Lots of Buzz happening after Rick Springfield's appearance on Oprah yesterday. Rick hit the #1 spot on Google's "hot trends".Here are links to some of the discussions being generated:
A fan blog for all the latest news
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Oprah Buzz
Lots of Buzz happening after Rick Springfield's appearance on Oprah yesterday. Rick hit the #1 spot on Google's "hot trends".
Parents of slain soldier thank pop star for honoring son
Lancasteronline.com
By JANE HOLAHAN, Staff
The last time Brandon Hardy was at the American Music Theatre, in February 2006, it was one of the happiest days of his life.He asked his girlfriend, Samantha DiGrazio, to marry him, courtesy of one of the big video screens in the theater, and she accepted.Jill and Warren Hardy's visit to the American Music Theatre Sunday night was a bittersweet occasion.The Cochranville couple were there to personally thank rock musician Rick Springfield for making the video "Christmas With You," featuring the names and pictures of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Their son, Brandon, was one of them.He had spent five years in the Air Force before joining the Marines, feeling there was more he could do for his country. He was killed at age 25 by a roadside bomb in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq in April 2006, before he could marry Samantha."We wanted to thank him for honoring our son," said Jill Hardy. "I had
the picture of Brandon that's in the video and I said, 'This is our son,' and he said, 'I know Brandon Hardy.' I felt he was touched by our being there."Springfield, who grew up in a military family in Australia, told the Hardys he has kids of his own and he can't imagine how it feels to lose a child.As the second anniversary of her son's death approaches, Mrs. Hardy said it doesn't get any easier to talk about her oldest child.
"It punches you in the gut," she said. "But you know, when I talk about Brandon, that's when I feel the strongest, if that makes sense, because I know Brandon was so proud of what he did."It is the pride in her son and all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and a strong belief that they should be honored for that service that makes Mrs. Hardy speak publicly about her son, even as it tears her apart.It's why she wanted to thank Springfield, even if she wasn't really a fan of the rocker who had a slew of hits in the 1980s, including the No. 1 "Jessie's Girl," and a role in the soap "General Hospital.""I knew who he was, but I wasn't particularly a fan," Mrs. Hardy said. "But I sure am now. "The concert was good she said, but maybe a little loud, at least for her and her husband."He's an awesome guitar player though," she said with a laugh.These meetings, including one with President Bush when he visited Lancaster in October, along with the ceremonies she attends and the anniversaries she observes, can bring on plenty of pain, but they bring pride too."I will do whatever it takes to support the troops," she said. "And I just appreciate that someone like Rick Springfield, who has the resources to do it, wants to honor these men and women so publicly."Mrs. Hardy said a deep faith in God has kept her and her family, which includes son Chad, 18, and daughters Kristin, 23, and Kari, 21, strong."Without the lord in my life, I would not be able to get through this," she said succinctly. "I know without a doubt, that I will see Brandon some day."She relies on her faith to give her strength."Every time I think I can't talk about it one more time, God says yes you can and Brandon says yes you can."That doesn't mean she doesn't have tough times."On my lowest days, the lord always sends someone to help me through it, a card in the mail, flowers," Mrs. Hardy said. "And one day he sent Rick Springfield."Mrs. Hardy's strength will be tested again. Son Chad is going to Marine bootcamp in June.Like his brother, Chad has a deep desire to serve his country and is willing to face the prospect that he also might pay the ultimate price."I told myself I could handle it," Mrs. Hardy said. "And I am so proud of him. How can I let him go? How can I not? It's what he is called to do. I can't change that."
