Rick will Rock Ohio

What better way to spend Valentine's Day than with Rick Springfield!

Hard Rock Rocksino
Northfield, OH
February 14, 2016
Stripped Down show

RICK SPRINGFIELD Announces Full 'Rocket Science' Details

MelodicRock.com

GRAMMY' WINNER, ACTOR, BEST SELLING AUTHOR RICK SPRINGFIELD
TO RELEASE 18TH STUDIO ALBUM
ON FRONTIERS MUSIC SRL ON FEBRUARY 19, 2016

 

FIRST SINGLE, 'LIGHT THIS PARTY UP', OUT NOW

Rick Springfield is bringing new music to his fans with a brand new studio album, Rocket Science. Springfield's 18th studio album will be released globally on Frontiers Music Srl on February 19th. Yesterday, December 9, USA Today hosted the world premiere of the first song from the album, 'Light This Party Up'. The song can be enjoyed here: 

 

  

The album is available for pre-order now via Amazon.com (CD & MP3) here: http://radi.al/RickSpringfieldAmazon and Apple Music/iTunes here: http://radi.al/RickSpringfieldiTunes All MP3 pre-orders include an instant download of  'Light This Party Up'.

 

With 25 million records sold, Rick Springfield has withstood the test of time far better than most critics would ever have imagined, performing nearly 100 concerts around the world every year.  He has written and performed some of the best-crafted power pop anthems of the past 40 years, including 17 U.S. top 40 hits; among them, 'Don't Talk to Strangers', 'An Affair of the Heart', 'I've Done Everything for You', 'Love Somebody', and 'Human Touch', as well as the 1981 Grammy' Best Male Rock Vocal winning No. 1 single, 'Jessie's Girl'. Springfield has even more to say on his latest release, Rocket Science.

 

The new album features classic Springfield compositions like the crowd pumping 'Light This Party Up', the sensitive ballad 'Let Me In', the anthemic 'All Hands On Deck,' and the blues infused rocker 'Miss Mayhem', on which he collaborated with indie artist Tad Kubler of the band The Hold Steady. Rick also wrote 'Down' 'in the middle of an ice storm on a stranded tour bus'with Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus.

 

Springfield says 'Rocket Science is my 18th studio album. It swears a bit and doesn't respect authority, but it does look after its invalid mother. It has some of the country elements I love, but as much as I understand we should all be sucking up to Nashville, it's still a wide ranging pop/rock record. I hope you dig it!'

 

Frontiers Music Srl President Serafino Perugino states 'Rocket Science is the fourth album that Frontiers is releasing with Rick Springfield, the first one that also involves the US territory. It's always been a pleasure to be at Rick's service, he's a true musical legend and his albums are always top notch. Rocket Science is no exception, and once again this will be a true delight for all his fans, myself included!'

 

Rocket Science is a pop/country blend fused with Springfield's signature songwriting and performance style, and features much of Springfield's touring band joined by some guest players. The album was mixed by veteran Justin Niebank, who gave the project it's tight feel. Other featured players include iconic guitarist and longtime Springfield collaborator Tim Pierce, plus songwriting partner and album co-producer, Elton John bass player Matt Bissonette.

 

In addition to collaborating and starring in the Dave Grohl documentary 'Sound City' and penning two New York Times best selling books, Springfield played opposite Academy Award' winner Meryl Streep in Jonathan Demme's 'Ricki & The Flash', plus a multi episode arc in the HBO series 'True Detective'. He also appears opposite Orange Is The New Black's Pablo Schreiber and actress Sosie Bacon in the forthcoming film, 'Traces'. 

 

Pre-orders for Rocket Science are available now on Apple Music/iTunes and Amazon.com. Those who pre-order the MP3 version of 'Rocket Science'' will instantly receive the first single, 'Light This Party Up', with additional tracks made available in the forthcoming weeks prior to release. As an added feature, digital versions of the album will feature a bonus track, 'Beautiful Inside'.

 

Rick Springfield: Rocket Science

 

01. Light This Party Up
02. Down
03. That One
04. The Best Damn Thing
05. Miss Mayhem
06. Pay It Forward
07. Found
08. Crowded Solitude
09. Let Me In
10. All Hands On Deck
11. We Connect
12. (I Wish I Has A) Concrete Heart
13. Earth To Angel
14.  Beautiful Inside (Digital Bonus Track)

 

Pre-order your copy of Rocket Science:

Amazon.com (CD & MP3): http://radi.al/RickSpringfieldAmazon
Apple Music/iTunes: http://radi.al/RickSpringfieldiTunes

 

 

Rick Springfield's Massive 'Star Wars' Toy Collection

 

Considering that he's been a rock icon for more than 30 years, it's hard to imagine that there are too many sides to Rick Springfield that we haven't seen yet. And yet, the "Jessie's Girl" singer — who's been moonlighting as an actor since the Seventies, and recently stepped up his onscreen game with roles in True Detective and Ricki and the Flash — is still full of surprises, even at 66. One didn't-see-this one-coming shock in particular: Springfield owns one of the world’s biggest collections of Star Wars action figures.
 

That's not a joke.

On the contrary, this could hardly be more serious, as we saw for ourselves when the musician invited Rolling Stone into his Malibu home for an exclusive look at his most prized possessions. "I've always been a toy freak," he admits, reflecting on how the first installment of George Lucas' space opera came out when he was at the perfect age to appreciate the merchandise. That was the start of a life-long passion, and his collection now includes everything from common Luke Skywalker editions to Turkish bootlegs and a "Blue Stars" model so rare that it's worth the down payment on a small house.

Needless to say, we were blown away — but to find out just how impressive it is to the world of hardcore "toy freaks," we went to Sotheby's and spoke to the dedicated super fans behind the auction house's massive Star Wars sale, Return of the NIGO. It turns out that they were genuinely awed by what Springfield has been hiding in his closet, where they're perfectly preserved inside plastic cases. "They're cheesy figures!" Springfield laughs. "They're badly painted, badly made … the only cool thing is the great artwork."

So just how hyped is Springfield for this month's release of The Force Awakens? "I actually like the toys more than I like the movies."

2016 Fan Getaway announcement

 

 

The Rick Springfield and Friends Fan Getaway has been announced for 2016.
Destination: Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas - November 10 - 14th.

Rick says "It will be the best one ever".

For more information:
http://rickspringfield.com/bahamas-fan-getaway-trip-2016/

Full band in Michigan

Two full band shows have just been announced:

Island Resort and Casino
Harris, MI
February 26 and 27th, 2016

Dress warm since these shows are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!

