Sunday, November 14, 2010

Oh my goodness it's Rick Springfield!


Friday night Amy and I went to see Rick Springfield. In concert. In San Antonio. It was kind of a spur of the moment deal. I found out about the concert two days before. My doctor who is helping me with my back found out via Mike of my love of Mr. Springfield and let us know about the concert. Thanks Dr. Askey!


Rick was giving the concert in conjunction with a rock and roll marathon going on in San Antonio this weekend. I was so glad I didn't have to run the marathon to see him play. I don't know if I could run 26 miles. Even for Rick. Maybe if I got to meet him at the end.


Anyways, we left around 4pm Friday afternoon because we didn't want to get stuck in traffic or have anything happen to us that might make us late for, or heaven forbid, miss the concert. We arrived at 5:30 with plenty of time to spare. We decided to walk the streets of downtown San Antonio to look for a spot to eat. We finally settled in at a place called Pat O'Brians. It was really good. Until it started to rain inside. Yes, I said inside. We were sitting in an enclosed patio area. It was totally enclosed with walls and a ceiling and everything. They had a guy playing guitar and singing really good songs and Amy and I were really feeling the vibe. Do you know how long it has been since I've sat somewhere and listened to music? Me neither. I can't even remember the last time.


Yes, those are really big drinks. No, neither one of us finished it. Yes, we walked to the theater. Yes, mama, it's just iced tea.

So, we're listening to music when I feel a few drops of water splat on my head. I tell Amy and she looks at me like I'm crazy. Then the girls at the table beside me start looking up and moving their chairs because they're getting wet. Well, then it full on started sprinkling. You would have thought a hurricane had blown through the room. Everyone started running for cover in the bar section of the place. I was just so confused about where the water was coming from. Amy and I got situated in chairs in the "no water" section and she brought up the fact that she hoped it stopped raining before we had to walk over to the theater where Rick was playing. I was all "is it raining outside?" And she was all "where do you think that water was coming from?" And I was all "I don't know. Rain? Is that what that was?" And she couldn't stop laughing at me. I'm still confused about how it was raining inside. I thought maybe a pipe had burst or something. Apparently, they just have a leaky ceiling. We were both scared we might get rained on walking over to the concert and have to deal with really bad hair. I already felt there was some sort of conspiracy going on because on the way to the restaurant a bird pooped on my forehead. Just a little bit.


Anyway, onto the good part. The concert started at 8:30. At 8:20 this girl came and sat down beside us and started talking to us. She had come to the concert alone. She looked at us and said something like "do ya'll know who this guy is? he sings that one song right?" Oh, ma'am. Yes, we know who this "guy" is. He is our childhood idol. He is the man whose posters adorned my entire room from 1981 to 1988. He is the man who made me want to be a rock star. And yes, he had that "one song" and also he had 16 other top 40 hits. Thank you very much. She could not believe we knew so much about him and that our very first concert had been with Rick 27 years prior. Good Lord, we're old.


So, he came out promptly at 8:30. I couldn't tell you what his opening song was because I'm old and my brain doesn't remember things anymore. But I can tell you that he was fantastic and we had the best time! He played all of the songs I wanted to hear and had an amazing energy level. He is 61 years old and was hopping around all over that stage like it was nothing. Now, let's talk about his arms. They are perfection and that's all I have to say about that. This was my 6th or 7th time seeing him and it was just as good as the first time. There is just something about seeing him live, playing his guitar and singing Jessie's Girl (or any of his other number of hits). Nothing compares to the feeling. And there is something about seeing him with the person who walked the Rick road with me way back when we were just girls. There is something about connecting with your teenage self and remembering the way you felt back then. I just wish I could go back and talk to that teenage self and say "hey! it's gonna be okay. stop stressing out!" The only thing that would have made it better is if Amy and I had back stage passes and could have actually met him. That would be heaven. I know this sounds weird but it would also have been nice if we could have touched him. During his song "Human Touch" he comes out into the audience. He is walking on the tops of the chairs and the crowd kind of carries him along. We were on row 12 (pretty good seats) and when he got to about row 8 I hear Amy yell at me to GO! And then I think she pushed me. So we rushed up to row 8 just as Rick was making his way to, you guessed it, row 12 where he hung out for a little while. So I screamed at Amy to GO BACK! We did, but some other maniacal fans had taken our spot on our row and we couldn't get to him. Sorrowful. Just another missed opportunity in the roller coaster of my life. Still, it was kind of funny that we got swept up in the hysteria and we are still and will always be BFF's.


I took lots of pictures and videos that didn't turn out well at all. Luckily, Amy got some good pics. I also wished I had an extra $35 for a blue football jersey that had Jessie's Girl on the back but I think I'll live without it. We could have paid $500 for an autographed guitar and a chance to meet him but neither one of us had that kind of money laying around. Too bad. We'll always have the memory because no matter how bad my mind gets it seems to be able to hold onto details from every one of his shows.



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5 comments:

  1. I have seen him in concert twice and yes he is hot!!!!! Also you can get a signed copy of his book here http://www.book-ends.com/testimonials.html

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  2. It was fun and I think only you and I can get really excited about it. I don't think anyone else really cares. :)

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  3. i don't think anyone else really cares about a lot of the stuff i put on here!

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  4. Kim, your writing just kills me! You are so hilarious! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

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  5. Sooooo excited for you and Amy! I can just picture his #1 fan running around the audience trying to touch him.

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