Rock for Ruben Benefit Concert

Rick will be performing at a benefit concert to raise funds for his guitar tech, Ruben Velasco who is battling cancer. 

When: Wednesday, August 20 - 8 pm
Where: House of Blues Sunset Strip

For more information visit Rick's website:
Rock for Ruben Benefit Concert

Sweatin' in Louisville

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Louisville Palace Theatre

Louisville, KY

Photo & Review by B. Minett

 

Set List:

I’ve Done Everything for You

Living in Oz

Will I?

I Get Excited

Our Ship’s Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar (Katy Perry cover)

Happy Birthday (had audience sing to him)

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 Tonight

Surf guitar music

Wild Thing (The Troggs cover)

Human Touch (in audience without guitar)

You and Me (acoustic)

My Father’s Chair (acoustic)

Love Screws Me Up (acoustic)

Don’t Talk to Strangers

Love Somebody

Jessie’s Girl

 - encore

We Can Work It Out (Beatles cover – acoustic)

I’ll Make You Happy

Kristina

 

Concert Notes:

* Opening act: Berlin. They are a new wave band best known for the song “You Take My Breath Away”, in the Top Gun movie from the ‘8os (and I think may have opened for Rick for some shows during the ‘80s, too?). Again tonite, they gave a very hard-rocking show, and were a good preparation for Rick’s music (in case anyone in the audience thought Rick was going to give a laid-back nostalgic performance). The lead singer, Terri Nunn, walked out into the audience again for one song, and really played to the audience during the entire performance. Tonite, they had two video screens set up at the sides of the stage with videos that really added to the performance.

 

* This was the final show in a five-day run of concerts for Rick (two with Pat Benatar followed by three full-band shows), but Rick’s energy level didn’t seem to be lagging at all (though he got laughing about something at the start of the show, and missed singing the first few lines of the first song). The guys in the band seemed a little goofier tonite, and during the final encore song, they all (except the drummer) came to the front of the stage to play and seemed to be imitating Rick for fun.

 

* A few more rose explosions tonite that yesterday nite, though most of the roses were saved for the encore.

 

* Rick took his shirt off before playing the surf guitar music, saying he’s used to it being hot in California, but not as hot as it was here. I heard later that the temperature in Louisville was 98 degrees, with a heat index (ie, “feels like”) temperature of 102 degrees.

 

* When he got back on stage after his walkabout in the audience for ‘Human Touch’, he asked a lady in the front row to hold his acoustic guitar while he put his shirt on. Lucky fan!

 

* The audience tonite seemed to be more local people and not as many hard-core fans, and I think Rick may have noted this, also. When introducing ‘My Father’s Chair’, he didn’t talk about how when the song first came out, many who heard the song at the time hadn’t lost a loved one, but now those same fans listen to it with a new meaning (the intro he’s given in previous shows). Instead, he introduced the song with the story of how he came to write the song (a condensed version of what he wrote in his autobiography) – perhaps realizing that many in the audience didn’t know the story behind the song. At the end of the song, while he wiped away his tears, he said it always gets to him when he sees the picture of his father sitting in his chair (the last photo shown on the video, which Rick turns to look at as he finishes the song).

 

* Also, what made me think that this audience was filled with more local people, was that, while they rocked along and really seemed to enjoy the songs from the ‘80s, they didn’t seem to have the same recognition factor for Rick’s newer music, (from Shock and End of the World CDs) – which are the songs that fans seem to react to more.

 

* During ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’, he brought only one little boy on stage, 6-year-old Mason, who was on stage last nite also. There didn’t seem to be too many young kids in the audience tonite, and Rick recognized Mason and called him on stage by name. Mason got crazy with his dancing tonite; Rick said that he probably didn’t even need to sing with dancing like that (though he did have him sing, too). 

 

* No promotion of his book, Magnificent Vibration, tonite.

 

* There were a few technical issues with guitars again tonite, with guitars having to be changed in the middle of songs. At one point, I noticed George N, the previous guitar tech (and now on bass), look toward the new guitar tech, Nick, as if to say, Come on, already! Get out here and fix this guitar!

 

* Who was there: Rick on lead guitar and vocals, George B on guitar, George N on bass, Jorge P on drums, Paul back on keyboards and guitar, Mattie (sound guy), and new guitar tech guy, Nick.