Photo by Renata Hearn

2016 Tour dates

Full band shows have been announced for 2016:

January 7 - Badlands Pawn - Sioux Falls, SD
February 12 - Wildhorse Saloon - Nashville, TN
February 13 - Wildhorse Saloon - Nashville, TN

Photo by Randall Breaux

"Still Rockin’

By John Wirt - The Advocate
November 12, 2015

Recording star Rick Springfield has sold more than 25 million records.
“Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Affair of the Heart,” “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love Somebody,” “Human Touch” and the Grammy-winning “Jessie’s Girl” are a few of his 17 Top 40 hits.

An actor, too, the Australian native’s credits include Dr. Noah Drake in “General Hospital” and, more recently, appearances in “True Detective” and the Meryl Streep-starring “Ricki and the Flash.”
Springfield is also the author of an autobiography, “Late, Late at Night,” and the recently published novel, “Magnificent Vibration.”

Springfield, who’s performing Friday at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, recently answered some questions for the Advocate.

 

Your role in “Rikki and the Flash” seems a natural fit. You are in Rikki’s band. Playing the Greg character in the movie, did you act naturally?

 

Not at all. Greg is a much nicer guy than I am. And he’s a character with lines and written emotions, so the actor has to flesh that out and make it work on screen. If I just acted naturally, I would have bailed the first time Ricki wailed on me. My wife likes my character, Greg, more than she likes me.

Can you tell me about your latest acting role, in “Traces”?

I play an eccentric record store owner named Carl. He’s got a musician friend, Damien (Pablo Schreiber from “Orange is the New Black”). I still have some days on the shoot, sandwiched in between tour dates.

You’ve been both an actor and a musician for decades. Are they pieces of the same pie?

They feed the same need and come from the same place in me.

I recently attended a concert by singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. He didn’t play a number of his best-known songs. Having performed your own hits so often through the years, can you still love to play them in concert?

 

The old songs are energized by the audience. I wouldn’t play them if they didn’t get the energy thrown at them. That’s what makes them new to me each time. But I also love to play newer music. Because that’s what musicians do: play their new stuff.

Do you have new CD, to be released soon?
In February, “Rocket Science,” my 18th studio album, is coming out.

Can you give a preview of the new songs, offer some descriptions of the musical direction?

It’s 16 new songs with big hooks and, hopefully, something to say. I’ve been listening to a lot of country music. That’s where pop music has gone, to Nashville. “Rocket Science” is not a country record, but it has some of those flavors while still maintaining the guitars that have mostly dominated my work.

How are the new songs sounding on stage?

They work really well with the older stuff, because my band is a monster. Everything is played with power and serious volume. A good hook works.

Photo by Kim Jakwerth

New date for Amarillo

The Amarillo, TX show from October 23rd has been rescheduled:

Amarillo Civic Center
Amarillo, TX
January 9, 2016

Previous tickets purchased will be honored for the new date.

Show postponed

The October 28th show at the Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids, IA has been rescheduled. New date: March 19, 2016.  Tickets purchased will be honored for the new date.

Photo by Renata Hearn

2015 tour dates

There's still time to catch Rick in concert. The following are shows that have been announced through December.

"Stripped Down" shows:
10/28 - Cedar Rapids, IA - Paramount Theater
10/29 - Conway, AR - Donald Reynolds Performance Hall
10/30 - Saginaw, MI - Temple Theater
11/5 - Kansas City, MO - Ameristar Casino
11/6 - St. Michael, ND - Spirit Lake Casino
11/14 - Vicksburg, MS - Ameristar Casino
11/18 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
11/19 - Crystal Lake, IL - Raue Center
11/21 - Sheboygan, WI - Stefanie Weill Center
12/4 - Reno, NV - Silver Legacy Casino
12/6 - Santa Rosa, CA - Graton Casino & Resort
12/18 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
12/19 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center


"Full Band" shows:
10/25 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
11/7 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino
11/13 - Baton Rouge, LA - L'Auberge Casino
11/20 - Bowler, WI - North Star Mohican Casino
12/28 - Mount Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino

Photo by Ann Cheshire

"Ricki and the Flash" - pre-order

Be one of the first to get "Ricki and Flash".
Available for pre-order from Amazon.
Release date is scheduled for November 24, 2015.



"Ricki and the Flash" soundtrack - available now.

"Soar like an eagle"

A full band show has been announced for Michigan with special guest: Eddie Money.

Soaring Eagle Casino
Mt. Pleasant, MI
December 28, 2015

Photo by Lynn Whiteford

California gets "Stripped Down"

California is finally on the tour schedule:

Graton Casino & Resort
Santa Rosa, CA
December 6, 2015

House of Blues
San Diego, CA
December 18, 2015

"Stripped Down" tour continues

New "Stripped Down" shows have recently been added to the schedule:

Spirit Lake Casino
St. Michael, ND
November 6, 2015

Ameristar Casino
Vicksburg, MS
November 14, 2015

Silver Legacy Casino
Reno, NV
December 4, 2015

Photo by Darla Gerken

Stripped Down show in Midland

A new Stripped Down show has been announced:

Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center
Midland, TX
October 24, 2015

Photo by Karen Jones

"Cleveland Scene" Review

Singer-Guitarist Rick Springfield Delivers the Hits and Then Some at Jacobs Pavilion

Concert Review By Matt Wardlaw

Photo by Scott Sandberg

 

 

It was back in May of 1993 that singer-guitarist Rick Springfield made his first Cleveland appearance in a long time at the Great American Rib Cook-Off. The gig was part of a summer’s worth of dates that would be a test run for Springfield who hadn’t toured in a number of years after a motorcycle accident sidelined his plans to tour for his 1988 Rock of Life album. That test run gave fans a chance to see Springfield play some rare club gigs and the shows sold out. Springfield quickly found that the fans were still there. Nearly 25 years later, he’s still coming around to Cleveland on a regular basis and “Kristina,” the riff-heavy rocker that he opened those ‘93 gigs with, from 1982's Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (Springfield was even selling a really cool vintage reprint of a Success baseball jersey at the merch stand), was the same tune that wrapped up the three song encore of his 90-minute set on a chilly and rainy Friday night at Jacobs Pavilion. 

 He’s 66 years old now — and only “two-thirds evil,” as he told the near-capacity crowd. “I’ll be fully evil when I’m 666 years old.” By the time he gets there, one can imagine that he’ll still be doing a lot of the same visual staples — thrashing any bouquet of roses that comes his way from the fans, with Pete Townshend-worthy windmill vigor across his guitar strings. “I’m the Morticia Adams of rock and roll,” he said. “You know, she’s the one that cut the heads off of the roses!” At this point, you’d think he’d be selling the roses at the merchandise table — there’s another revenue opportunity for you in addition to those autographed guitars, Rick.

