from the stage) of the evening. Then we heard Allyson, after which he changed guitars and we got the second rose explosion (also from the stage). Next was I've Done Everything for You, which he introduced by saying "This song was brand new... 25 years ago!". He played part of the song while he stood with one foot on the railing in front of the stage (which was quite a stretch from the stage), and then later he did his new pose where he leans backward onto George B's back, all the while with them both still playing their guitars. Then Rick changed guitars again and said "I think I know two thirds of you personally out there!" I loved that!
Next song was Rock of Life, and Rick was standing on the right side of the stage. He started to put one foot on the railing again, straddling the space, and I think the guard must have said or done something because Rick cursed at him and the next thing I knew, Rick had fallen!!! I was scared, but Rick was okay. So then he just walked along the stage on the floor (between the stage and the railing), as if to say hello to everyone in the front row. He was able to get himself back up onto the stage and then went into the guitar jam (where he plays a few bars of April 24th, 1981). Standing on a speaker, he then stood again on the railing. Thankfully, he was safely being held up from his waist band in the back by a security guard, and a very happy Susan F. on his legs from the front. He then did two more rose explosions, from two girls in the third row. Rick and George II were ready to switch guitars, and because Rick was standing on the railing, the exchange didn't go too smoothly, and Rick's guitar was dropped. Patti saved the day by grabbing the guitar before it hit the floor, and then George stood there, frozen in the multi-tasking moment, not knowing whether to grab the guitar that fell, or hand Rick the new guitar. Meanwhile, another fan gave Rick roses, and he grabbed them but then made a silly face like "hmm... I don't have a guitar, what do I do with these?". So, he proceeded to bite the head off of one rose, and then spit the petals back into the air in a mini shower. What do Roses taste like Rick??? TOO funny. When he finally got the other guitar, he finished the jam, standing on the railing. When he got back on stage, he proclaimed, "He plays pretty good for a doctor!"
Next was Red House and then he said "Here's one you've heard before" and began Don't Talk to Strangers. He forgot the lines to the second verse and many fans kept singing along and he said "I always forget this verse!"... then when it got to the chorus he yelled "But I know this bit!". On the line "How's life in the big city" he commented "We're finally in the BIG city!" and then said something about the small places they've played that I didn't catch in detail. He did the little hip shimmy dance, and when everyone screamed he replied "oh you liked that?!" and did it again. What a ham! He went quite a ways into the audience for the chorus, finding lots of willing participants to sing the song, including a girl on a cell phone, and two guys-one of which was quite talented-to which Rick replied "I think we have another singer here". All the singers were fans, no security guards participated. One girl asked him to autograph a shirt she had with he 82 (?) logo on it, and he thought she was giving it to him and then finally figured out "oh, you want me to sign it", and then he took the 2nd microphone as if to use that as a pen, then finally someone gave him a sharpie. The fan was so happy and yelled a very loud thank you.
Then he introduced the medley with something like "here's a bunch of songs you might know... sing along" - including Bop 'Til You Drop, Celebrate Youth, Calling All Girls, the teaser chords from Jessie's Girl, Don't Walk Away, State of the Heart, What Kind of Fool Am I?, I Get Excited, and Bop Til You Drop again.
After the medley was another guitar change, and Rick said "this is the favorite part of the show for me" (meaning the part when he goes out into the audience), and put on the headset, then had the brokeback mountain moment where George II put on his wireless mic. Well, the mic wires got caught and Rick was trying to get George II's attention, and yelled "George, help me out here, it's caught in my underwear", so they had to repeat the entire brokeback mountain moment again, much to George II's dismay. Then Rick announced that someone in the band had gotten a hair cut... hmm was it Matt? Rick pointed to him and shook his head no. Then he repeated with Roger (who did have a bright orange/red beard), then to George, then finally to Derek. We all cheered when Rick announced that Derek had donated his hair to Locks of Love, and that he no longer had a hippie in his band. Then he introduced the next song talking about the movie he did in the 80's that featured his naked butt, and then went into Love Somebody, standing on a chair in the front row. Next he played Jesus Saves, and I was quite happy that he grabbed my hand, stood on my chair, and let me and Lisa hold him up (and boy did he lean back really far!).
He moved further into the audience for My Generation, but there was no spotlight on him so it got harder to follow where he was. Finally many of the house lights came on, so we got to see him use someone's cell phone as a slide. After, he handed it back to the fan and said "I scratched up your phone, is that okay?" and then finished My Generation. He was all the way back as far as Matty's sound booth when he did Human Touch, before finally running back onto the stage. He changed guitars again, and that one was all black with a large sticker of his dog Ron on it, which he very specifically pointed out to all of us, and then he sang Jessie's Girl. During the line "where can I find a woman like that?" he said something like there were quite a few (women like that) out there tonight, and that "Time's been good to some of you guys" - a nice compliment. Then he pushed George B. out to the front of the stage, and Matt ran over to help that along. We got the third guitar toss into the air of the evening, but no smash. Rick then introduced the band, said "God Bless you Guys, see you later", gave a hug and walked off the stage. He wore light grey jeans, black boots, and the grey sleeveless tuxedo shirt, and throughout the show, the buttons came more and more undone, until finally we were treated to a open shirt ending.
Rick returned to the stage in a black "X" (the band) t-shirt for the encore, and played Wasted and Love is Alright Tonight. When he returned and the lights came up, all of a sudden about 15 pairs of brightly colored women's panties were thrown towards him, and he smiled. We got another God Bless and a hug at the end. The show finished about 11:30 or so.
For additional photos, check out the picture spotlight.