Their son, Brandon, was one of them.He had spent five years in the Air Force before joining the Marines, feeling there was more he could do for his country. He was killed at age 25 by a roadside bomb in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq in April 2006, before he could marry Samantha."We wanted to thank him for honoring our son," said Jill Hardy. "I had
the picture of Brandon that's in the video and I said, 'This is our son,' and he said, 'I know Brandon Hardy.' I felt he was touched by our being there."Springfield, who grew up in a military family in Australia, told the Hardys he has kids of his own and he can't imagine how it feels to lose a child.As the second anniversary of her son's death approaches, Mrs. Hardy said it doesn't get any easier to talk about her oldest child."It punches you in the gut," she said. "But you know, when I talk about Brandon, that's when I feel the strongest, if that makes sense, because I know Brandon was so proud of what he did."It is the pride in her son and all the men and women who serve in the armed forces and a strong belief that they should be honored for that service that makes Mrs. Hardy speak publicly about her son, even as it tears her apart.It's why she wanted to thank Springfield, even if she wasn't really a fan of the rocker who had a slew of hits in the 1980s, including the No. 1 "Jessie's Girl," and a role in the soap "General Hospital.""I knew who he was, but I wasn't particularly a fan," Mrs. Hardy said. "But I sure am now. "The concert was good she said, but maybe a little loud, at least for her and her husband."He's an awesome guitar player though," she said with a laugh.These meetings, including one with President Bush when he visited Lancaster in October, along with the ceremonies she attends and the anniversaries she observes, can bring on plenty of pain, but they bring pride too."I will do whatever it takes to support the troops," she said. "And I just appreciate that someone like Rick Springfield, who has the resources to do it, wants to honor these men and women so publicly."Mrs. Hardy said a deep faith in God has kept her and her family, which includes son Chad, 18, and daughters Kristin, 23, and Kari, 21, strong."Without the lord in my life, I would not be able to get through this," she said succinctly. "I know without a doubt, that I will see Brandon some day."She relies on her faith to give her strength."Every time I think I can't talk about it one more time, God says yes you can and Brandon says yes you can."That doesn't mean she doesn't have tough times."On my lowest days, the lord always sends someone to help me through it, a card in the mail, flowers," Mrs. Hardy said. "And one day he sent Rick Springfield."Mrs. Hardy's strength will be tested again. Son Chad is going to Marine bootcamp in June.Like his brother, Chad has a deep desire to serve his country and is willing to face the prospect that he also might pay the ultimate price."I told myself I could handle it," Mrs. Hardy said. "And I am so proud of him. How can I let him go? How can I not? It's what he is called to do. I can't change that."
CONTACT US: jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016
Also, here is a link to a news story prior to the day of the concert:
http://www.wgal.com/video/15387133/index.html
Also, here is a link to a news story prior to the day of the concert:
http://www.wgal.com/video/15387133/index.html
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Rick on Oprah
Today is finally the day that Rick's appearance on Oprah is being aired.Check out the following links that are on Oprah's website.
To see some pictures from the show along with some information, check this out:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200802/20080226/slide_20080226_350_101.jhtml
To see a video clip, check this out:
http://www2.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=1944&category=14
To see some backstage footage go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYLDk2vL_g4
To leave a comment on the Oprah website, go here:
http://www.oprah.com/community/thread/23903
Monday, February 25, 2008
Rick Springfield - Dearborn, MI
Dearborn, MI 2/23/08
Ford Community Art Center
Ford Community Art Center
Review by Michelle Porchia
Photo by Jen Haskin
There was no opening act this night, not even the Squirts. :-( The show started out with what sounded almost like the intro to the video montage, without the video. Little snippets of Rick tunes, interspersed with Nomad music/drum beats. I think I read somewhere that someone said this was the 'old' intro. I'm also thinking he must've not used this one much, as the old one I remember is the Nomad music. No matter. You know you're gonna see him in a few seconds - it could be dead silence and my heart would still start pounding.
He took the stage to Who Killed Rock N' Roll. No surprise there...and I love the new addition to the wardrobe of the brown long-sleeved top though. Very yummy! That song seems to go over very well here in Detroit. Lots of screams & woo-hoos from the crowd. (Or maybe it's just that *he took the stage high*?) On to Itsalwaysomething -- a favorite of mine. I'm so glad he's added this one back into the set list for the time being. It appears he still performs the signature move at the 'soul of a gigolo' line as well! Next up, Affair of the Heart. I've been going to these shows for so long, I remember this as the intro song. When this starts I always have this little thought of 'now the show can begin'. It's almost as if the first two were warm up's for the show. After AOTH, Alyson. Another fave. Why do these *old* songs always seem as if I'm hearing them for the first time?
