8/14/09
Wisconsin State Fair
Milwaukee, WI
Review by: Amy Krueger (and a thanks to Lynn Miracola for helping me get it right)
Photos by Marilyn d’Entremont
This was a new venue for me, but I was excited to be there with my mom and my girls (and my best friend). We were lucky enough to be close to the stage and had a great view of Rick and the boys. (thanks, Lynn!) The weather was warm and there wasn’t a lot of breeze, but that didn’t matter once Rick and the boys took the stage. The energy was high, in the crowd and on stage. Everybody seemed to be having a great time.
Rick came out in a sleeveless gray shirt that very quickly was wet. If we were hot in the audience, I know the guys had to be sweltering.
At one point, somebody handed Rick a bottle of beer. He used it to play the guitar as a slide. Then he got a second one (or maybe it was the same bottle) and he waved it back and forth, with the beer splashing those close to the stage. He then said, “What is up with all this pretty girls up front giving me beer? Where were you when I was 15?” Which then drew a huge cheer from the crowd.
Rick said there would be a guest for “Crossroads”. The band Asia (remember them from the 80’s) was playing the next night. He let their guitarist help out. During the verse that has the line “I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees” Rick got down on his knees on the little extended part of the stage.
Since my “regular” show is Potawatomi, it was nice to see some kiddos in the audience, and Rick obviously enjoyed it as well.
Before he came out into the crowd for DTTS, he said that there were probably people thinking “This isn’t Noah Drake”. Then, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, took it off and said, “Why yes it is”. (Huge cheer from the crowd) He pointed out some people who had the words in Swahili on large poster boards. He said something to the effect that they had been to way too many shows. He tried to read it and I’m sure was nowhere near right.
(This may have actually happened later in the song, it’s kind of blur in my head)
He worked his way out into the crowd and had a few people singing. He then said the guys were outshining the women so he did a “battle of the sexes”. All the guys vs all the girls. While he was out in the audience, he spotted a cute little girl and asked if she wanted to go up and sing. On the way to the stage, he spotted another little girl and he took her up too. Rick tried to get them to dance, but I think they were too scared staring at all the people. Rick said they were at a cute age - when kids could become instant friends without even knowing each other. Then he teased “Wow…you have shoes. I have shoes. Let’s be friends!” He said as you get older its more like “Yeah, sorry, I’m just not taking any new friends at the moment”. (But we all know if Rick wanted to be our friend, we’d say YES!) He asked names and ages (Sarah – 6 and McKenna 3 ½) McKenna got a big “Awwww” from the audience and Rick. McKenna, at one point, could be heard without a mic. Rick said he wanted to take them home but then told them to get off his stage and told us “they would be available at the merch stand after the show”.
Rick put on the wireless headset/guitar for “Love Somebody” and walked along the front part of the stage but then took it off after he said “I’m coming out there.” I didn’t see their faces, but I’m sure they looked at the sea of people and thought “WTF?” They earned their money that night for sure. The chairs were all zip tied together, so Rick was walking on the chairs, and actually came our way. My mom got a little Human Touch when Rick used her shoulder to hold himself up. (She’s offering the shirt for sale if anybody is interested…just kidding!)
During the encore song, two of Rick’s guitar strings broke pretty early in the song but he kept on playing. We only got a one song encore, instead of two, due to the broken guitar strings, I think. But it was okay.
Overall, the show was great, the energy was high, and my 10 year old’s first comment after was “I forgot how much I love Rick Springfield shows!”
Set List:
Mr PCAffair Of The Heart
IGE
WVS
Ive Done Everything For You
Jet
VIO
I'll Miss that Someday
Love Is Alright Tonight
Crossroads
DTTS
Love Sombody
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Encore:
Kristina
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