He was out in the crowd two times, venturing down to travel along the front row to let fans sing a bit of “Don’t Talk To Strangers” — another standard bit, but on this particular night in Cleveland, the singers were, well, not too good. “You guys have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here,” he said. “Can’t anybody sing in fucking tune?” He was back out there for “Human Touch,” traveling throughout the crowded pavilion to get up close and personal with the fans. About the only Springfield staple that seems to have been sidelined in recent years is his habit of throwing his guitar high in the air and then catching it to end a song with extra flair. At 66 years of age, it’s probably wise to avoid those guitar-related concussions.

The setlist was fairly similar to last year’s show at the Rocksino — he’s still playing his fun cover of Katy Perry’s “Roar” and all of the hits, including a hefty stack jammed into a medley that starts with Hard To Hold’s “Bop Til Ya Drop and rolls through five more tunes, with a small tease of “Jessie’s Girl” dropped in the middle, just enough to get the crowd riled up and the medley finishes with a full-length run through “Love Is Alright Tonite” from his Working Class Dog album.

A new addition to this year’s show came in the form of two brand new songs that he’s been playing on tour, a preview of his next album, Rocket Science, which will be released in January, according to Springfield. “Down” was the highlight of the two, an energetic melodic rocker that he wrote with Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and one that bodes well, suggesting that the new album will continue in the rock-heavy vein of his last several. It was enough of a dosage to make us look forward to that new record and hopefully we’ll get to hear more new songs from that album in the setlist the next time he comes through.

Loverboy and Donnie Iris were a perfect rock and roll double shot to get things started. Iris opened the evening with a solid 45 minute set and he was battling hard against the elements when the rain was at its heaviest, but he and the Cruisers countered the weather with a satisfying blend of album tracks and fan favorites, including “Do You Compute” and “That’s The Way Love Oughta Be” and, of course, “Ah! Leah,” with the usual slowed down introduction stripped off — they cut straight to the familiar album version that continues to be heard on local radio to this day.

Celebrating a pair of anniversaries this year — 35 years for their self-titled debut and 25 years for their Lovin’ Every Minute Of It Album, Loverboy hit the stage hard with the title track from their Notorious album opening up their nearly hour long set. They put the ballads (songs like “Almost Paradise” and “This Could Be the Night”) to the side and turned the guitars up instead for hit after hit, including a power set of “The Kid Is Hot Tonite,” “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It,” “Hot Girls In Love,” “Turn Me Loose,” (with that one high note still right in the zone) and the set closing “Working for the Weekend,” a great way to start off the weekend on a Friday night in Cleveland, with cowbell.

Vocalist Mike Reno still sounds nearly album-perfect vocally (although he left the trademark red leather pants at home on this evening) and in addition to the hits, the band also served up a nice deep cut coming in the form of “Queen of the Broken Hearts,” which, “If you had MTV, you heard this one a lot,” Reno told the crowd. The band retains nearly its entire original lineup with bassist Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve, a member of drummer Matt Frenette and guitarist Paul Dean’s pre-Loverboy band Streetheart, subbed in for the late Scott Smith and they still sound great. As package tours go (with Iris being a very welcome Cleveland-specific addition), this one was all killer and no filler.

Full band show announcement

A new full band show has been added to Rick's 2015 tour:

North Star Mohican Casino
Bowler, WI
November 20, 2015

Photo by Darla Gerken

Lucky Florida

Another Florida full band show has been added to the tour schedule. That makes five shows for Florida in October.

Polk Theatre
Lakeland, FL
October 16, 2015

Previously announced shows:

Epcot Center - Orlando, FL
October 12, 2015

Epcot Center - Orlando, FL
October 13, 2015

Van Wezel Performing Arts Center
Sarasota, FL
October 15, 2015

The Ranch Concert Hall
Ft. Myers, FL
October 17, 2015

For more tour dates: http://www.rickspringfield.us/library/concert2015.html

Photo by Barbara Breaux

Hard Rock Live Review

Boca Raton Magazine

Sep 03rd 2015

You know you’re at a concert featuring bands from the 1980s when someone, like the woman seated next to me last night at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, comments, with concern in her voice, “Oh my, look how puffy they are.”

While that may have been the case with opening acts The Romantics and Loverboy, who, from a sheer rock standpoint, couldn’t have been in finer form, the same couldn’t be said for the headliner on this blast-from-the-past triple bill.

Riding a wave of estrogen that swept through the aisles with tsunami-like force, Rick Springfield took the stage in a black sleeveless shirt—the better to reveal his seriously ripped biceps—looking like a rocker half his age. As we learned when he prompted us to sing him “Happy Birthday” (even though it was back on Aug. 23), that age is 66.

Whatever the Aussie-born actor/musician who brought Dr. Noah Drake to “General Hospital” is doing to stay fit, it’s working. The 50- and 60-somethings who were falling all over one another to snap selfies with Springfield in the backdrop hadn’t been that excited since Luke and Laura were married.

For his part, Springfield gave the wildly enthusiastic Hump Day crowd exactly what they wanted. He commanded the front part of the stage, keeping his four-piece backup band a good 6 feet behind him, almost like they were in time out. And he never stopped engaging his audience.

Currently riding his own wave of renewed interest—thanks to a creepy turn as an over-Botoxed plastic surgeon in HBO’s “True Detective” and a co-starring role opposite Meryl Streep in “Ricki and the Flash”—the ageless Springfield played his MTV videos in the background, posed for countless photos (one woman must have taken 147 selfies) and brought two young girls on stage to sing. Appropriately enough, during the song “Human Touch,” Springfield threw caution to the wind and walked straight into the cougars' den, accepting hugs, kisses, gropes, back issues of Soap Opera Digest—who knows—from every section of the audience.

On the music front, Springfield tossed in a few numbers from a forthcoming album, along with a Katy Perry cover (“Roar”), to go with his more familiar tracks. Back in the day, his heartthrob looks tended to overshadow the fact that Springfield could bring it as performer/songwriter. One of the evening’s highlights was a medley that proved as much, including two songs—“Celebrate Youth” and “State of the Heart”—off the underrated album “Tao.”