Then we move on to IDEFY. Lots of crowd points...from us to him, him to us. The song feeling is mutual for some fans in attendance. After that, Rock of Life. The crowd sings along here with Hey -Woo's! After ROL, it appeared as if Rick was going into Red House - lots of strumming and solo-ing with the guitar, and doing that little riff that sounds a lot like April 24th to me. But he surprised us all by going into "Crossroads" -the Eric Clapton/Cream song. It rocked! Actually, it more than rocked - it was downright awesome and on par with the original. I'm one of those fans that is usually disappointed when yet another cover gets added to the set list rather than one of Rick's tunes - but I have to say that this one really impressed me.
While we're still trying to recover from being blown away by Crossroads the opening notes to Living in Oz started up! How fabulous to have this in the middle of the set, rather than as an encore song. (Although it's an awesome encore tune as well!) After LIO, Kristina. Another crowd fave I believe. The roars have now become deafening, we are just eating this man up. Then we were treated to Red House. As always, a heated and soulful performance. He was wailing on his guitar at one point almost as if he was venting some pent-up frustrations. Into DTTS that includes the required sing-along extended version. Rick wandered into the crowd and plucked out some of the cutest little girls in the Detroit area, all willing to ham it up with him at the microphone. At one point Rick labeled them "future American Idol competitors". What was really cute was the two who came up on stage with him once he made his way back. Rick's impression of a little girl swaying back & forth and looking at her feet is hilarious. He gave one of the little girls a stuffed devil that was placed on the stage and the crowd went "Awwww". He said, "That was cute. Let's do that again." So he took it from her, and gave it back and got a bigger Awwww. Once the sugar high of all that cuteness started to wear off, Rick and the band went into the Medley.
After the Medley, George appeared ready to hook Rick up to his remote mike. Rick decided to do a little "I Can't Explain" by the Who first. Then Rick stated it was time for the gay moment of the show, and lifted his arms & guitar for George. The band went into the beginning of the Bay City Rollers "Saturday Night" to which Rick sang along to until he was ready to move on. We heard the prerequisite "I did a movie in the 80's...blah blah...Hard to Swallow" and then Love Somebody started up. He started on his crowd walkabout.
Rick makes his way over to where we are during Love Somebody. He is now straddling the arms of the seat of the woman 3 seats from me, who has remained seated. Her expression looks like a cross between horrified and turned on. It's here that he stays and does his cell phone 'bit'. He asks for a phone, and someone hands him one. He plays a bit of My Generation with the cell phone, and then proceeds to make a phone call. At first he was going to call "home" asking if anyone was home and the woman said her husband was. So he said, "Well, he knows where you are, that won't work." Then he sees AVON in her list. So he starts yelling out, "Rick Springfield calling!" Instead of Avon calling. He gets a recording, and leaves a message about how he doesn't need to enter his account number since he's RICK SPRINGFIELD (and the crowd roars). The whole time he is still standing on this woman's chair. The crowd is surging so much that I almost end up in her husband's lap at least twice. (apologizing the whole time). While all this is going on, an older couple is making their way to the stage. Rick notices them when they walk across to Matt. Matt introduces them as The Kramers. Rick then tells the audience that Matt is from Detroit (Matt corrected him and said Warren, MI) and that 1/2 of us there probably knew that as we were related to Matt anyway. Matt hands Mr. Kramer a guitar and Mrs. Kramer a tambourine. They pretend to play along to MG. Matt tells Rick to play Some Enchanted Evening, to which Rick knows-not-at-all. I think they got one verse out.
