A Secret Crush Revealed...

I confess. I've had a secret crush on Rick Springfield since...oh, 1981 or so. Actually, it must not have been such a secret since dh surprised me with tickets to his concert at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon last night (can we say now that my husband is the best? And that he's racked up some major points that should hold him in good stead for the next 6 weeks or so?). So off we went to the Wildhorse (a venue I'd never visited until last night) to stand in line for 30 minutes in the freezing cold in order to get a good table for our general admission tickets. Not knowing what to expect, we quickly chose a table near the edge of the second floor balcony and settled in to wait for Dr. Noah Drake to show up onstage. A young couple from Cincinnati sat down at our table with us and we enjoyed chatting with them a good deal. Turns out he's in themilitary and shared a few stories about his time in Iraq a couple of years ago. They had a delightful sense of humor and we enjoyed crowd watching (where I was deeply tempted to take several photos for Glamour magazine's "Don't" section!).

Around 9 p.m., Rick bounced onstage (literally bounced, people) and began a show that lasted around an hour and a half. From where we were I could look directly down and watch the now 60 year old as he rocked liked a 20 year old. Seriously, he jumped, spun, threw his guitar, smashed roses, and rocked out as though it was 1981...no wonder the guy is super skinny and still in good form! Jeff and I wondered what he thinks when he looks out and sees all the middle aged women out there, still throwing underwear his way...is he pleased that we've stuck with him all these years or is his appalled at how time has passed (and not so pleasantly for some of us)? Anyway, he ran through several of his early hits (teasing the audience especially by starting the riff for "Jessie's Girl" a couple of times and stopping) and threw in some newer music (which I didn't know but liked a lot), and even played "Jet" by Paul McCartney (Loved it!) and "Mustang Sally" (for which he had his former drummer, whose name has of course left the building now, come out and sing lead). My favorite moment was when he pulled two little girls onstage, pointing out how from his vantage point he could see 3 bars and yet here were two little girls out for the party (ages 7 and 8 as they informed us). He had them bouncing around with him, singing lines from "Don't Talk to Strangers", laughing, and dancing with them as though he was seven himself (the wild, throwing your arms about, Charlie Brown style of dance). He ordered Cokes for them and ended by giving them hugs and kisses, making me think he'd truly enjoyed his time with them. Next he jumped down onto the tables and made his way around the room, rocking and singing, hugging and being pinched, dancing and seeming to enjoy his music and his show as though he'd never done it before. Much fun was had by all.

Yep, I've definitely got a keeper of a husband. My crush is reinforced and my love is true and happy. Can't ask for more than that.

~taminator40