Square Hip To Rick, Roundly Applaud

By Christine Vasconez

Whether fans wanted to hear his heart-throbbing hits or believe he’s on a comeback, Rick Springfield showed more than 10,000 people Friday why he’s still going strong, even after the 80’s.

It was no surprise why thousands packed onto Courthouse Square, considering last June’s sold-out show at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering.

And this time it wasn’t necessarily the beer and great weather that lured people to another Fox Rox the Square free concert. It was hits like Jessie’s Girl, Don’t Talk To Strangers, and Human Touch.

Beth Milton admits Springfield is a small obsession of hers. She camped in front of the stage overnight to ensure she had a spot right next to the booming speakers and within arms reach of the bearded 50 year old. “It’s not that he’s making a comeback, he is back,” the 38 year-old sleep-deprived fan said. The Xenia woman has seen 30 concerts in 13 months.

Others got to touch the singer when he joined the crowd to sing Wild Thing.

Fans swarmed the singer as he stood on a lawn chair and played the guitar. Soon lawn chairs were being held in the air, and fans were yelling “stand here, stand here!”

Other fans traveled from St. Louis and North Carolina for the one-hour, 45-minute concert sponsored by Budweiser, Fox 45, Mix 107.7 and the programming partnership of the Five Rivers Metro Parks and Montgomery County.

Sherri Bennett of Tripp City and Teri Gifford of Dayton held their 1982 Springfield Hara Arena concert shirts in the air, cheering him when he sang their favorite song, Affair of the Heart.

The former General Hospital soap opera star grabbed their red and white roses to strum his guitar.

The father of two sons grabbed a blonde pig-tailed girl from the crowd and held her on his hip for a while singing Don’t Talk To Strangers. Then one after another, children climbed onto the stage giggling and singing with him.