Rick then says it's a good time for Human Touch. He covers most of the main floor during HT. He then makes his way back to the front to end HT and begin Jessie's Girl. It's total pandemonium in the crowd now...we've just received the HT and now the familiar notes drive everyone into a frenzy. He pauses after the first stanza to do the 'drive every woman crazy/heavy breathing' bit. He leaves the stage after JG to the sound of the excited (?) breathing played before the encore. It's almost as if it's in sync with the crowd. After what seemed like ages, the band with Rick takes the stage once again. Rick is now wearing a white t-shirt that has the Australian flag on it. Above the flag it says "Australian" and below, "and cute too". The familiar notes of I'll Make You Happy start up. Once again, the crowd roars. After IMYH - Love is Alright Tonite -complete with the preamble of "the only party song I've ever written". Rick leaves the stage after a big hug, to the beginning notes of Jesus Saves being piped in on the venue's speakers.
There was no opening act this night, not even the Squirts. :-( The show started out with what sounded almost like the intro to the video montage, without the video. Little snippets of Rick tunes, interspersed with Nomad music/drum beats. I think I read somewhere that someone said this was the 'old' intro. I'm also thinking he must've not used this one much, as the old one I remember is the Nomad music. No matter. You know you're gonna see him in a few seconds - it could be dead silence and my heart would still start pounding.
He took the stage to Who Killed Rock N' Roll. No surprise there...and I love the new addition to the wardrobe of the brown long-sleeved top though. Very yummy! That song seems to go over very well here in Detroit. Lots of screams & woo-hoos from the crowd. (Or maybe it's just that *he took the stage high*?) On to Itsalwaysomething -- a favorite of mine. I'm so glad he's added this one back into the set list for the time being. It appears he still performs the signature move at the 'soul of a gigolo' line as well! Next up, Affair of the Heart. I've been going to these shows for so long, I remember this as the intro song. When this starts I always have this little thought of 'now the show can begin'. It's almost as if the first two were warm up's for the show. After AOTH, Alyson. Another fave. Why do these *old* songs always seem as if I'm hearing them for the first time?
Then we move on to IDEFY. Lots of crowd points...from us to him, him to us. The song feeling is mutual for some fans in attendance. After that, Rock of Life. The crowd sings along here with Hey -Woo's! After ROL, it appeared as if Rick was going into Red House - lots of strumming and solo-ing with the guitar, and doing that little riff that sounds a lot like April 24th to me. But he surprised us all by going into "Crossroads" -the Eric Clapton/Cream song. It rocked! Actually, it more than rocked - it was downright awesome and on par with the original. I'm one of those fans that is usually disappointed when yet another cover gets added to the set list rather than one of Rick's tunes - but I have to say that this one really impressed me.
While we're still trying to recover from being blown away by Crossroads the opening notes to Living in Oz started up! How fabulous to have this in the middle of the set, rather than as an encore song. (Although it's an awesome encore tune as well!) After LIO, Kristina. Another crowd fave I believe. The roars have now become deafening, we are just eating this man up. Then we were treated to Red House. As always, a heated and soulful performance. He was wailing on his guitar at one point almost as if he was venting some pent-up frustrations. Into DTTS that includes the required sing-along extended version. Rick wandered into the crowd and plucked out some of the cutest little girls in the Detroit area, all willing to ham it up with him at the microphone. At one point Rick labeled them "future American Idol competitors". What was really cute was the two who came up on stage with him once he made his way back. Rick's impression of a little girl swaying back & forth and looking at her feet is hilarious. He gave one of the little girls a stuffed devil that was placed on the stage and the crowd went "Awwww". He said, "That was cute. Let's do that again." So he took it from her, and gave it back and got a bigger Awwww. Once the sugar high of all that cuteness started to wear off, Rick and the band went into the Medley.
After the Medley, George appeared ready to hook Rick up to his remote mike. Rick decided to do a little "I Can't Explain" by the Who first. Then Rick stated it was time for the gay moment of the show, and lifted his arms & guitar for George. The band went into the beginning of the Bay City Rollers "Saturday Night" to which Rick sang along to until he was ready to move on. We heard the prerequisite "I did a movie in the 80's...blah blah...Hard to Swallow" and then Love Somebody started up. He started on his crowd walkabout.