 

* What he wore: Rick came out in a black leather jacket with zippers, a white v-neck tee, black jeans, black high-top converse sneakers, sunglasses, and 2 bracelets stacked on his left wrist (so what happened to the 10 other bracelets he was wearing just last night?!). He removed the sunglasses after the first song; he took the jacket off after the first three songs; and he took his shirt off for the surf guitar music solo. He remained shirtless until he returned from singing ‘Human Touch’ out in the audience, at which time he put on a light grey v-neck tee. No shirt change for the encore. (I wonder if he might have run out of clean/dry shirts by this time, as after the show for the meet and greet, he was wearing a light-weight jacket zipped all the way up, with no shirt underneath.)

 

[Final note: Another totally inebriated woman at this show (possibly from more than just alcohol ?). Fortunately, the security at this theatre removed her early on into the show, after she had been warned several times when climbing over seats, trying to run on-stage, posing for her mate to take photos and yelling at him when he wasn’t, and grabbing Rick when he started out into the audience (after which, Rick avoided that side of the audience).]

"You take my breath away" - Indianapolis

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Murat Theatre

Indianapolis, IN

Photo & Review by B. Minett

 

Set list:

I’ve Done Everything for You

Living in Oz

Will I?

I Get Excited

Our Ship’s Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar (Katy Perry cover)

Happy Birthday (had audience sing to him)

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 Tonight

Surf guitar music

Wild Thing (The Troggs cover)

Human Touch (in audience without guitar)

You and Me (acoustic)

My Father’s Chair (acoustic)

Love Screws Me Up (acoustic)

Don’t Talk to Strangers

Love Somebody

Jessie’s Girl

 - encore

We Can Work It Out (Beatles cover – acoustic)

I’ll Make You Happy

Kristina

 

Concert notes:

* Opening act: Berlin. They are a new wave band best known for the ‘80s song “You Take My Breath Away”, from the Top Gun movie (and I think may have opened for Rick for some shows during the ‘80s, too?). They gave a very hard-rocking show, and were a good preparation for Rick’s music (in case anyone in the audience thought Rick was going to give a laid-back nostalgic performance). The lead singer, Terri Nunn, even walked out into the audience for one song, and really played to the audience during the entire performance. 

 

* When Rick was playing the surf guitar music, scenes from High Tide (the TV show Rick starred in during the ‘90s) were playing on the video screen. This is the third show I’ve seen with this similar set list, but the first time I noticed the video – guess I was always too busy before watching Rick play guitar to notice what was on the screen behind him!

 

* During ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’, Rick called up two girls who were sitting near the stage - then was surprised when two other kids showed up on stage, one from each side of the stage. He arranged the kids on stage by size and age (12-, 10-, 8-, and 6–years-old), before having them dance and sing.

 

* I was sitting near the 10-year-old girl, and when Rick played Katy Perry’s song ‘Roar’, she was singing along, more so than anytime else during the concert. At one point was Rick was in the audience, this girl gave him the tiara she was wearing, and Rick put it on his head, and asked if it was a good look for him (then gave it back to her).

 

* No promotion of his book, Magnificent Vibration, tonite. Not many rose explosions, either.

 

* Who was there: Rick on lead guitar and vocals, George B on guitar, George N on bass, Jorge P on drums, Paul back on keyboards and guitar, Mattie (sound guy), and new guitar tech guy, Nick. 

 

* What he wore: Rick came out in a black leather jacket with a lapel, a white v-neck tee, black jeans, black high-top converse sneakers, and 12 bracelets stacked on his left wrist. [Read reviews for previous nite and next nite to see why I noted the number of bracelets he was wearing.] He took the jacket off after the first three songs. He came out for the encore wearing a light grey tee with Malibu printed on it (and a hole under one sleeve), and his glasses; he took off his glasses after the first encore song. 

 

[Final note: I don’t recall as much about tonite’s show because I spent a good part of it trying to dodge the two drunken women beside me, who were constantly jumping around, flaying their arms, flinging their hair, screaming at Rick and each other, and almost hitting and bumping into those around them. One finally sat down when Rick was playing the acoustic portion, only to first pass out, then vomit – at which point, security finally decided to carry her out of the theatre.]

Waukegan, IL review

Friday, July 11, 2014

Genesee Theatre

Waukegan, IL

Photo & Review by B. Minett

 

Set List:

I’ve Done Everything for You

Living in Oz

Will I?

