It was billed as an “Unpredictable Evening,” and anyone having the slightest knowledge of Todd Rundgren’s remarkable career should have already expected the unexpected. Nonetheless, the evening’s musical program contained more than its fair share of fan favorites, including the appearance of “Hello it’s Me, a radio staple that doesn’t always find its way into Rundgren’s set.
Having seen Todd in concert well over one hundred times, it is admittedly hard for me to see the show through the eyes of a typical concertgoer. Nonetheless, what appeared to make the show work is summed up in three words, location, location, location.
Rundgren and Cleveland’s long-term relationship remains a healthy one. Moreover, Rundgren has a history with the venue, the historic Agora Ballroom, a successor to a venue Rundgren and Utopia headlined in the 1970s, and at which he recorded part of his 1978 “Back to Bars,” album. The ambience of the current Agora, (it has been at its current location since 1984) is reminiscent of some of the seedy, dirty nightclubs carved out theaters built before the advent of modern amplification. The sound is boomy and the beers are cold.
In spite of it all, Rundgren’s voice was in magical form. Ballads like “Past,” and “It Wouldn’t Have Made any Difference,” conveyed their intended gut wrenching emotions. Two Utopia gems “One World,” and “Lysistrata” propelled this listener back to the good old days, especially with the familiar voice of former Utopian Kasim Sulton on background vocals and bass.
The band was rounded out with longtime Rundgren guitarist extraordinaire Jesse Gress, and fan turned drummer Eddie Zyne. I would need to write a book about Gress to explain how many incredible things he does on guitar in an evening. As for Zyne, one word will suffice and that word is “heart,” something Zyne plays with plenty of.
Perhaps the most unpredictable element of the evening was when the PA blew just as Todd played the opening notes to “Hello it’s Me,” and angry members of the crowd were ready to leave the peaceful confines of Utopia and start a riot. One concertgoer even yelled, “kill the sound guy!” Having seen some of the most scripted and sterile shows on the road today, I found the temporary sound glitch downright refreshing. Todd played the instrumental “Drunken Blue Rooster,” while waiting for the return of his vocal mike. When it did return, he changed the opening lyrics of the song to, “Hello it’s me, again.”
My favorite part of these shows is Rundgren’s banter. That is what drew me to Todd’s shows in the first place, wondering what delicious sarcastic satire would come out of his mouth. There is an element in attendance of late that seems put off by Todd’s political commentary, which is left of center. But seriously folks, this is a guy that has appeared on “Politically Incorrect,” performed benefit shows for a third party presidential candidate (John Anderson in 1980) and wrote a song called “Jesse” that overtly attacked Jesse Helms and Tipper Gore. On this evening he sang a scathing “You’re So Vain” with lyrics targeted squarely at Mitt Romney.
And to be fair, if you compare Todd’s occasional forays into politics to Ted Nugent’s full blown right wing rants, I can tell you that you that by the time Ted gets to “Cat Scratch Fever” he has spewed enough right wing stuff to make Todd’s left wing rants look very tame by comparison. In the end, it’s part of the show, you can take it or leave it but if you are offended by political speech at a rock concert you may need to study the history of the music form, or go to a flag waving country music show.
When it comes right down to it, the “Unpredictable” format seems to suit Todd best. It gives him a chance to be creative for the diehard fans with a healthy dose of the pop stuff for the casual fans. In spite of the technical flaws, it still turned out to be a great evening of music, and one thing I will predict is that I will see Todd in concert again. Just not soon enough.
Set List:
Jaan Pehechaan Ho (Heineken song) (Mohammed Rafi cover)
Cliche
One World
96 Tears (? and the Mysterians cover)
I Don’t Want to Tie You Down
Song of the Viking
It Wouldn’t Have Made any Difference
Too Far Gone
Patches (Clarence Carter cover)
Love of the Common Man
Endless Prairie (Lorne Greene cover)
Black and White
You’re so Vain (parody of Carly Simon song)
Hello it’s Me (false start)
Drunken Blue Rooster
Hello it’s Me
Pissin’
Lysistrata
Encores
Born to Synthesize
I Saw the Light
We would like to thank Mary Lou Arnold for the credentials to review the show.