Earlier in the evening, Loverboy had the crowd on its feet with a nonstop barrage of hits that prompted one man to say, “I forget just how many great songs these guys had.” The high-energy set included hard-rocking versions of “The Kid is Hot Tonite,” “Turn Me Loose” and “Working for the Weekend.” The Romantics may not possess the same new-wave sneers they did in the late ’70s, but they also had some serious bounce in their step, bringing the crowd to its feet on songs like “Stone Pony” and “What I Like About You.”

Springfield closed the show with an encore that included his signature hit, “Jessie’s Girl,” then signed a few autographs before exiting stage right. If they could have, the ladies in the crowd might have smoked a collective cigarette. Needless to say, it was good for everyone.

Photos by Ron Elkman (ronelkman.com)

Rick Springfield
Light This Party Up
I’ve Done Everything For You
I Get Excited
Down
Affair of the Heart
Roar (Katy Perry cover)
Our Ship Is Sinking
Medley:
• Bop ‘Til You Drop
• Celebrate Youth
• Calling All Girls
• Don’t Walk Away
• State of the Heart
• What Kind of Fool Am I?
Love Is Alright Tonight
Wild Thing
Don’t Talk to Strangers
Human Touch
Love Somebody
EncoreJessie’s Girl
I’ll Make You Happy
Kristina

Loverboy
Notorious
Lucky Ones
Queen of the Broken Hearts
Take Me to the Top
The Kid is Hot Tonite
Lovin’ Every Minute of It
Hot Girls in Love
Turn Me Loose
Working for the Weekend
 

Stripped Down - Kansas City

New Stripped Down tour date added:

Ameristar Casino & Hotel
Kansas City, MO
November 5, 2015

For more information visit Ticketmaster

Photo by Lotus Leong

What I know about women

(29)

Robyn Doreian - Daily Life

RICK SPRINGFIELD, MUSICIAN and ACTOR, 66, MARRIED

"The first night I spent with my wife, Barbara, is the only first night with a woman I remember": Rick Springfield.

 Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

My mother, Eileen, is the strongest person I know. She grew up on cattle stations in NSW, where her British mother worked as a cook and my grandfather as a driver. Her parents died when she was 15 and so she left school, got a job and looked after her eight-year-old sister, Pat.

She and Pat lived in a boarding house in Depression-era Sydney. But, after breaking curfew following a celebration for Pat's 12th birthday, they were evicted. By that time Mum was dating my dad, Norman. Luckily, he had a great family who took them in.
I was born in Sydney, but Dad's job in the army took us to encampments around Melbourne. Then, when I was 10, we moved to England for three years.   

 

Eleven marked the first time I touched a guitar, kissed a girl on the mouth and had my first crush ˆ Hayley Mills. When I saw The Parent Trap at our local theatre, something stirred in me, other than thinking she'd be a good playmate. I wrote to her fan club and received an autographed photo. I still have it. It has my little 11-year-old lip marks all over her face.

I didn't have a lot of luck with girls in my teens, mainly because I was shy. At 16, I felt like the ugliest kid in the world – depression had set in. Mum took me to a psychiatrist but he freaked me out. He asked me to draw myself in relation to sex. Of course, I hadn't even had any.

Music became my salvation. Having seen bands like the Who, I felt the power guys with guitars had. So when I got onstage with [Melbourne band] Zoot in 1969, I felt that too. After shows, girls would be there, ready to have sex. Which was good for me, as I was still too shy to ask a girl out.

A phone call at 21 changed my life. It came at 3am from the hospital where Dad had been admitted with an ulcer on his artery. We learnt he had died when it burst, but they had revived him, and now he had brain damage. Me, my brother Mike and Mum slept together in the living room, as we didn't want to be apart. I remember waking and hearing Mum crying.

Before Dad died of cancer in 1981, he recalled things to a certain degree. But he knew he wasn't who he used to be, and it troubled him. That was the most painful thing to see. He inspired my first hit, Speak to the Sky.

I left Melbourne for Los Angeles in 1972. A few years later, at a gig at the Whisky a Go Go, [Exorcist star] Linda Blair came to my dressing room. She was 15, I was 25. Linda was pretty and sexy and we were emotionally matched. I connected with her family, which was important to me, as I was away from mine. We were together for a year. I still talk to her, as I do charity stuff for her animal rescue.

Elizabeth Taylor was a giant fan of my TV drama, General Hospital. In the early '80s, as Dr Noah Drake, I did a couple of scenes with her. I'm sure she thought I was cute, as she liked younger guys. She was older by then, but still carried so much with her because of who she was. Elizabeth was very sweet and after one scene, as we walked away from the camera, she said, "Isn't acting stupid?"

The first night I spent with my wife, Barbara, is the only first night with a woman I remember. [Barbara was 18 and the receptionist at Sound City Studios in LA when they met.] Barbara gets my struggle and successes. We've been through it all. She's an incredible human being, and on top of that she's burning hot, which is a pretty good combination after 30 years.

In my new film Ricki and the Flash, I play the guitarist in Meryl Streep's bar band. Meryl is a very open person, and doesn't wear her celebrity on her sleeve. The fact she learnt the electric guitar and got that down and then sang at the same time ... a lot of professional musicians struggle with that. She sings her butt off and was fearless with it. Being in a movie with her was like being in a band with Paul McCartney.

My mum is 95 now. She still lives in Parkdale, Melbourne, in the house my parents bought when I was 17. Mum is unstoppable. She still drives and reads three books a week. She is an incredible figurehead.

I don't claim to know anything about women. My sons, Josh, 25, and Liam, 28, have had better relationships with women than I ever had until I met Barbara. They both have such big hearts. As a dad I may have screwed up in a lot of ways, but they definitely know they are loved. I'm very proud of them as men.

Hershey, PA Video

At the Hershey, PA show Rick told the audience that the new CD will be titled "Rocket Science" not "Mayhem" as previously announced.

Watch the video recorded at the show on  Rick's official Facebook page to hear two new songs: "Light This Party Up" and "Down". 

Release date is scheduled for January.

Photo by Mike Gerken

Baton Rouge show announced

L'Auberge Casino
Baton Rouge, LA
November 13, 2015
Full band show

Ticketmaster -  Pre-Sale begins August 26th

Photo by Charlotte Poe

Rick Springfield on "Ricki and the Flash" and why he's not watching "True Detective"

By Mike Ryan & bullet; 08.03.15

It’s fitting that in Ricki and the Flash — the newest film from music-loving director Jonathan Demme — there’s Rick Springfield on stage with Meryl Streep, singing the Bruce Springsteen deep-cut, “My Love Will Not Let You Down.” Fitting, because in the ‘80s, Springfield’s former label released a song called “Bruce,” which had lyrics like, “Aw, wait a minute man, who do you think I am?/He answered, ‘Mr. Springsteen, you’re a famous man.’” But this is the Rick Springfield from 2015 — this is the Rick Springfield who is making out with Meryl Streep on screen and getting his teeth knocked out by Colin Farrell on True Detective. I suspect Rick Springfield doesn’t care too much today if you called him “Bruce.” (As Springfield tells the story below, “Bruce” was actually recorded in the ‘70s and was only released after his music career made him a superstar.)