I Get Excited

Our Ship’s Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar (Katy Perry cover)

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 Tonight

Surf guitar music

Wild Thing (The Troggs cover)

Human Touch (in audience without guitar)

Happy Birthday (had audience sing to him)

You and Me (acoustic)

My Father’s Chair (acoustic)

Love Screws Me Up (acoustic)

Don’t Talk to Strangers

Love Somebody

Jessie’s Girl (shirtless for this song only)

 - encore

We Can Work It Out (Beatles cover - acoustic)

I’ll Make You Happy

Kristina

 

Concert Notes: 

* Opening act: William Beckett. He is a local Chicago musician who opened for Rick during the Chicago “Stripped Down” shows, and is also an opening act for some of the Rick with Pat Benatar shows this summer. Rick’s guitar player, George B, joined William for one song, ‘Ordinary World’ (a Duran Duran cover).

 

* There were several technical problems tonite, the first of which was that the opening video did not play, though the audio could be heard. Having seen this new opening before, it lost all the dramatic effects without the video, and just the music seemed like a strange way to open the show (though with the video, it’s explosive! – those of you who have seen it, know what I mean).

 

* There was also a problem with the ‘Jessie’s Girl’ intro video, where different clips of shows that have used the song are shown. Again, the audio was playing without the video for most of the intro, and the video was in and out, so it lost the effect that it usually has.

 

* And, before beginning to sing ‘You and Me’, Rick said, I should see rose petals here, because the video that plays during the song had not started. Those are just the video problems that were most noticeable to me; there may have been others, but my focus was usually on watching Rick!

 

* Many guitar issues tonite, also. Rick had to change out guitars several times in the middle of songs, and for the final encore song, after two guitar changes, he didn’t use any guitar at all. During the guitar solo part of that song (‘Kristina’), he went behind George B and messed with his guitar as George was trying to play.

 

* When Rick returned on stage after his walkabout during ‘Human Touch’, he held up his book, Magnificent Vibration, that was set on his stool, and said he said he guessed now was the time to promote the book – but he didn’t say much else about it.

 

* During ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’, he brought only one little girl on stage, 5-year-old Faith. She had been sitting on the floor up front with her mother, and had a flashing/spinning light she played with all night (which Rick said had kept distracting him). There didn’t seem to be too many other young kids in the audience tonite.

 

* Rick has begun introducing ‘Love Somebody’ by saying that the movie Hard to Hold was the $10-million video for this song.

 

* Rick’s energy level seemed to be very high tonite, with lots of kicks and jumps and bouncing around the stage.

 

* There was an explosion of rose explosions throughout the show tonite.

 

* Who was there: Rick on lead guitar and vocals, George B on guitar, George N on bass, Jorge P on drums,  Paul back on keyboards and guitar, Mattie (sound guy), and new guitar tech guy, Nick.

 

* What he wore: Rick came out in a black leather jacket with zippers, white v-neck tee, blue jeans with holes worn in knees, black high-top converse sneakers, and 9 bracelets stacked on his left wrist. [Read reviews for the next two nites to see why I noted the number of bracelets he was wearing.] He took the jacket off after the first three songs, and he took the shirt off for ‘Jessie’s Girl’. He came out for the encore wearing a light grey v-neck tee, and his glasses; he only had the glasses on for the first encore song. 

Holy Toledo

Hollywood Casino

Toledo, OH 7/10/14

Review by Darla Gerken

Photo by Mike Gerken 

This was another Rick and Pat Benatar show. Things seem to be right on the mark time wise with these shows.  We had a "Rick Virgin" with us tonight, makes for a fun time to watch their expressions. She now is a Rick fan, our job is complete!

There seemed to be a few technical difficulties at the beginning of the show as Rick announced that they would be taking a short break after only a couple songs.  He came back on stage and said they had too many umbrellas over the equipment causing the left side sound to be lost. He then said we're doing the rest of the show naked, I'll start and he opened his shirt. Sorry girls, that never happened!  

As Rick reminded us about his ADD, he said the trucks going by were freaking him out. He asked, "am I playing on a freeway?" The casino is actually right along Interstate 75 and the concert was in the parking lot.  

He said that he had a birthday coming up soon, well not for a while.  He asked us if we knew how old he was going to be. A lot of us screamed 65 and he shushed us.  Rick said he would be eligible for Medicaid.  Wrong.....we need to tell him it's Medicare. He's a long way from being eligible for Medicaid..........too rich for that! Can you imagine him walking into the Social Security office and saying "I'm Rick Springfield and I'd like to apply for Medicaid".  I'd love to be there for that one.

During the BOP medley (Celebrate Youth) where he points to the "younger and older woman, it seems he always points my way.  I must be paranoid because I'm quite a bit older than most of you gals.   

Rick introduced Mitch his new guitar tech, the ladies should love him, cute blond. I have to say that I miss Rodger, but Jorge is an awesome replacement. He really seems to enjoy his job.   

