What a fantastic show tonight! An outdoor symphony performance in Costa Mesa, California, with RS in his burgundy suit and a recent haircut playing all his hits.
I wasn’t actually there in person – although I did explore the possibility a few weeks ago when it looked like our family might be in town – but I did enjoy it vicariously through the videos of thoughtful fans’ live stream videos.
Wonderful, very close-up, zoomed-in type of videos with him looking directly at me the camera several times during one of my favorite songs, “Souls.” Awww, my 12-year-old self was fully crushing (OK, my nearly-50 self, too). Thank you, thank you to the wonderful people who posted videos, it was such a fun escape after an exhausting day.
In case you missed it earlier today, here’s a video from earlier today, on LA Times Today, that promotes tonight’s show (and also features his “manager,” Bindi).
This past week, I also watched a couple other cute videos that people posted. What I love so much about them is that they are from before he reached his American success in the 1980s and watching them now after reading his autobiography and seeing him perform all these years, it’s really inspiring to see all he’s accomplished.
This first one is from 1981, about six weeks after RS started on “General Hospital” and when “Jessie’s Girl” was a recent release and before it took on a life of its own in TV shows and movies. RS is 31 at the time (which means it’s nearly 40 years ago – WHAT?!) How cute are those “dance” moves and that seductive look? I’m so used to seeing him perform with a guitar, it looks like he’s not quite sure what to do with himself. (Teen crush alert: There’s a little Australian accent in this video.)
I think one of the attributes RS fans find so appealing is his authenticity. In this interview, he’s pretty much talking about the same things that he was talking about in the L.A. Times interview above – his dog, his desire to do both acting and performing and how much he enjoys working.
Now let’s go back in time a little further – to the 1978 MDA Telethon, where RS performed “Bruce” and “Cold Feet.” All dressed up in a tucked-in dress shirt and a wide tie. He also performed without a guitar and was very expressive with his hands; there’s also clapping, kicking and hip-shaking. It’s so darn adorable. After all these years performing, he’s got the rock star look and moves down so well, that it’s so fun to see this performance. There’s even a clip of Jerry Lewis enjoying the song. I used to watch the telethons, I wonder if I saw this back when I was 9.
My Rick Springfield crush 