Wednesday, July 9, 2014

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.




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