Rick Springfield Rocks the Capitol Theatre!

March 2, 2017 | Sande Caplin | SRQ Scoop

It was a sold-out show on Wednesday night in Clearwater for Grammy winning musician Rick Springfield. Music, movies, soaps, Springfield has been in showbiz for over 50 years! At 67, he is rockin’ and movin’ like a 40 something! He and his band put on a high-energy show with great lighting and graphics! Springfield and his band had just spent two days off at Universal Studios “riding like 20 rides and feeling a little sore” but he said, “It was a great time”!

One of his opening hit songs was “I’ve Done Everything for You” from his 1981 platinum album “Working Class Dog”. A bit of rock trivia about this song is it is actually Red Rocker Sammy Hagar’s penned tune that Springfield covered and made into one of his own signature hits. Check out YouTube for Sammy’s 1980 version.

Audience participation is a staple at a Rick Springfield show. He knows his audience and plays to it. During his hit “Don’t Talk to Strangers” he hands the mic to fans to sing along. At this show, he brought the mic to a security guard and it was a hilarious bit with the guard singing off key bringing a big laugh all in good fun.

Creating commotion by heading into the audience mid-show, Rick climbs on seats and the women are going crazy trying to get close enough to grab a photo op and are helping him walk across the theatre. He takes selfies and give hugs. In his 2015 movie “Ricki and the Flash”, Springfield’s character tells Meryl Streep’s Ricki “It’s not about them loving you, it’s about you loving them”, art imitating life for Springfield. He clearly loves his fans and they know it.

Along with his hits, he throws in covers from Taylor Swift to Katy Perry’s “Roar”, it’s fun and sounds great. Of course, everyone is waiting for Springfield’s biggest career hit, 1981’s “Jessie’s Girl” which doesn’t disappoint and everyone is singing along. You can buy a Jessie’s Girl t-shirt on the way out and sing it to yourself all the way home. The 80’s brought some great fun music from artists like Rick Springfield!