Rick makes his way over to where we are during Love Somebody. He is now straddling the arms of the seat of the woman 3 seats from me, who has remained seated. Her expression looks like a cross between horrified and turned on. It's here that he stays and does his cell phone 'bit'. He asks for a phone, and someone hands him one. He plays a bit of My Generation with the cell phone, and then proceeds to make a phone call. At first he was going to call "home" asking if anyone was home and the woman said her husband was. So he said, "Well, he knows where you are, that won't work." Then he sees AVON in her list. So he starts yelling out, "Rick Springfield calling!" Instead of Avon calling. He gets a recording, and leaves a message about how he doesn't need to enter his account number since he's RICK SPRINGFIELD (and the crowd roars). The whole time he is still standing on this woman's chair. The crowd is surging so much that I almost end up in her husband's lap at least twice. (apologizing the whole time). While all this is going on, an older couple is making their way to the stage. Rick notices them when they walk across to Matt. Matt introduces them as The Kramers. Rick then tells the audience that Matt is from Detroit (Matt corrected him and said Warren, MI) and that 1/2 of us there probably knew that as we were related to Matt anyway. Matt hands Mr. Kramer a guitar and Mrs. Kramer a tambourine. They pretend to play along to MG. Matt tells Rick to play Some Enchanted Evening, to which Rick knows-not-at-all. I think they got one verse out.
Rick then says it's a good time for Human Touch. He covers most of the main floor during HT. He then makes his way back to the front to end HT and begin Jessie's Girl. It's total pandemonium in the crowd now...we've just received the HT and now the familiar notes drive everyone into a frenzy. He pauses after the first stanza to do the 'drive every woman crazy/heavy breathing' bit. He leaves the stage after JG to the sound of the excited (?) breathing played before the encore. It's almost as if it's in sync with the crowd. After what seemed like ages, the band with Rick takes the stage once again. Rick is now wearing a white t-shirt that has the Australian flag on it. Above the flag it says "Australian" and below, "and cute too". The familiar notes of I'll Make You Happy start up. Once again, the crowd roars. After IMYH - Love is Alright Tonite -complete with the preamble of "the only party song I've ever written". Rick leaves the stage after a big hug, to the beginning notes of Jesus Saves being piped in on the venue's speakers.
Rick Springfield Rocks Amish Country
Photo by Allisyn Pletch
Review by Rosie Malthaner
The day started out with a sound check. When we arrived we were told the guys were running late. We found out later that their plane had to be turned around due to some problem with the door. When they finally arrived we got the show going. They guys got to work and Ronnie offered to send Rick to dinner after he did his thing with us but he declined and said he would stay to sound check. The guys in the bad were all in playful moods joking and playing around on the stage as they got things set up. Rick was gracious and took lots of pictures with us and did the autograph thing. Looked at all the goodies he received. It was a small group of people. When they were finally ready for him, they rehearsed Affair of the Heart and most of WKRR. It was a great sound check and a little longer than most because they were late and we got to see the whole thing. As we were leaving about 6, fans were already arriving at the venue. Rick still needed to shower and eat so we knew we would be on "Rick time" from here on out.
Back for the show and yes, it was running late as expected. But the show started and Rick and the guys were on fire. He played about 4 songs before really talking to the audience. He talked about the cruise and how he was really looking forward to it. And all the celebs that would be there, Jackie Z, Kimberly, John Waite and his dear friend Doug Davidson. He also threatened to have "Naked" night, but I wouldn't hold my breath. lol
He had the white shirt with black vest on, which I love! Pretty good set list. He made his way into the crowd for DTTS where he strode over a man that didn't really want to sing but he got him to in the end. Lots of kids in the audience and he tried to hit as many as he could for a chance at DTTS. Then when he got back on stage he brought up the most adorable little girl, she was about 4. He asked her to dance and she said NO!. He got her to sing though. The stage got rushed a few songs before this as there was absolutely no security.