In Ricki and the Flash, Springfield plays Greg, the lead guitarist for a past-their-prime L.A. rock band, led by Ricki (Meryl Streep). When Ricki (or Linda, in her former non-rock star life) has to return home to Indiana for a family emergency, her relationship with Greg finds new meaning.

When you meet Springfield, the first thing you notice is that he is a tall man (or, the opposite of Bruce Springsteen, really). He’s kind of soft-spoken in a guarded way at first, in sort of a, “So, when are you going to ask my about ‘Jessie’s Girl,’” kind of way. Ahead, we cover a lot of ground with Springfield, from, yes, his days of being confused with Bruce Springsteen to working with David Fincher on Fincher’s first ever directorial gig, the bonkers video for “Bop ‘Til You Drop.” Springfield also laments about getting killed off in the pilot for Battlestar Galactica; the problems with the feature film that would put him in the starring role for the first time, Hard to Hold; and he explains why he doesn’t watch True Detective. Sadly, we never did get to “Jessie’s Girl.”

In Ricki and the Flash, you perform a Bruce Springsteen song, “My Love Will Not Let You Down.” In the ‘80s, you had a song called “Bruce” that complained about people confusing you for Bruce Springsteen.

Yeah, “They called me Bruce.”

That song was recorded in the ‘70s, but not released until the ‘80s?

Yeah, ’76. I recorded it at Sound City and Joe Gottfried, who was my manager, owned Sound City. And, you know, I could go in and do records on spec because Joe owned the studio. So, this album I wrote, a couple of times people had called me Bruce.

In interviews?

No, no. I remember I went out for some acting thing, and this girl saw me from an acting class. As I walked out, she said, “Bruce!” But I get it. You know, Meryl has a story where people sometimes come up to her and say, “You were great in Fatal Attraction,” which is Glenn Close.

People say that to Meryl Streep?

I mean, I get, “Bruce, I loved you on General Hospital.” So, they get the character. So, I wrote this humorous song about it and the record didn’t get a deal. We tried to shop it and didn’t get a deal. And the next record I wrote was Working Class Dog — so these people kept the record, and when I had hits, they released “Bruce” because they had the rights to it.

When that song came out, I was maybe 8 years old and didn’t even really know who Bruce Springsteen was. I wasn’t really listening to Nebraska then.

It’s not a musical mix-up, it’s just a name mix-up is all it is. We don’t look alike. We are actually born like a month apart. I actually saw a guy the other day who was standing behind Bruce [in line] in the ‘70s, and he told this story to Bruce and now he’s telling it to me — that Bruce had a bunch of clothes, he was buying them, and they checkout guy called up, “I have Rick Springfield here. He wants to take these clothes out.” And Bruce, had to say, “No, I’m Bruce Springsteen.”

When you’re filming this scene, did you mention to anyone, “Hey, I released a record distancing myself from this guy?”

[Laughs] It did cross my mind at one point. I thought it was kind of humorous, actually. It’s pretty funny.

Do a lot of people get this relationship?

A few people will get it. You’re the first one who has actually mentioned it. Actually, Meryl brought that one up; she brought that song up. They were looking for a closer that dealt with what had gone on.

And it’s a deep cut Springsteen song.

Totally.

I believe it’s a song cut from the Born on the USA album. It later got released on a compilation set.

And I had never heard the Edgar Winter song… quite a few of the songs, actually. And it’s from my era. That’s the era I grew up in.

Now you’re working with Jonathan Demme, is this the most high-profile director you’ve worked with?

Yeah. Well, actually…

Other than David Fincher on the “Bop ‘Til You Drop” video.

Other than Fincher, yeah. Of course I’m a giant fan of movies like Silence of the Lambs and I loved Stop Making Sense. So, I knew he understood the music thing – and he absolutely loves music. So, when he said he wanted it all live — he didn’t want any overdubs or anything; he wanted recorded live on set – so everything you hear is absolutely live. Which I was a little but nervous about, I thought we’d do a couple of patches. And which is why he wanted an actor who could play guitar, because he didn’t want any overdubs. And he understood the lip-syncing thing is what kind of pulls people out of a movie.

I do remember thinking the guitar player was really good for a guy playing at an L.A. dive bar in front of just a few people.

All the guys who play in those bars are great… by the time anyone that age gets to that, they really are accomplished players. Not every accomplished player becomes successful. This is a story of a band that’s a great band – I mean, three of the players are top-notch players – but I know guys like that who do have another job and aren’t professional musicians. It didn’t work out.

I’d like to think if the band in the movie were real, there would be a bigger crowd.

I think it’s Jonathan Demme’s comment on the age thing, too. If you’re talking about 30-year-old guys, yeah, that is a little different. There’s a certain kind of loser vibe to the whole place that I really dig.

When you’re a little kid, “Bop ‘Til You Drop” is a cool video.

It’s a great video.

It has nothing to do with you bopping until you drop.

No, nothing at all.

I once asked David Fincher about it. He said he was appreciative that you let him do it, but made it clear, if he did it today, it would look different.

[Laughs] Well, if I wrote it and sang it today, it would be different. It was great, he also did a live show called The Beat of the Live Drum where he filmed the concert in a live arena, then took the roof off in post and put in all this amazing stuff.

When you watch his career, do you ever think about his directorial debut being your video?

I was his champion. I knew he was incredible. When I saw “Bop ‘Til You Drop,” I said this is some kind who just came off Return of the Jedi. My favorite video is the one he did called “Dance This World Away.” It’s really, really cool.

Did he even do a lot of takes back then?

We couldn’t do a lot of takes back then because we had to do it in 24 hours.

Those were filmed in 24 hours?

Less.

It’s funny that Fincher directed a video from a song on the Hard to Hold album…

Oh, yeah, you’re right…

He should have directed the Hard to Hold movie.

Dude, he would have been – please, it would have been a much better film. That’s the difference between Ricki and the Flash and Hard to Hold — apart from all the great people involved — was the director of that movie hated rock music.

What?

Yeah, he was the son of an opera singer. He went to one rock concert before he started filming and walked out with his fingers in his ears. Where Jonathan is a music freak.

