The St. Augustine Amphitheatre played host to Rick Springfield with Loverboy and The Romantics and despite the afternoon deluge of rain the show went on. Fans of the 80s bands huddled outside in the rain prior to the doors opening, and once inside settled in for what would be a fun night of music new and old.

 

Hailing from Detroit, The Romantics kicked off the show and played some favorites including Talking In Your Sleep, What I Like About You, and When I Look In Your Eyes. On stage the new wave, MTV video era band though not in its original form performed and looked to be having a blast at the same time. The addition of drummer Brad Elvis definitely added to the stage presence with his animation, stick balancing, and precision beats it felt like I was back in the 80s again.

Loverboy and their brand of rock from Canada took the stage as the rains were starting to subside and the summer evening air with high humidity had the drinks flowing and the fans dancing. Gone were the red leather pants and sleeveless tees of old but the reminiscent sound of Mike Reno was still there. Along with other songs, Turn Me Loose, Lucky Ones, and Lovin’ Every Minute of It…described the crowd as well. Dancing and singing throughout the venue this crowd looked to not be ready to leave its beloved 80s music behind just yet.

Clearing skies and a nice breeze would bring 66-year-old Rick Springfield out with a video montage look back at the career of singer, writer, and actor who does not look to be letting up anytime soon. The nostalgic look back in video would be followed by a walk through the years of music from Springfield and even a few covers.

Opening to a screaming crowd complete with roses to grace the stage throughout Springfield and his band had energy, chemistry, and talent to spare. From the top hit Jessie’s Girl, Springfield would go on to cover of Eye of the Tiger by Katy Perry, tear up the guitar with some instrumental surf rifts, be the recipient of an audience sung Happy Birthday in honor of his 66th, and even perform Wild Thing by The Troggs.

All songs were accompanied by the video backdrop and during a performance of Our Ship is Sinking of his new album photos from Titanic both theatrical and historic played throughout. The middle of the set would include seven of Springfield’s hits from the video era including Bop ‘Til You Drop, Celebrate Youth, Calling All Girls, Don’t Walk Away, State of the Heart, What Kind of Fool Am I, and Tonight.

The evening was energy filled with Springfield taking to the crowd during Don’t Talk to Strangers and again with Human Touch. Springfield seemed to truly enjoy the crowd collecting fan vocals along the way, and even a few selfies. He spoke to the crowd often to reminisce, talk about movies old and new, or to thank them. He would continue to unleash songs to an approving crowd and finished off the evening with a double encore.

 

St. Augustine was only the second stop on the tour that continues throughout the country well into November. Tour dates and ticket information is available here.

 

Review and Photos by Valerie Cason

 

The Romantics

Wally Palmar – lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Mike Skill – lead guitar, vocals

Rich Cole – bass guitar, vocals

Brad Elvis – drums, percussion

The Romantics

http://www.romanticsdetroit.com/

Loverboy

 

 

Mike Reno – vocals

Paul Dean – guitar

Doug Johnson – keys

Matt Frenette – drums, percussion

Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve – bass guitar

Loverboy

http://www.loverboyband.com/

Rick Springfield and His Band

Rick Springfield – vocals, guitar

Tim Gross – keys, guitar

George Nastos – guitar

Siggy – bass guitar

Jorge Palacios – Drums and Percussion

 

 

Rick Springfield and HIS Band

http://rickspringfield.com/#