Todd Rundgren began in his “Official State Tour,” in familiar surroundings. The Bearsville Theatre, in Bearsville, NY, is just up the road from Rundgren’s former residence on Mink Hollow Road, and is situated in the town that gave its name to Rundgren’s longtime record label, Bearsville Records.
Nonetheless, there was no waxing nostalgic, as Rundgren’s performance would have been perfectly suited for a modern dance club. The nineteen song set included most of the “State” album along with three prime cuts from (re)Production and two powerhouse renditions of songs from his 1993 release “No World Order.”
Visually, it is one of the best touring shows Rundgren has ever done. Rundgren performs on a riser in the center of the stage surrounded by electronic gadgetry and a fifties style microphone dangles from above for his vocals.
On each side of him, Rundgren is surrounded by longtime band cohorts, Jesse Gress on guitar and Prairie Prince on drums. Because of the nature of the material, Gress is able to do some incredible things on guitar, manipulating the instrument’s sounds almost beyond recognition.
Even with a rhythm track playing for most of the show, Prince is able to fill in spots that take the “State” material to new rhythmic places. Prince helped keep the dance floor moving on songs like “Angry Bird” and “Party Liquor.”
One of the many highlights of the night was the title cut from “No World Order.” It has long been one of my favorite Todd Rundgren songs and the rendition Sunday night sent the sold-out crowd into a dance frenzy.
Overall, it is a dark and innovative set. It was impossible to distinguish the older and newer material because the flow of the set was absolutely perfect. People that enjoy “State” will be floored by this show both musically and visually. It’s also one you can take your teenage or college age kids too.
For his encores, Rundgren performed an electronic medley of “Can We Still Be Friends/ I Saw the Light/Hello It’s Me.” It was a nice ending to an intense show.
Set List:
Imagination
Prime Time (The Tubes cover)
Smoke
Serious
Future
Secret Society (Utopia song)
Ping Me
Angry Bird
No World Order
Collide-A-Scope
Truth
Nothing to Lose (Hunter cover)
Personality Crisis (New York Dolls cover)
Party Liquor
Worldwide Epiphany
Sir Reality
Encore:
Can We Still Be Friends/I Saw the Light/Hello It’s Me (Medley)
We would like to thank Mary Lou Arnold for the credentials so BackstageAxxess could review the show.