Was that a problem on set?

No, no. It was the first time I had done anything like that, so I would just kind of going on with it and just focusing on my part.

Why didn’t you stay on with Battlestar Galactica after the pilot?

Well…

Well, other than your character dies.

I blew up. I was so excited to get the part, and I’m reading the script, and, like 20 pages in, I’m dead, and I’m going, “F*ck.” I’ve signed a lot of stuff actually.

I bet you have.

Sci-fi geeks bring it out, because my photo is on the cover of the DVD or something.

You’re also in True Detective. Do you understand what’s going on?

I don’t watch it.

You don’t watch it?

I don’t watch anything I’m in. And I only saw this movie because Jonathan had a screening. But I don’t like to watch, because once I’ve done it, I can’t change it. It’s not like when I’m recording and I can listen to something and go, “I think we can do that better,” then go in and redo it. With acting, it’s done and you have no more control.

Do you watch your videos?

No. Because of the type of person I am, I’ll find something I don’t like and it will spoil the whole thing for me. But, I did like the movie. I was very pleased with the whole thing. I was more worried about the sound than anything because they didn’t do any overdubs, but I was really pleased.

Well, now you sound happy you’ve watched it. You should watch True Detective.

Eh, knowing my personality, it’s better if I don’t.

That scene you had with Colin Farrell got a lot of attention.

I listen to people that I know who react to it. Because if I watch it and even if someone says, “It’s great,” I’ll see something I don’t like and it will get me down. Suffering from depression isn’t a fun thing and I think that’s where I address that from.

A lot of actors feel that way, but it surprises me that you say it because you are also a rock star and are used to seeing yourself.

I mean, it never really gets easier because you’re still looking for the that thing you do that you don’t like when you do it. It’s a totally personal thing.

You should watch the “Bop ‘Til You Drop” video.

I’ve seen that.

Mike Ryan has written for The Huffington Post, Wired, Vanity Fair and New York magazine. He is senior entertainment writer at Uproxx. You can contact him directly on Twitter.

 

New tour date announced

Mystic Lake Casino
Prior Lake, MN
November 7, 2015
Full band show

Photo by Renata Hearn

Springfield finds new life as an actor in “Ricki and the Flash”

By Sarah Rodman Globe Staff  August 01, 2015

WELLESLEY – Rick Springfield is aware that he was not the first choice to play Meryl Streep’s love interest in the new Jonathan Demme-directed, Diablo Cody-penned film, “Ricki and the Flash,” which opens Friday. “There are actually quite a few actors who play guitar, believe it or not,” says Springfield with a laugh.
Many of them don’t come with the baggage that the Australian-born singer-songwriter-actor is aware that he carries as a former teen heartthrob — see Top 10 hits like “Love Somebody,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” and especially “Jessie’s Girl” — and ’80s soap star — that’s Dr. Noah Drake, to you “General Hospital” fans (which Springfield reports included Brian Wilson and Sammy Davis, Jr.).

 

While his undersung musical output has undergone a deserved reappraisal over time, films like the 1984 vanity project “Hard to Hold,” episodic TV work over the years, and a recent return to “GH” did little to increase his thespian cred.

But lately something’s changed and it ain’t hard to define, people have started taking Rick Springfield seriously as an actor. And, in something of a surprise to the 65-year-old himself he has started taking acting more seriously. (He first picked it up as a way to make ends meet between gigs.) So Springfield was as shocked as probably everyone else will be that he landed, and absolutely nails, what will likely be a career-defining performance for him as an actor. Additionally, he is currently appearing on HBO’s “True Detective” as a creepy doctor.

Ironically, he credits his 2009 turn as an exaggeratedly awful version of himself on the David Duchovny series “Californication” as the start of the altering of the perception of his skills in Hollywood. “It was great because it was totally against type,” says Springfield of his “hedonistic [expletive]” character.

While many actors thank their publicists, Springfield really does credit his, Kim Jakwerth, for getting the role of Greg, Streep’s lead guitar player and boyfriend in the Flash, the cover band in the film.

“I had been on the road and we had done a lot of shows and I was tired and I got a call saying Jonathan Demme wanted to see me for a role in the new Meryl Streep film,” he said recently while enjoying the salmon at Alta Strada. Springfield was lunching at the Wellesley restaurant because he had a subsequent appointment nearby. He looked mellow and sunny, fresh off two solo performances at the Cape Cod Melody Tent and South Shore Music Circus.

“My first reaction was, ‘Come on, who is this, really?’” he says with a laugh.

Once it was clear that the call was authentic, Springfield was hesitant to take several cross-country flights for an audition — something he claims to be terrible at — that probably wouldn’t pan out. Jakwerth called and said “’Get your [expletive] ass on that plane’,” he recalls with a grin. “I love working with strong women. My mom was really strong.”

When it comes to acting, they don’t come much stronger than Streep. Springfield admits that he was intimidated by the idea of trying to hold his own with the multiple Oscar winner. “You’ve got to bring your A-game or you don’t get to play,” he says. “It was really amazing.” A two-week rehearsal period prior to shooting helped ease his nerves and those of the other band members, who included Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic) and the late Rick Rosas (Neil Young, Joe Walsh).

“She would come and sit with us at lunch to try and make it feel [comfortable],” says Springfield. “We had some camaraderie right away. It started to sound like a band pretty fast.”
And fast was the key, as Streep learned to play guitar for the role. “I know professional players who have a difficult time singing and playing [simultaneously]; it was pretty impressive,” says Springfield of his costar’s chops.

Speaking of guitars, a Gibson SG plays a pivotal role in the film and Springfield realized he had the style mentioned in the script. It was the guitar he used to write “Jessie’s Girl”; and Demme insisted they use it in the film. He laughs that this is why he was meant to get the role and whips out his phone, showing a photo of himself in 1970 with the guitar.

And though he may not have been the first choice, he was the right one, says Demme, who calls Springfield a “fantastic actor” and hopes to work with him in a non-musical role in the future.
“I saw his name on the casting sheet and I thought ‘Rick Springfield, huh?’ I really had no idea he had an acting career. I wasn’t terribly familiar with his music, and in walks this guy and I fell in love with him,” says the Oscar-winner.

“It’s like a weird dream I never had come true,” says Demme of a moving, late-in-the-film monologue Springfield delivers. “Honestly, I think Rick is going to get a lot of notoriety off this movie. And I will get some cred for having rediscovered him,” Demme says with a laugh.
Springfield is acutely aware that under different circumstances his life could’ve turned out like his character’s, but is pleased that Greg, while flawed, is one of the most contented people in the film. “He’s accepted that he’s not going to be in U2. He loves playing and he’s got the added bonus of being in love with the singer.”

