Sunday, July 19, 2009

OMG, OMG, OMG!

Oh hell, I've really gone and done it now.

It was about 26 years ago that my sister inadvertently turned me on to the musical stylings of one Rick Springfield. She also turned me on to Pat Benatar and Foreigner, but it was round about 1983 that I got officially hooked on Rick's "Living in Oz" album...from which Human Touch was probably the most recognizable hit. At the time of this budding obsession, serious efforts were made to win concert tickets via the local radio station---efforts that exhausted many hours and which all ended in futility. His shows instantly sold out back then and the only alternative was to buy scalped tickets, something which was wasn't much of an option for an eleven-year-old kid.

Years passed, albums came and went, and so, too, did his popularity within mainstream music. The one unwavering constant, however, was my deep and abiding appreciation for his music...something which has brought much shame to my family and friends. True, not every song was a winner, but the more I delved into his discography, the more it became obvious he was not just a one-trick-pony. Jessie's Girl came out in 1981, but Rick has been making solo albums since 1971...some of which are totally different than what you might expect from a pop legend. In fact, his introduction to American audiences was as an animated character on the show Mission Magic. He did the catchy theme song for it which you can check out in the YouTube video below. Rick Springfield...cartoon hero, rock star, soap opera actor, kicker of David Carradine's ass. Awesome.

Anyway, long story made less long, as John Williams dryly suggested in the comment section here, Rick Springfield is coming to Atlantic City on September 25th. Little did John know when he left his comment, but I'd already woken up bright and early on Saturday morning to buy my tickets the second they went on sale. Oh, yes. After all these years, I'm finally seeing Rick Springfield LIVE. And if you think that's lame, consider that I'll be surrounded by a few thousand screaming women anxious to bond with the one straight male there not named Rick. Okay, so most of them will be in their 40's and 50's and probably have children, but still! Rick Springfield and high stakes poker. Best. Weekend. Ever.

4 Comments:

Blogger Aim said...

Ha! You're right about the women being in ther 40's and 50's...found through my google alert for Rick...Have fun at the show.

July 20, 2009 at 2:00 PM  
Blogger JMW said...

Love it. Can't wait for the report on that -- can't. wait.

And when you mention your friends and family, don't forget you. Don't forget about the shame it brings to you.

P.S.: I wasn't being dry about Hall & Oates, who I truly love.

July 20, 2009 at 3:13 PM  
Blogger Kraig Smith said...

Thanks, Aim. Check back in late September for the full report. I plan on cornering him at the after party.

July 20, 2009 at 5:56 PM  
Blogger Kraig Smith said...

John,

Oh, I know you love the H20. That much I'm certain about. Thus far the motivation to go seems to have fizzled out, but I'll keep you posted in case there's a last second hop-in-a-car-and-go sort of thing happening.

July 20, 2009 at 5:57 PM  

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