After DTTS the wrong mic was put back on the stand and it took a few minutes to get that fixed but Rick kept playing. He once again cut his hand (I think this is becoming a habit so if you have front row seats, bring band aids. lol) Someone gave him a large band aid and he wanted to know what kind of injury was required to use it. George then appeared with one but he was too late. I think Rick and the guys were a little punchy from their travels that day because Rick was really active on the stage, doing lots of dance moves and kicks. At one point Rick pretended to collapse on the stage. They guys were goofing around as well every chance they got. Someone handed Rick a fan club folder from the 80's and he proceeded to go through the whole thing and mentioned that one of the pictures in there, his mother has on her wall in Australia.
It took George two tries to get the head set right for Rick's venture into the crowd. Rick stayed on stage for most of Love Somebody and then ventured out. Rick was yelling at Rodger from the audience because he kept banging the drums. What Rick didn't realize was that Matt had brought two little girls up on stage to play the tambourine and Rodger was trying to get his attention. He did his standard cell call and he made it quite far back before retreating to the stage. Once back on we got our standard Jessie's Girl and band intro.
Back on stage for a two song encore!!! I thought Rick and the guys really put on a great show. It was great to see old friends and make a few news ones too. Can't wait for the triple header in March now!
Set list: (not necessarily in the correct order)
WKRR
It's Always Something
Afair of the Heart
Rock of Life
Alyson
Living in Oz
I've Done Everything for You
Crossroads
Red House
Kristina
DTTS
The Medley
Love Somebody
My Generation
Human Touch
Another cover song that for the life of me remember the name of
Jessie's Girl
Encore
I'll Make You Happy
Love is Allright Tonight
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Rick Springfield in Riverside, Iowa
Riverside, Iowa 2/22/08Riverside Casino
review and photo by Laura Hoppe
The show was in this huge banquet/meeting room. I thought this was strange as it wasn't the typical theater or table seating most casinos have. They put out banquet style chair (which were quickly stacked back up at the end of the show). It seemed like the first five rows or so were VIP seats. When the show started, most of them sat down while everyone else stood up. Most people were standing by the end of the show though. There was a big stage though with a ton of lighting. The set list was a nice change up from last year and the show seemed to be a little longer than usual.
Who Killed Rock N Roll
It's Always Something
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I've Done Everything For you
Rock of Life
Crossroad Blues (Robert Johnson Cover)
Living In Oz
Kristina
Red House (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Don't Talk To Strangers
Medley
I Can't Explain (One verse - The Who Cover)
Love Somebody
My Generation (The Who Cover)
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Encore –
I'll Make You Happy
Love Is Alright Tonight
Here are some other things that happened during the show.
- There were lots of guitar issues toward the beginning of the show. I think Rick changed guitars three times during one song. He didn't even have a guitar in his hands for parts of the first 3-4 songs. I remember during "Rock of Life" when he sang the line "I pick up my guitar", he pretended to play some air guitar and looked over to the side stage to see where his guitar was.
- Rick noticed a sign that said "Rick, it's my bday" and said he got scared for a second because he thought it said "Rick, it's your baby".
- People were throwing stuff up on stage all night. There were some "gifts" which he opened. Some women in the front row had given him Starbucks cards (I think about 4 of them) and he mentioned how he didn't have stock in Starbucks but he should have. He then said Kenny G (I think that's who it was) had bought stock in Starbucks a while back and that God was just paying him back for giving him such bad hair. Someone tossed up a t-shirt that I think had picture of them as kids. He asked a lady which one she was (on the shirt) about three times and I guess she didn't understand him because finally he said really slowly "Point to the breast that you are on". Then he said "Awwww, cute!". There were a few ladies that were wearing neon green boas. One threw one up right before the Medley and Rick put it over his shoulders and then by the end of the song, it was hanging down his arm over his guitar.
- Noticing the older "sitters" in the front rows, Rick started talking about how they probably thought they were coming to see this nice quiet doctor from General Hospital and asked a couple people if they knew who he was.
- There were really grabby women in the front row. After one particular groping, Rick said…"Where were you girls when I was 16" and proceeded to tell his sad story about how he couldn't get girls when he was younger and that women are so much more aggressive now and how his boys are fighting them off.