Springfield is now in love with acting and hopes to do more, equally substantial roles in the future, in between touring, making new music, and writing a sequel to his 2014 novel, the bestseller “Magnificent Vibration.”

“It’s as exciting for me as songwriting now,” says Springfield of the prospect of disappearing into a role. “I get the same charge nailing a scene as finishing a song I like.”

Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeRodman.

 

Rick to appear at the Arizona State Fair

Arizona State Fair
Phoenix, AZ
October 21, 2015
Full band show

Concert free with admission to the fair

Photo by Charlotte Poe

Stripped Down show announcement

A new "Stripped Down" show has been announced:

Paramount Theater
Cedar Rapids, IA
October 28, 2015

Photo by Susan Fortune

October shows announced

Just added to the fall schedule:

River City Casino
St. Louis, MO
October 1, 2015
"Stripped Down" show


Beau Rivage Casino Theater
Biloxi, MS
October 2, 2015
Full band show

Van Wezel Performing Arts Center
Sarasota, FL
October 15, 2015
Full band show

The Ranch Concert Hall
Fort Myers, FL
October 17, 2015
Full band show

Photo by Laurie Bennett

New tour dates

Cedar Park Center
Austin, TX
October 22, 2015
Full band show

The Joint
Las Vegas, NV
October 25, 2015
Full band show

Raue Center
Crystal Lake, IL
November 19, 2015
Stripped Down show

Photo by Lisa Wilcox

True Detective Rumors

FANSIDED - TRUE DETECTIVE RUMORS

Article by Jacob Belcher

Who Exactly is True Detective's Dr. Pitlor?

Dr. Pitlor, or "Creepy Rick Springfield" as he is affectionately referred to in the True Detective Reddit community, is something of an enigma in this season's True Detective. The soft-spoken psychiatrist first appears in "Night Finds You" when Ray Velcoro and Ani Bezzerides drop by his clinic to investigate a lead.  While our detectives don't get much in the way of answers, the audience is treated to an aperitif of psychological misdirection: TV Land's slight of hand.

Let me back up a little. A few years ago I became obsessed with The Shining, pouring over every frame as if somewhere in the celluloid was hidden the code to life. While I never did find that code (I'm pretty sure the big guy dozing under the tree by my local Costco found it first) what I did find was an eye for the abstruse: secrets hidden in plain sight.

The scene that introduced me to this Brave New World was set in the Colorado Lounge. So there's Wendy, pestering Jack with polite small talk, when suddenly, without any explanation, some furniture in the background vanishes from sight, only to reappear a few seconds later!

I did a double take Did I see that right? I rewound a few seconds, pressed play, and sure enough the disappearing act unfolded in front of my eyes once again. Maybe it was a mistake, I thought. Maybe some upstart Prop Master's assistant got caught up in the excitement and carried it away. I've seen it happen. A makeup girl is chatting up the Best Boy between takes, and suddenly a swivel chair that was facing left is now facing right. But something told me that wasn't the case. Not with Kubrick.

I started scouring the film for other such inconsistencies, and before I knew it I was down the rabbit hole and on my way to Wonderland. I found spatial and temporal disparities, repeating numbers, color significance, allusions to Navajo mythology. It was like Kubrick was having a conversation, not with actors and their words, but with images and their associations.

So what does this have to do with Dr. Pitlor?  Funny you should ask.

Pitlor's office abounds with esoteric art and literature, but a common image emerges upon closer inspection: that of a black bird. We see this image in some pottery on the desk as well as in a painting of an anthropomorphized bird (most likely a raven or a crow) hanging on the wall behind our True Detectives.

As Ray might say "I'm no Columbo," but there it is, staring right at us, framed between the detectives just like Pitlor. Yet everyone I spoke to immediately after viewing the episode overlooked it.  As an audience, we are so trained to focus on the actors and their words that we often miss the imagistic discourse happening all around them. I wouldn't be surprised if Pizzolatto deliberately uses images to have conversations as well, just as Kubrick does in The Shining. He certainly did to some degree in True Detective season one, using "devil's nests" to symbolize our captivity and the spiral to suggest the pervading theme of eternal recurrence.

I know what you're thinking: "Dang, Rick Springfield has an exquisite tan!" Well, you're right, but what is a bird painting doing in his office? At this point in the season, many viewers suspect that the bird mask accompanying Caspere on that romp down Mulholland Drive belonged to him.

Now I'm thinking that the painting is there to subliminally establish a connection between Caspere and Pitlor, a connection that grows even more evident in episode four.

While he didn't make a physical appearance, Dr. Pitlor has a strong presence in True Detective's 
fourth episode,"Down Will Come." His name first arises in conversation with Betty Chessani, the daughter of our favorite straightedge mayor. It turns out Betty's biological mother suffered from schizophrenia and was committed to a hospital in Nevada "And that doctor." Betty says, haunted, "She hung herself in there." When asked about her mother's doctor, Betty replies, almost predictably, "His name's Pitlor."

And so establishes connection between Mayor Austin Chessani and Dr. Pitlor, but it doesn't end there. When Ray and Ani return to Panticapaeum (the sweet lodge in the mountains), Eliot reveals that Pitlor actually attended the institute during the '80s, "Researching dynamics of communal living". Part of Chessani's Lodge I think." He goes on to show the detectives a photograph of Pitlor from the time, and lo and behold, Austin Chessani is right there with him.

With so many pieces falling into place, it seems only a matter of time before the chickens come home to roost...and other such idioms. Chessani and Pitlor are linked, and our detectives know it. But what are we to make of it? What else can we assume about the character?

Who exactly is Dr. Pitlor? Do you think he's implicated in the murder of Ben Caspere, or were the knickknacks and paintings in his office simply misdirection? Could he be the evil mastermind behind the transportation deal debacle, or someone else pulling the strings?

Gathering on the Green Review

Review by B. Minett 

Gathering on the Green – Rotary Park

Mequon, WI

July 10, 2015

Concert Notes: 

This concert was the headliner of the first day of Gathering on the Green, a local two-day musical festival at a large, multi-use park outside of Milwaukee. In addition to the nightly concerts, people picnic before the show and there were many tents set up with food to purchase if you hadn’t brought your own. They also have children’s events on the second day of the festival, so this is a very family-oriented event.  

