Rick Still Rocks!

So, Sunday night was the Rick Springfield concert. I had been looking forward to it for months, having ordered my ticket the day they went on sale. I used what pitiful amount I got of my tax refund to pay for it, and while I was tempted to order the most expensive seats (which came with the meet & greet before the concert), I restrained myself and ordered the second-tier priced ticket instead.

I got to the Louisville Palace about 30 minutes before the show was supposed to start...and discovered that my seat was in the lower part of the FREAKING BALCONY. I was NOT HAPPY. Not only did I have to climb a zillion stairs, I wasn't going to be close enough to play with Rick if he came out into the audience like he usually does. Then it got worse. My seatmates turned out to be 3 drunk/yappy-happy bimbos with entirely too much perfume on. It was so bad that I had to use my inhaler twice. After the second shot, I went to the ushers and requested that they move either me or them. The lead usher came back with me to see for himself, choked on the one girl's scent, and quickly moved me to a seat on the other side of the balcony in a largely empty area.

The opening act (unusual for Rick- the shows I've seen previously were all Rick and nothing but) was Terri Nunn with Berlin. I have to say I was pleasantly impressed. Terri Nunn has held up beautifully since the early days of her career and looked fantastic. I loved the metallic blue dress and killer black booties she wore. She won the crowd over by praising the gorgeous theater (the Palace *IS* an awesome building) and talking about how friendly everyone was in Louisville as compared to L.A. She & the band performed their best known hits as well as some songs from their new album, which I may go look for.

Brief intermission, then Rick took the stage. Whooo-hooo! One of the best things about the Palace is that there isn't a bad seat in the house as far as hearing goes, and you can pretty well see everything, even if the band looks like ants from above. I'm just resentful that I paid that much money to be stuck in the balcony....yes, I'll be harping on that for a while...

Rick put on his usual awesome show. One song that surprised me was his cover of the Katy Perry song "Roar." I thought it was an okay song when she released it, but IREALLY liked Rick's version. I hope he puts it on an album someday.

So, it was all good until close to the end of the show. Then, during "Don't Talk To Strangers", 3 more drunk chicks who were sitting near me decided that it was wrong for me to be sitting alone, so they came over to dance with me. I got groped and ground on and was considering pitching one of them over the balcony when my usher friend came to my rescue and made them go back to their seats.

The concert ended and I fought my way out of the Palace...only to discover that the bottom had dropped out of the sky. I was parked 3 blocks away at the library and didn't have an umbrella. Bracing myself, I pushed my way through the crowd under the the portico, and started walking. I was soaked through in about 4 steps. LOL. I stopped at the Brown Hotel shelter for a minute to try to clear my glasses and one of the parking valets offered me a towel. He asked if I had just been at the concert and if I had far to go to get home. Yes, I said, and no. It's only about a 10 minute drive to my house, which was why I wasn't worried about being drenched. He laughed and told me to look behind me. I looked back at the theater and saw the huge bottleneck of people milling around, unwilling to get wet. A few brave souls had followed my lead, but it looked like most of the audience was clinging to shelter. "They'll probably still be standing there when you get home!"

My last 2 laughs of the night were both work-related, oddly enough. As I went on to my car, I passed one of our homeless regulars on the corner of 4th & Broadway. He stopped and stared at me, so I said hello to him and kept going. "Hey" he yelled after me. "You can share my tent if you need a place to stay tonight!" I thanked him and said I was ok, but it was kind of him to offer.

Then, just before I got to my car, an officer pulled up beside me. "Woman, don't you have enough sense to come in out of the rain?!?" It was my friend DJ. He asked if I needed a ride, so I pointed to my car, 4 yards away. He waited until I got in and got it started before pulling off, still laughing at me.

After all that, I needed comfort food, so I went home and had a batch of chicken & noodles. And a very long hot shower.

Hopefully I can stay dry when I go see Keb Mo next month!

Squeeee!

I almost forgot that the Rick Springfield concert is Sunday night! Something to look forward to this weekend!

Concert Tales, part 2: Rick Springfield

As big a Rick Springfield fan as I am, I didn't get to see the man in concert until I was in my 30's. I found out he was coming to play at the casino close to my house, and I knew I was going one way or another. I got my ticket late, but I got one. I was in Row L, which turned out to be about halfway back in the ballroom where the show was staged, and I had a pretty good view.

I had suffered a rather serious knee injury a few months before the concert. (first of many) It was much better, but I wasn't going to be rushing the stage or anything like that. I still had a bit of a limp, and I decided that it might be a good idea to wear my knee brace. (yep)

Well, Rick hit the stage and the place exploded. I had worried that age might have slowed him down and the show might not be that exciting....and my worries were in vain. He bounced around that stage like a teenager on Red Bull, and put on a kick ass show...and like several other performers I've seen, he likes to interact with his fans. Teasing from the stage, inviting fans onstage, and jumping out into the audience...and wading through.

Yep. He made it back to Row K, in the middle, directly in front of me. And I froze. The man I had lusted after since I was 12 years old was less than 6 inches from me and I couldn't even reach out to touch him, I was in so much shock. The crowd was pressing in, and I felt my knee start to give, so I sat down and just gazed up at Rick...who suddenly looked down at me and smiled, before heading back toward the stage.

I thought that was the high point of my life. Not yet, it wasn't. The concert ended, and while a few people lingered in the hopes of an encore, or at least a final Rick sighting, most of the crowd rushed for the doors. I wan't in a hurry, and my knee hurt, so I stayed in my seat to let things thin out. Then I heard a voice say "Miss, are you ok?"

No, it wasn't Rick. It was a security guard. I explained about my knee and that I was waiting for the crowd to thin out and he said, "Oh, that makes sense. Come with me and I'll take you out the back way. No crowd at all." Before I knew what was happening, I was being escorted BACKSTAGE. I saw several members of the band milling about and then I heard "Oh, good, you found her!"

THAT was Rick. He told me he got a little worried when he saw me sit down so suddenly (HE NOTICED ME?!?), so when someone mentioned a girl sitting alone in the middle of the theater, he asked them to go check on me. I think I managed to carry on a reasonably intelligent conversation with him for the minute or two that I got with him. Once he knew I was ok, he had to rush off, but I got a hug and kiss before he left.

I've seen him several times since then. I've always managed to get in sections where he comes into the crowd, only now I reach out like all the rest. And he almost always grabs my hand, grins at me & says hi. He played at the KY State Fair and one of my officer friends got me backstage long enough for a hug and a hi.

Up next...my other long term crush!

Why, yes, I AM Jessie's Girl!

Ok, so I'm not really Jessie's Girl, but wishful thinking never hurt anyone! I LOVE Rick Springfield! Reading his book has just convinced me even further that my adoration is not misplaced. He details his lifelong battle with depression (a topic I'm pretty familiar with myself)and explains his career path with honesty and a wicked sense of humor. In fact, it's his sense of humor that convinces me that he's the kind of person I would be friends with if we spent any length of time together. Crank up your copy of Working Class Dog, settle in for a good read, and ROCK ON!