Rick Springfield packed the house for a sold out show Friday night at the beautiful Genesee Theatre in Waukegan Illinois! It was a rather cold night with temperatures just below freezing, but that didn’t stop this party! The cover band Voyage opened playing classic rock tunes from Styx, Whitesnake and even Richard Marx! Little side note, in case you didn’t know, Richard Marx and Rick Springfield occasionally play shows together! Also Richard Marx and Styx are from Illinois, so I was loving the “local” band pick of songs!
Might as well let the cat out of the bag now. This was my first time seeing Rick Springfield! I know, crazy right?! I’ve heard from a few people that he tends to play the same show every time, but since it was my first time I thought it was pretty great! Honestly, one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while! I absolutely loved all the different things he did throughout the show which I’ve never seen other bands do, by the way, and have I mentioned that he is 73! Yes, you heard me right 73 years old and still has girls screaming when he takes off his shirt at the end of the set! God! He looks and sounds amazing still! This is what everyone hopes to be like when they’re 70!
But looks aside, one of the things I look for in frontmen is how they handle unexpected problems, generally referring to technical difficulties. Rick had two notable ones. The first when he came and sat at the front of the stage for “My Fathers Chair”. His crew already had a microphone on the theater floor for him, except it was at crotch level! Rick just found it amusing, making comments about this isn’t going to work, unless my crew knows something I don’t! After that was fixed, apparently the mic started to fall apart! I was on the balcony, so I couldn't see very clearly. At one point a fan handed him a piece of the mic stand that, I'm guessing, had fallen on the floor! They just don’t make things like they used to! Anyway, he talked his way through it and was able to do the song without any problem! Secondly, towards the end of the show when Rick was introducing the band. He got to the drummer and his mic stopped working for some reason! The drummer played it up saying he couldn’t hear Rick! Rick played back as well yelling it and ended up playing it off like a silent movie scene! New mic and next song!
Rick’s crew also brought some stairs to put up at the theater so he could come out into the crowd for “Human Touch”! I absolutely love when musicians do this! The other photographer (whose name is also Alex) and I were talking about this before the show. She had made a mention about hoping the fans aren’t crazy and don’t start grabbing him! I found this statement a bit weird at first but then I remember seeing an interview with Keith Urban about being scratched by screaming fans! People are crazy! Since I generally specialize in underrated rock bands, I guess we have less crazy people at our shows because I’ve never seen any artists grabbing! This show was no exception! The fans were happy to lend a hand as he walked across the second row of seats during the song! Speaking of fans I would also like to mention that everyone on the ground floor was standing for Rick's entire performance! I fairly regularly cover shows at the Genesee Theatre and this rarely happens! Clearly everyone was ready for an extraordinary show. They were not disappointed! Absolutely amazing performance! A show I would recommend everyone go see!
Voyage
Rick Springfield Band
Singer & Guitarist - Rick Springfield
Guitarist - George Nastos
Bassist - Sigve Sjursen
Keyboards & Guitar - Tim Gross
Percussionist - Jorge Palacios
Setlist
Affair of the Heart
I Get Excited
Living in Oz
I've Done Everything for You
The Light of Love
Everybody's Girl
World Start Turning
State of the Heart
My Fathers Chair
Bop 'Til You Drop/ Bruce/ 867-539/ Jenny/ Jessie's Girl/ Don't Walk Away/ Rock of Life/ What Kind of Fool Am I
Love Is Alright
The Voodoo House
Rick Guitar Solo
Wild Thing
Don't Talk to Strangers
Human Touch
Love Somebody
Jessie's Girl