RICK SPRINGFIELD taught me about sex, life, and other things...

My latest trip down memory lane involves one of my biggest crushes, Rick Springfield.

I first discovered Rick when I was about 11 or 12 years old and its been an "affair of the heart" ever since (cue groan).

Seriously tho', Rick taught me all about sex, life and other things... his lyrics were far more adult, intelligent, complex and frankly sexual than anyone else I was listening to at the time. The darkness in his writing appealed to me during my teenage angst years and well beyond. He exposes his inner turmoil and pain with an openness that is deeply personal, refreshing, and touching all at once, and therein lies a great deal of his charm.

The songs he wrote about his father's death touched me deeply as a fatherless child (my dad died when I was 1), and over 20 years later, they held even more meaning for me when I recently faced the death of my Pop (my step dad). He managed to capture, far more eloquently than I can, what it feels like to lose someone you love.... what it feels like to be the one left behind.

Anyway, I, like pretty much every other girl I went to school with, had a huge crush on Rick back in the 80s and since my crushes seem to last eternally, it's no surprise that I kept up with Rick's career over the ensuing decades.

I was lucky enough to see Rick perform in 2002 at the Puyallup Fair and it was the experience of a lifetime. I couldn't believe Rick was ~53- his energy and, well, let's admit it, his physique (!) was that of someone half his age. He was on Fire (and so was every woman in the audience). These photos were taken by me at that show. :)

For my birthday this past October, my dear husband bought me tickets to see Rick again, this time at the Emerald Queen Casino down in Tacoma. The venue was not as pleasant as the Fair and with all EQ's anal-retentive rules (no photography, no getting on stage, etc), I think it frustrated Rick and the audience a bit. But his performance was every bit as amazing as it was a few years earlier and he looked jaw-dropping-ly stunning. I am now firmly convinced that he is Dorian Gray. He DOES NOT AGE! It just shouldn't be legal for someone at the age of 58 to look that damn amazing! Sigh.

If you've never been to a Rick Springfield concert, you owe it to yourself to go. He is one of the best live performers I've ever seen. As my friend Mish says, he manages to make even the largest of venues feel like a small, intimate performance. He calls audience members to the stage, he climbs out into the audience looking for that "human touch" and even borrows cell phones to both play slide guitar with and to call yer mum with. At the EQ Casino show we were treated to this exchange between Rick and a bewildered mom: "Hello Mom? Do you know who this is? Its Rick Springfield. I'm here with Paula. I've got a condom and I know how to use it!".

He is one of the most amazing guitar players I have ever had the pleasure of watching. At the EQ show he played his guitar off the stage railing, the mic stand, the speakers, using flowers (his signature and oh-so-cool move is to whack bouquets of roses against his guitar strings, sending the petals flying in what is a photographer's dream shot), cell phones, and pretty much anything that wasn't nailed down. His fingers flit across the strings as if they were on fire.

At this last EQ show I was able to pick up some great merchandise- two live dvds and one of his more recent albums. So I thought I'd give a quick review on them as well as on his 1982 live dvd.

Rick Springfield Live and Kickin' (1982)- DVD. This is THE classic live show I grew up watching. Rick is in top form, and somehow manages to make the universally reviled "half shirt" work. :) The highlights of this dvd for me are his performance of "I Get Excited" (which became the video for this hit song), his antics in Red Hot & Blue Love (pouring water all over the drums), and the extra footage of his quick costume change (for more reasons than you'd think). Thumbs way up on this one.

Rick Springfield Alive (2001)- DVD. This is a gem- full of behind the scenes videos of Rick and his band on tour between 1998 and 2001. Highlights on this one include him singing the double entendre laden Inside Sylvia at his gorgeous home in CA, the footage of Rick playing with his pooch, (one of the many reasons I've always loved Rick is that he is the ultimate dog lover!), improvising a bluesy "end of the tour baby" tune with his bandmates while in the limo on the way to the next gig, engaging in an spontaneous Beatles tribute in the lobby of his hotel, and the red hot footage of him performing live in 2001. This is real treat for Rick fans.

Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004)- CD. I am blown away by this CD. Its one of his best ever. Its such a strong album- its grungy and dark and angry and harsh and his voice is shredded through a lot of it, but its powerful as hell. There is a raw energy to it that can't be beat. This album should have hit the top 10, all bias aside. Highlights include his cover of the Easy Beats' I'll Make you Happy, Jesus Saves ("white trash like you"), Perfect, I don't want anything from you, God gave you to everyone... Its a great cathartic album.

Rick Springfield Live in Rockford (also known as Live at the Coronado) (2006)- DVD. This is his newest dvd and it is amazing to put this in right after the 1982 dvd- you won't believe your eyes as to how little this man has changed in 24 years!! The highlights for me on this one include some of his newer material, including I'll Make You Happy (even my husband is ga-ga over this one), Jesus Saves, and Perfect, as well as his heart-wrenching tribute to his father - My Father's Chair- and of course, his antics in the audience during Love Somebody.

And while we're speaking of Rick, I linked some awesome videos to this blog (see above). You can see Rick playing Guitar on a couple of cool Zoot songs (his early Oz band), as well as some more recent kick-ass performances!

For my husband's take on Rick, look here.