The sky was beautiful last night when he sang My Father's Chair. The clouds opened up a hole as if our loved ones were looking down on us. I think Rick would agree with me, that was a special moment.  (See picture with this review).   

Unfortunately Neil Giraldo did not come out and play with Rick on Jessie's Girl. Neil did mention that it is going to happen. My thoughts are that maybe their last show of the tour may be the perfect time.

 

Set List

IDEFY

I Get Excited

Our Ship's Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar

Happy Birthday

I Hate Myself

Bob Medley

Love is Alright Tonight

Surf Music

Wild Thing

DTTS

My Father's Chair

Love Screws Me Up

Human Touch

Love Somebody

Jessie's Girl

 

Hot Night in Cincy

PNC Pavilion 7/8/14

Cincinnati, OH

Review & photo by Darla Gerken 

Cameras were not allowed at the concert due to Pat Benatar's request, but we were fortunate to get a few from the sound check earlier in the day.  

It was a hot muggy night in Cincinnati, sweat was rollin.  It wasn't long before Rick asked "is it hot and who else is hot?", cheers erupted.  It was only a matter of about three songs before he stripped off his new red shirt that has been getting rave reviews. He's the one who looks hot in red!  After singing a few songs he announced that he had several special guests coming out on stage, a local firefighter and his girlfriend.  Rick said he knew where this was going as the firefighter got down on his knee and proposed marriage. Luckily she said yes. Rick said he needed to get a preacher's license or become a captain of a boat to perform weddings on stage. 

Rick brought five young girls on stage for DTTS, I recognized several of them as "DTTS stage vets".  

The set list was shorter than usual since his allotted time was around 70 minutes. This is just my opinion, but I wish he would have skipped the surf music and Wild Thing and sung something from VIO or SDAA.  But should I really complain, I was at a Rick show! 

Set List

IDEFY

I Get Excited

Our Ship's Sinking

Affair of the Heart

Roar

I Hate Myself

Bop Medley

Love is Alright Tonight

Surf Music

Wild Thing

Human Touch

Love Screws Me Up

DTTS

Love Somebody

Jessie's Girl

Kristina

Rick Springfield - Canandaigua, NY 7/6/14 Review

RS Concert Review

July 6, 2014 - Canandaigua, NY
By Kathleen M.

The CMAC ‘covered’ outdoor venue is one of the nicest outdoor venues I have seen.  Decent stadium style seating with ample room to move (compared to other outdoor venues I have been to) and enough overhead shelter to protect you from the elements.  The VIP parking also had plenty of parking spots and there was a little tailgate action happening when we arrived, even though the website stressed ‘no tailgating’.

The show started promptly at 7:00.  William Beckett was already on stage when we arrived to warm up the crowd with his beautiful voice and magical, witty charm.  At one point he was joined by George Bernhardt (RS guitar player) and Brett Tuggle (original RS keyboard player when Jessie’s Girl was topping the charts.  Brett was kindly filling in for Paul Trudeau before heading back to his current gig with Fleetwood Mac.  Together the three sang ‘Ordinary Day’ – a Duran Duran cover with all 3 playing guitar.  Do not pass up an opportunity to see William perform.  He will not disappoint you.  William already has over 27,000 followers on his public facebook page located here:  https://www.facebook.com/williambeckettmusic

Rick took the stage once William finished at approximately 7:30.  It was very odd to see his show in the daylight, and end while the night was still young.  He was wearing black pants, a black leather jacked, dark sunglasses and a sleeveless black/dark grey button up shirt.  The dark wardrobe really made his red guitar pop.  Shortly into the performance he did his first red rose explosion, which complimented his red axe during the first song on the setlist ‘Ive done Everything For You’.

Keeping his jacket on, he slipped into a new electric blue guitar to perform I Get Excited’.  While he played that song I recalled days gone by when fans would be up on stage, one being the IGE Girl who would find the fortunate place of being sandwiched between Rick and his guitar.  I’m pretty sure that the days of the IGE Girl are over. 

When the song ended he removed his jacket and proceeded to sing Our Ship’s Sinking, followed by Affair of the Heart and more roses.  Still wearing his shirt at this point, I begin to hear a familiar tune with a catchy beat that I knew I loved, but it took a moment for me comprehend what song was playing.  And….it was not one of his.  It was the first of two cover songs performed that night – ROAR by Katy Perry. Surely by now she has to know that Rick is covering her song at his shows.  I wonder what her thoughts would be, watching him perform it live. 

