Rick Springfield is no stranger to Las Vegas, having played everywhere from Fremont Street Experience to Mandalay Bay. He performed at the Aladdin Theatre in the early days of his success, appeared mid-career at Caesars Palace’s Circus Maximus and played the lead in a 2001-’02 theatrical concert production at MGM Grand. He most recently shared the stage with Sammy Hagar during a benefit concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena, but his next shows are at an intimate 900-seat showroom at The STRAT Theater this weekend.
Springfield’s punked-up cover of Hagar’s “I’ve Done Everything for You” was the lead single from the Australian-American’s 1981 breakthrough album Working Class Dog and became a top 10 hit after the explosive success of his No. 1 hit “Jessie’s Girl.” Hagar would figure into Springfield’s life again after launching his own residency at The STRAT.
“I guested with him on one of his shows, and it seemed like a great place to do a residency. ... It’s a great room.” Springfield told Las Vegas Magazine. “If you want to get up close with it nice and loud, it’s the place to be.”
Springfield won a Grammy for “Jessie’s Girl” and would receive nominations for “I Get Excited,” “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “Affair of the Heart,” all setlist staples for the musician who paid the bills as an actor until landing on the Billboard charts. Working Class Dog and 1982 follow-up Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet came after a decade of determination and disappointments, becoming emblematic as examples of ’80s pop production.
The songwriting, chord riffing and attitude were clearly influenced by Elvis Costello. “Elvis was a big influence, certainly,” says Springfield. “Working Class Dog was inspired by the whole punk thing. I was pretty much done with disco, and when punk came out and went back to guitars, it was very inspiring for me.”
Springfield focused on the songwriting of artists such as Costello, The Police and Nick Lowe, and related to the brashness of the punk movement in general. He channeled pent-up frustration and his battle with depression (what he calls “The Darkness”) into a frenetic musical energy that represents a pop music moment in time.
He established his brand in the process, and has alternated between stage, screen and concert venues in the ensuing decades. A 2009 guest role satirizing himself on Californication endeared Springfield to a whole new generation; he held his own starring alongside Meryl Streep in director Jonathan Demme’s final film Ricki and the Flash; and “Jessie’s Girl” keeps popping up in film and TV soundtracks.
Now Springfield’s fans know where to find him on a regular basis. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hagar shows up as a musical guest; the two recently became business partners producing three different flavors of Beach Bar rum, which Springfield says should be available at The STRAT Theater.
8 p.m. March 24-25, starting at $75. ticketmaster.com
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