Rick Springfield in Duluth GA

2/6/09

Wild Bill's

Duluth, GA

Review & picture by: Dancy Zahn & Bambi Myers

About a half hour outside of Atlanta, on a beautiful warm day, I welcomed the end of a frosty winter without Rick. My first show since the cruise, I could not wait to see that man come onstage. Surprise! The Squirts opened and they were awesome! Matt had on a big, foam cowboy hat, and the guys sounded better than ever. At one point he grabbed the jacket of a girl up front and swung it around over his head. He is always such a jokester, and mentioned that we should buy their cds, even if only because we felt sorry for them.

After the video montage, followed by the Nothing Is Ever Lost intro, Rick came onstage to the usual shouts, whistles, and frenzy. Wearing jeans, black converse sneakers, and a white wifebeater with a cool black pirate design on the back. We discovered this only after he removed his black blazer a few songs into the show. The converse allowed for even better jumping and running than the usual boots.

The set list was a slight departure from the norm, as listed below. No Red House, no My Generation, no Gloria. The show moved quickly, without a lot of banter or talking. There were several drinks offered to Rick by fans near the stage, and he did indulge. After taking a drink from someone’s cup, he commented that he hoped he hadn’t been slipped a mickey. There were no less than 6 rose smashes during the show, and I was heavily showered at one point.

“Can’t anyone sing?”, he asked, during DTTS. Apparently not! He didn’t really venture from the stage, and there were fewer victims than usual. He finally left the stage during Love Somebody or Human Touch, and made his way pretty far back into the crowd. As this venue is a country bar with a huge wooden dance floor, there were no chairs to climb on. He came right back onto the stage for Jessie’s Girl, and ended it with a vicious guitar smash.

The encore was a single Kristina, always a crowd favorite. He came out in his WKRR tee shirt. Rick and the crowd were just as excited and energized at the end as we were at the beginning. It’s always over too soon. Hard to watch? Hard to swallow? The movie, maybe. The concerts? Never.

Set List

Mr. PC
WVS
Affair Of The Heart
LIO
I’ve Done Everything For You
Alyson
VIO
I’ll Miss That Someday
Love Is Alright Tonight
Crossroads
DTTS
Medley
Love Somebody
Human Touch
JG(guitar smash)

Encore
Kristina
(note: A statue, presumably of Wild Bill, was brought onstage for the encore, and Rick bowed down to it before starting Kristina)