- For "Don't Talk To Strangers", he forgot the words and had the audience help him get back on track. During the line "How's Life in the big city", he said that we weren't in a big city at all. We were in Iowa. He had quite a few people sing including a security guard who he said was not paying attention and made him sing a second time. When he came out further into the crowd to "find a guy" he turned around towards the front and said "hey, who gave me a wedgie". He said if they did again on the way back that he would "mess" (paraphrasing…lol) them up.
- At one point he mentioned again how small the city was and that he never panders to the audience by saying stuff like "Hey Iowa". He said his wife was from the Midwest (to which our little group of Wisconsinites screamed) and that they know how to raise good women in the Midwest.
- During the "Red House" line "I might as well go on back down go back 'cross yonder over the hill" he added "even if I have to crawl through the snow". It was still really snow covered in Iowa that day.
- Before Love Somebody, Rick was rambling a bit and talking about "Hard To Hold". I'm not sure what Rodger did but Rick asked him if he was keeping him from something else better to do. Then he said "Drum solo" but Rodger just basically kept the same beat and didn't do anything fancy so Rick asked if he should do a drum solo. Everyone cheered, trying to get Rick behind the drums, but he didn't do it L.
- Rick come out into the audience during "Love Somebody" and tried to get to all the different sections. He played in front of us for a little bit (Yeah!) during Love Somebody/My Generation. He did make a cell phone call but couldn't get through to the first two people. Someone gave him a phone but when he asked if they knew who it was, she said "Rick Springfield" and he said, "Damn…that's my line" and said he was "set up". I think he might have fallen off a chair at some point because he said people needed to hold him up better.
- Rick came out for the encore in a tan t-shirt. He said "You guys look like you're happy" and then started playing "I'll Make You Happy". I didn't realize how much I miss this song in the set list so it was really cool to hear again.
Who Killed Rock N Roll
It's Always Something
Affair of the Heart
Alyson
I've Done Everything For you
Rock of Life
Crossroad Blues (Robert Johnson Cover)
Living In Oz
Kristina
Red House (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Don't Talk To Strangers
Medley
I Can't Explain (One verse - The Who Cover)
Love Somebody
My Generation (The Who Cover)
Human Touch
Jessie's Girl
Encore –
I'll Make You Happy
Love Is Alright Tonight
Here are some other things that happened during the show.
- There were lots of guitar issues toward the beginning of the show. I think Rick changed guitars three times during one song. He didn't even have a guitar in his hands for parts of the first 3-4 songs. I remember during "Rock of Life" when he sang the line "I pick up my guitar", he pretended to play some air guitar and looked over to the side stage to see where his guitar was.
- Rick noticed a sign that said "Rick, it's my bday" and said he got scared for a second because he thought it said "Rick, it's your baby".
- People were throwing stuff up on stage all night. There were some "gifts" which he opened. Some women in the front row had given him Starbucks cards (I think about 4 of them) and he mentioned how he didn't have stock in Starbucks but he should have. He then said Kenny G (I think that's who it was) had bought stock in Starbucks a while back and that God was just paying him back for giving him such bad hair. Someone tossed up a t-shirt that I think had picture of them as kids. He asked a lady which one she was (on the shirt) about three times and I guess she didn't understand him because finally he said really slowly "Point to the breast that you are on". Then he said "Awwww, cute!". There were a few ladies that were wearing neon green boas. One threw one up right before the Medley and Rick put it over his shoulders and then by the end of the song, it was hanging down his arm over his guitar.
- Noticing the older "sitters" in the front rows, Rick started talking about how they probably thought they were coming to see this nice quiet doctor from General Hospital and asked a couple people if they knew who he was.
- There were really grabby women in the front row. After one particular groping, Rick said…"Where were you girls when I was 16" and proceeded to tell his sad story about how he couldn't get girls when he was younger and that women are so much more aggressive now and how his boys are fighting them off.