He discussed his upcoming milestone birthday and how he would be making use of Medicaid and eligible for old age security now that he was a tax paying citizen before asking the crowd to sing him an early Happy Birthday.  Next up was I Hate Myself.  He encouraged the crowd to sing along in the usual spots.

Rick has woven together a few different medleys for his live shows, and one of those medleys was next on the set list.  I believe this one started with Celebrate Youth.  Love Is Alright followed the Medley.  Somewhere during these songs he took his blue guitar and was once again aiming it like a rifle.

The second cover song is always a crowd favourite, even though it is not an original Springfield tune.  I felt a

little more energy circulate through the crowd, and saw a few more bodies grooving as he performed Wild Thing.  I think by now his shirt was off, and remained off for the duration of the show.

While Rick began to sing Don’t Talk To Strangers, you could see his eyes scan the crowd for his victims which usually included a child or two and a security guard.  The security guard was nailed first and did a great job.  The stage was not conducive to easy entry into the crowd and the majority of the other victims approached the end of the stage where he was perched for a chance to sing the infamous Don’t Talk To Strangers line.  It looked like a bunch of baby birds in a nest looking up with their mouths open.  Resuming his space centre stage, he sports a little girl in pink that he encourages to come down to the other end of the stage so that he could help her get onto the actual stage with him.  He asked the young girl her name (cant recall what it was) before suggesting they do a little dance prior to her singing.  She sang, and left the stage.

Love Screws Me Up was on the set list but I cannot recall if he sang it.  (He probably did).  Next was Human Touch.  A good portion of this song was sung onstage and it looked as if he was contemplating the easiest routes to exit and enter the stage so that he could cruise through the audience.  He made his way to the back of the seating area and returned to the stage without incident.  When he first took the stage I noticed quite a few empty seats towards the rear but by the time the last act (Pat & Neil) finished, many more seats had filled up.  Love Somebody was the final song before the Jessie’s Girl encore.  Kristina was the second scheduled encore song but he did not sing it.  End of Act 2.

The crowd was told that for the first four songs performed by Pat Benetar and Neil Giraldo, photos and video were strictly prohibited and anyone caught breaking the rules would be escorted out.  The first 4 rows were not permitted to stand during the first four songs as well.  Once the first four songs were over, it appeared that security were still trying to police the not picture and video policy, but they gave up shortly thereafter.

These two performers still scream talent.  Pat’s voice was strong and clear, and Neil’s guitar playing could have set the stage on fire if the Gods would have allowed it.  Neil introduced the crowd to his red guitar, the guitar that Jessie’s Girl was originally blasted on.  He told of his early days, including those with Rick.  Pat also shared some wonderful stories about her life and relationship with Neil.  The bond these two have is admirable and you could see the sincerity in their eyes, and hear it in their voices when they spoke…so much love and respect for each other. 

The video documentary that played prior to Pat & Neil taking the stage was packed full of history and details.  It was really well done and a great introduction to their performance.  I did not write down their set list but it contained everything you expected it would.  It felt longer than Rick’s performance too.  Towards the end the crowd was allowed to approach the front of the stage, thinking it would be for one final song.  The duo continued to play for quite some time.  They were feeding off the energy of the crowd and were very appreciative for all of the support. – One performance I would see again and again as I think you would pick up on something new with each subsequent viewing.

Atlantic City review

Revel Casino Hotel
Atlantic City, NJ 7/5/14
Review by Mindy Latman

Show was great. Didn't bring my camera, I had heard that Pat Benatar doesn't want pictures taken and people were getting their cameras taken away.  And I didn't want that to happen to me.  When I got there, I found out that we would be allowed for Rick.  Then after he was done, I guess they expected people to put them away (p.s. they didn't).

No opening act. Rick was on first and told the story about how the airline lost their luggage for 4 days and they finally got it back.  His eye must be better because he wasn't wearing sunglasses. As usual, the show was awesome. Went shirtless after a while.

Set List
I've Done Everything for You
I Get Excited
Our Ship's Sinking
Affair of the Heart
Roar
I Hate Myself
Bob Medley
Surf Music
Wild Thing
Don't Talk to Strangers
Love Somebody
Human Touch

Encore was Jessie's Girl (I was wondering/hoping that Neil Giraldo would come out since he played on it on the album. But he didn't.  I just saw on his FB page that he would be in a few days.  They were setting up their set list for their own set. Pat had said that they like to mix it up a bit and play different songs.)

Tribune Chronicle - Warren, OH