I Want My 80’s Tour is Totally Rad in Clearwater
Musician and actor Rick Springfield kicked off his “I Want My 80’s” tour at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater for a Wednesday “hump day” show! He brought along some of his 80’s comrades to bring back the memories of those glorious MTV days to a live music show. For this show, John Cafferty, Wang Chung, John Waite and Rick brought us 80’s hits and more.
John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band opened the show and brought his hits along. C-I-T-Y, from the soundtrack of the 1983 film, “Eddie & the Cruisers” which was a smash. “Hearts on Fire” from the Rocky IV soundtrack was on the setlist. “On the Dark Side” which was a huge number one hit for Cafferty and the band & on heavy MTV rotation was also from “Eddie & the Cruisers.” He sounded good and I still think he sounds a bit like Springsteen.
Those London new wave popsters “Wang Chung” had a fan base in attendance. Jack Hues (vocals) and Nick Feldman (guitar) hit the music scene and our TV’s in 1983. Energy in Ruth Eckerd Hall was high when WC started their set that included “Fire in the Twilight” from the iconic movie sound track, “The Breakfast Club.” Everyone was out of their seats for “Dance Hall Days” and cell phones were out everywhere for “Everyone Have Fun Tonight.” Everybody was Wang Chunging in full force. The use of the big screen is vital to this tour to run the videos from the 80’s in the back ground which brings a fun memory along with the live version of the tunes.
Rocker John Waite took the stage next & along with John for the tour is Matchbox Twenty’s guitarist Kyle Cook with the band. John was the lead singer of The Babys in the 70’s and has had such a great, rock career that gives him many songs to choose from for his setlist, that include various bands he has been the lead vocalist for to his solo career. He mixes it up with both. He opened his set with the 1982 solo hit “Change,” a video favorite of mine in the early days of MTV. “Everytime I Think of You” by The Babys sounded awesome, John’s voice in top form. Don’t forget John’s turn in the supergroup, “Bad English,” with members of Journey and The Babys. He performed the #1 hit “When I See You Smile” and gave the audience a sly smile at the end! In the summer of 1984, you couldn’t turn on a radio or MTV without seeing or hearing John’s worldwide hit “Missing You” and there is nothing like hearing it in person. The best for last is John closing with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” which just blew the roof off Ruth Eckerd. It might not be 80’s but it is one of the greatest classic rock songs of all time and John pulls off every note! I can’t think of a better way to keep it going for Rick!
This is Rick Springfield’s tour and he is the headliner! Kicking it off with a video package of Rick’s storied career from a young Australian musician to TV soap star to movie star, Rick has done everything but he has really been a musician through it all. I think he is an underrated guitarist. Rick opened his set with his 2004 rock tune “I’ll Make You Happy.” His fans were there with roses and Jessie’s Girl t-shirts. His list of hits were on his setlist, “Affair of the Heart”, “I’ve Done Everything For You”, a nice tribute to the late Eddie Money with “Two Tickets to Paradise” and an extended version of “Don’t Talk to Strangers” with fun audience participation. Rick’s hitting his guitar with roses has become a popular thing in his shows and fans bring him roses so he does it several times throughout the show. At 75, Rick Springfield looks and sounds great. For his hit “Human Touch” he comes out into the audience to shake hands, sign autographs and generally get the fans riled up. Of course, his closing number is his iconic, number one song “Jessie’s Girl” from his huge 1980 album, “Working Class Dog.” This tour is totally tubular and a not to miss show of the summer! Relive your 80’s years and everybody have fun! Some select shows will feature Paul Young and some John Cafferty. Check out the show schedule at Rick’s website.
Vicky Sullivan Photos for The Suncoast Post