- For "Don't Talk To Strangers", he forgot the words and had the audience help him get back on track. During the line "How's Life in the big city", he said that we weren't in a big city at all. We were in Iowa. He had quite a few people sing including a security guard who he said was not paying attention and made him sing a second time. When he came out further into the crowd to "find a guy" he turned around towards the front and said "hey, who gave me a wedgie". He said if they did again on the way back that he would "mess" (paraphrasing…lol) them up.
- At one point he mentioned again how small the city was and that he never panders to the audience by saying stuff like "Hey Iowa". He said his wife was from the Midwest (to which our little group of Wisconsinites screamed) and that they know how to raise good women in the Midwest.
- During the "Red House" line "I might as well go on back down go back 'cross yonder over the hill" he added "even if I have to crawl through the snow". It was still really snow covered in Iowa that day.
- Before Love Somebody, Rick was rambling a bit and talking about "Hard To Hold". I'm not sure what Rodger did but Rick asked him if he was keeping him from something else better to do. Then he said "Drum solo" but Rodger just basically kept the same beat and didn't do anything fancy so Rick asked if he should do a drum solo. Everyone cheered, trying to get Rick behind the drums, but he didn't do it L.
- Rick come out into the audience during "Love Somebody" and tried to get to all the different sections. He played in front of us for a little bit (Yeah!) during Love Somebody/My Generation. He did make a cell phone call but couldn't get through to the first two people. Someone gave him a phone but when he asked if they knew who it was, she said "Rick Springfield" and he said, "Damn…that's my line" and said he was "set up". I think he might have fallen off a chair at some point because he said people needed to hold him up better.
- Rick came out for the encore in a tan t-shirt. He said "You guys look like you're happy" and then started playing "I'll Make You Happy". I didn't realize how much I miss this song in the set list so it was really cool to hear again.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Affair of the Heart
Springfield strums up affair of the heart
By Diana Nollen
The Gazette
http://gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/NEWS/35983512
Singer/actor Rick Springfield performed before a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center in Riverside.
Singer/actor Rick Springfield performed before a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center in Riverside.
RIVERSIDE - Rick Springfield is hot. He's Hollywood handsome, but isn't afraid to work up a lather leaping around the stage and into the arms of legions of screaming female fans spanning two generations.
Boomer mothers had the hots for Dr. Noah Drake on television's "General Hospital" while swooning to "Jessie's Girl" climbing the '80s pop charts.
Twenty-five years later, their grown daughters also got to swoon as Springfield reprised his McDreamy role on the popular daytime soap in 2005.
And Friday night, mothers and daughters joined forces to scream non-stop during nearly two hours of hot rock at the Riverside Casino Event Center. They snatched up every ticket more than a month before the concert, and dragged along a few men, who got caught up in the action. Even the big burly guys in front of me were bopping to the beat and holding cameras and phones aloft to snap photos.
Springfield, looking fit and fine at 56, knows how to play up his assets — by not taking himself too seriously. His boyish grin and baiting banter — tossing out not-so-subtle innuendo about his heartthrob screen roles — helped warm up an already pumped-up crowd of 1,140 fans.
But the smartest, most daring thing he did to win over everyone in the room was to jump off the stage and into the crowd several times, bringing his larger-than-life persona upfront and personal. He even grabbed a fan's cell phone and called a couple of people from her directory — a guy who wasn't home to get the call and a woman who knew right away it was him.
Along the way, he played a string of hits, backed by his four-piece band. With a sweeping arc of his right arm, he hit the strings with bouquets of roses tossed by his fans, scattering rose petals around the stage and launching into a hot lick on "Affair of the Heart.
""I've Done Everything for You" brought screams of instant recognition at the opening strains — a frenzy that continued throughout the concert until Springfield's final leap and kick ended each high voltage hit.
We heard "Human Touch," "Love Somebody," "What Kind Of Fool Am I," "Don't Talk To Strangers," "Celebrate Youth," "Bop 'til You Drop," "State of the Heart" and "Calling All Girls." We also heard lesser-known tunes and old tunes wrapped up in new trappings, from gentle reggae beats to soulful blues guitar.
On an evening that could have been about ego, it was all about the fans. And everyone left smiling.
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