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

Keith Urban Concert

Hannah and I went to the Keith Urban concert last night with her friend Olivia and her mom, Lisa. I really like Keith Urban but after last night, I might possibly be in love with the man.

The show opened with Keith unceremoniously stepping onstage singing "Once in a Lifetime". From there he segued into all his hits and then some; Keith's quite the accomplished guitarist and most of the songs included some sort of guitar solo. To say I was blown away by the man's finesse is an undertatement. His guitar skills and his vocals were spot on, and better than that, he went out of his way to showcase each of his musicians and recognize them before his "hometown" crowd. After a few upbeat songs, he moved down a long runway to a smaller stage nearer us and did a couple of slower numbers. Best of all, he noticed a sign a young girl had made in the audience which read "Don't let another day go by without a hug from Keith!" so he invited her onstage for her hug. I didn't think she was going to let go--and Keith apparently didn't either because he laughingly had a stool brought up for her while he and his band went on to the next song. Engaging and down to earth, he kept the show going non-stop for two plus hours, even doing a spectacular turn on a piano with just his rich voice.

The encore, though...that's when the show got totally fun! At 11:15, Keith and his band reappeared onstage. Keith laughingly had the entire arena do a "cell phone wave"---the lights were turned out and we did the wave with the lights from our cell phones. It was hilarious! As he said, we paid all that money and then we got to be the show. Then he announced that he had no intentions of going anywhere, especially since his home was so close by! After one very long set of Steve Miller's "The Joker", which showcased every member of his band, Keith told us he was pulling Martina McBride out from backstage to sing with him. This is where his talent really stood out for me; it was obvious between the quiet conversation the two shared that he and the band hadn't played her song "Broken Wing" before, but with just a bit of coaching, he did it as well as her regular band. Keith also made it a point to dedicate his newest song "I Think I Got It Right This Time" to his wife Nicole, who unfortunately couldn't be there (though of course we all spent time looking around to see if she had slipped in).

Rocking, rolling, soft and strong, fun and engaging, this is hands-down one of the best concerts I've ever been to. When Keith finally quit around midnight, I found myself wanting it to go on and on, despite the fact that I'm usually dead on Friday nights. I could've stayed through several more hours! This man is a true entertainer and left no doubt that he's all about the music. If you get a chance, go. I'm a fan for life now.

~taminator40