The stage for the concert was set on a small hill – but there wasn’t even an elevated stage; everything was setup at ground level. Reserved seating was “luxurious” white plastic lawn chairs with arm rests (the venue’s description of the seating); there was also a lawn section behind the reserved seating, where you could bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Due to the stage setup and the rigging for the lights, there was a large space between the stage and the reserved seating area, going down the small hill, then up the start of another small hill. Also, from the reserved seating on the sides, it was difficult to see the stage, as the lighting and equipment were in the way; unfortunately, these were the seats that were sold during the RS fan club pre-sale. Fortunately, before the concert began, security allowed fans to move and sit on the grass at the bottom on the hill in front of the stage, with the instructions that we had to stay seated and there could only be one row of people; they also allowed fans to sit on the hill at the sides leading up the stage, behind the roped off security taped area (behind the light rigging) – as long as they didn’t pull on the roping and knock down the lights! This made for an unusual concert seating arrangement – who stays seated at a Rick Springfield concert?! But it was one of the most relaxed concerts I’ve attended. No stage rushing or pushing. And, as a bonus, Rick frequently came off the stage onto the grassy knoll while playing guitar – just as if he were walking around your backyard! He did so when he first walked out, seeing the fans and walking directing down the hill to stand in front of those seated there on the grass while playing the opening music. 

The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert, with sunny, blue skies and not-to-warm temperatures. The concert began before dark – and Rick pointed out a drone in the sky when he first came on-stage - but once it was dark, the bugs were drawn to the lights on the stage and were bothering Rick. He said there were some weird bugs here – this from a man who grew-up in Australia with all its’ weird insects!  

The set list was the same as it’s been at recent full-band shows, with the screen and videos to accompany the songs. I wondered if that was maybe why he hasn’t been changing up the full-band set-list much recently, as it would be more difficult to do so with the videos and lighting effects? Also, most of the band members are still fairly new, and may not know a lot of Rick’s songs, especially since he hasn’t been doing as many shows with the band recently. I would have liked to hear more songs from the Shock Denial Anger Acceptance CD, as were meant to be played live and LOUD. And, I always like to hear more songs that Rick has written, rather than the covers that he plays – though the audience really seemed to like his rendition of Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’. Something else I really noticed at this concert, was while the audience went wild for ‘Jessie’s Girl’, the fans sitting at the bottom of the grassy knoll reacted more enthusiastically to the newer songs on his set list (an observation I’ve heard Rick talk about before). 

A few songs into the concert, Rick noticed a lot of empty seats in the middle section (maybe these were vendor seats?), and told people to move forward into them, as it bothered him to see them empty. He also mentioned early on that everyone didn’t seem as drunk as he expected, since there was the tents with alcohol being served (which speaks well to the family-oriented nature of this festival).  

Rick teased with ‘Jessie’s Girl’ early in the show when he noticed someone getting up and walking toward the back. He said, “You don’t want to go to the bathroom now, because I just might play…” followed by chords to the chorus of ‘Jessie’s Girl’. 

He introduced ‘Our Ship’s Sinking’ by first asking if anyone had heard about the plaque from the Titanic that recently resurfaced. (If you’re a Titanic freak then that info would have shown up at the top on your phone, he said.) He joked about his “geeky” side that was fascinated by Titanic and Star Wars and still lived in his mother’s basement, and he mentioned the rare Star Wars figurine he owns. Then he introduced the song (‘Our Ship’s Sinking’) as being about Star Wars – oops, Rick!  

 In between songs, he asked if anyone had seen him on True Detective, and said his character was a little….“creepy”. He also mentioned that his new CD, Mayhem, would be coming out in January. I was hoping when he said this, that he was introducing a new song from the CD (perhaps ‘Light This Party Up’, that he debuted for fans during the Rickation getaway this past spring) - but alas, it was not to be. It was his introduction to a song from his last CD, ‘I Hate Myself’. He sang the second line as, “Everyone thinks I’m creepy and so do I.” 

In addition to walking out onto the grassy knoll to play guitar many times during the concert, Rick also went into the audience seats more than usual, standing on the chairs to play guitar (such as during the intro to ‘Wild Thing’).  And, of course, he waded quite far out into the seated section during ‘Human Touch’. 

During ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’, Rick first sat on the lap of a security guy sitting in a lawn chair at the side of the stage, and told him the usual line that  “girls like a guy who sings”. Then, when he first went out into the audience, he chose an older gentleman sitting in the front row, who had his arms crossed. He waded far out into the audience to have more people sing, and then on his way back to the stage, he grabbed the hand a little girl sitting on the grass. He brought her up onto the stage with him and first had her dance, while he jumped around like she was doing. After she sang the line, he directed her off stage, joking that she was making him look bad, because she danced better than him.  

When introducing ‘Alyson’, he said this was the only song that he used the actual name of a girl that the song was about – something he knew not to do anymore. At the end of this song, he threw his guitar on the ground in front of the stage; when the audience gasp, he said not to worry; it only landed on the grass.  

When he returned to the stage after his sojourn out in the audience for ‘Human Touch’, he had a lighted hula hoop, that he tried to use – but couldn’t get it to spin. He tried a second time, and still didn’t have the hip action to get it to spin.  

As an introduction to ‘Love Somebody’, Rick asked if anyone had seen any movies recently. Then he talked about being in an upcoming movie, Ricki and the Flash, with Meryl Streep, in theatres on August 7. Little more than that was said about the movie, except that it was better than the last movie he was in.  

Who was there: Rick on lead guitar and vocals, George B on guitar, George N on bass, Jorge P on drums, Tim G on keyboards and guitar, sound guy Mattie, and guitar tech, Ruben. 

What he wore: Rick came out in a black suit jacket, black sleeveless dress shirt with white placket and stitching, black jeans, black leather boots, and round glasses with blue-tinted lenses. He took the jacket off after the first few songs and for the encore, he came back wearing a tight white t-shirt.  

Rick’s hair has obviously grown back from when it was cut for his True Detective role. However, the sides in the front and his sideburns were graying; he also had a shadow of a beard. During the concert, he was constantly slicking back the sides of his hair back with both hands, as the sides were styled a little differently than usual.

Set List:

Living in Oz

I’ve Done Everything For You

I’ll Make You Happy

I Get Excited

Our Ship’s Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar

I Hate Myself

Bop medley: (Bop ‘Til You Drop/ Celebrate Youth/ Calling All Girls/ Jessie’s Girl snippet/ Don’t Walk Away/ State of the Heart/ What Kind of Fool Am I)

Love Is Alright

Surf guitar music)

Wild Thing

Don’t Talk To Strangers

Alyson

Human Touch

Love Somebody

Jessie’s Girl

 

Encore

We Can Work It Out

Kristina