David Cassidy on the Web
David Cassidy promises fun, nostalgic night of music at Hinsdale's End of Summer Bash
September 4, 2008
By Sandy Illian Bosch
Staff Writer
www.pioneerlocal.com
Fans who come to Hinsdale's End of Summer Bash can bring their own lawn chairs and blankets to sit on, but headliner David Cassidy said you might as well leave them at home. His audiences don't spend much time sitting down.
"Prepare to sweat. Prepare to be happy," said Cassidy in a phone interview with The Doings about his upcoming performance. He'll take the stage in Burlington Park, Garfield and East Chicago Avenue, at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12.
Gina Hassett, Hinsdale's director of parks and recreation, said she's expecting all 2,000 tickets to sell out, including the 100 VIP tickets that entitle fans to exclusive seating, food and cash bar.
Hassett said she knows of people coming from far distances to catch Cassidy, famous for his role in "The Partridge Family" and for a music career that produced dozens of hits and 18 gold and platinum recordings.
"We have someone coming from as far as England," she said, and another driving seven hours from Iowa.
Cassidy and his band will arrive Thursday in preparation for the Friday performance. He said this will be his first visit to the suburb, and he's looking forward to the show. Fans, he said, can expect to hear all his familiar hits.
"I'm going to go back and do a lot of early Partridge Family, early David Cassidy stuff," he said.
Cassidy said he also will give the crowd a taste of his new recording of remixed hits, "Dance Party Remix."
"I'll take you on a musical journey through my life," he said.
That life is a little simpler these days, Cassidy said. After six years in Las Vegas, he moved his family to Fort Lauderdale five years ago and made a promise that he wouldn't be on the road more than two weeks at a stretch. His visit to Hinsdale is part of a short stint that will precede a November tour in Europe.
He's played some of the biggest venues in the world since his career began 38 years ago, but Cassidy said he's come to prefer the smaller shows, like the one in Hinsdale.
"The experience is better, for fans and for me, in a more intimate, smaller venue," he said.
Although he's been singing some of his songs for nearly four decades, Cassidy said no two shows are alike.
"I perform spontaneously," he said, performing the songs he thinks the crowd wants to hear. "Each one is a celebration of music."
The song they always want to hear, of course, is "I Think I Love You," the best-selling record of 1970 and Cassidy's first hit.
"It is always going to be the flagship," he said. And like all of his songs, Cassidy never grows tired on singing it.
"I'm having more than a good time. I'm actually having a great time," he said.
The park will open at 5 p.m., with local talent set to entertain the crowd from 6:30 p.m. to showtime. Food, beer and wine will be available.
David Cassidy, best known as Keith on "The Partridge Family," will play Sept. 12 in Hinsdale.
