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.
