A typical Saturday night rarely starts raging to the sounds of Rick Springfield but I think Saturday 09 April 11 is the closest I think it can really come. It became obvious whilst waiting in line for the show to begin, as it began to filter though those hanging about that some of us were there almost TWELVE hours early.
I was amazed that two of the Springfield fans were there so early and the fact that my group was there about thirty minutes before the doors opened and the early risers were only about eight people ahead of us. Odd, really odd. Did they not notice that the show was at a casino and not the United Center? In any case, it made for interesting chit chat before the show and once we entered the Mississippi Moon Bar, I didn't give them another thought.
In any case, there was a show to see, Rick Springfield and only Rick Springfield, no opening act and I can see why. As I looked at the crowd, I came to a terrifying realization that if I were to not like Mr. Springfield, or if I dare say a discouraging word toward him, I would be beaten to death by the throngs of women ranging the legal drinking age toward the age of retirement. Its very interesting to see the range of fans that was there, and the energy they seem to expel.
With the dimming lights and the opening music, the fever pitch began to fill the room as did the smell of 7,543 brands of perfume and the underlying coating of cigarette smoke (it is is a casino after all), Rick Springfield began to blast forth the noise. I commented during the beginning of the show how few speakers they had, unlike those of the last two artists we have seen there, but it truly didn't matter.
Rick Springfield played a great show, with a mix of some new songs, songs I had never heard and his portfolio of '80s ear worm songs, he played the crowd like a fiddle. I was behind the soundboard during the show so I knew what was coming next and invariably I found myself counting down the number of songs remaining, the point of the encore and the songs of the encore, but only so I could go to the bathroom. Yes, I had to go to the bathroom and I thought as thick as the crowd was, I would never make it back alive.
It was noticed how rabid his fans are, and how they seem to follow the script of his show as if they have seen it dozens of times, and for many of them they have. It was really interesting to watch as Springfield basked in his own glory however, and although artists need their fans, he seemed to need them to fuel his own high. He interacted with the crowd, during "Human Touch" in fact, he made his way through the crowd (nearly falling off of a table at one point), and called out to individual fans.
Once again, MMB was a star, the staff and the venue helped make the experience really entertaining. As alluded to earlier, the sound the smaller amount of amps really didn't matter as the acoustics in the MMB rock.
In all it was a good show, put on by an '80s pop rock star (that might just think he is Adonis), in a great venue.
Ah yes, the Soundboard. That's where we were for SEP/Slaughter show. And yes I kept looking as well, but wasn't going to dare leave the line for the restroom. No opening act? Interesting. I remember a friend of mine posting the next morning that she held his leg up to prevent him from falling. Must be the incident you spoke of.
ReplyDeleteNice story, thanks for sharing.