Todd is
still Godd.
Friday, June 14, Todd Rundgren returned to Tulsa
with a live show at the Had Rock. He and his band sizzled through a 2-hour set
of tunes mostly pulled from the later half of his catalog.
I’m sure there were people in the crowd that
came for “hello It’s Me” or “can we still be friends,” and that haven’t kept
track of his career since their teen years. He did give them a carrot in his
encore with a medley of a couple oldies. There were also a couple of cuts from
his Utopia years, but the bulk of the show seemed to come from “Liars”, “No
World Order,” and “The individualist.”
I’ve been to a lot of Rundgren’s shows. I’ve
never been disappointed. I’ve seen Utopia
at an outdoor show at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater, at Cain’s Ballroom,
at the brady Theater, and the “RA” show with the 20 ft. pyramid and sphinx in Lawrence,
Kansas. That was a mind-blowing show highlighted by the 18-minute electrified
fairy tale” Singring and the Glass Guitar.”
His solo shows have always been unpredictable
and surprising. I’ve been to several, either with a band or a solo show at Cain’s
Ballroom. He once brought his “Individualist” tour to Tulsa, playing from under
the overpass that ran north of the Cain’s.
Friday
was no different. He arrived on stage to the sound of “How About A Little
Fanfare” before launching into “I Think You Know.”
We had
great seats, thanks to my wife, Ashley. Fourth row, center stage. A great view.
I was kind of excited that the 2 seats in front of us were empty as the time
for the show arrived.
But, as the lights went down and Todd began
to enter the stage, three people sidled into the gap, blocking our view and
trying to argue with the couple to their left that they had their seats. The guy, already seated, told them to check
the seat number, but they continued to argue. It was getting frustrating, and
FINALLY, they looked at the seat numbers and found they were wrong and sat
down.
There was little conversation from Todd as
they slipped from song to song. Todd showed some gunslinger moves on guitar, sizzling
through some hot solos. Despite his recent forays into more electronic music,
he can still make the guitar scream.
I knew two songs were coming up at the end of
the show that might challenge some listeners in the Oklahoma crowd. “God Said” from the “Liars” album and “fascist
Christ” from “No World Order” might have been a little hard for a religious
person to swallow. AT the end of “Fascist Christ” Todd led the crowd in an
ironic singalong chorus of ‘Gimme That Old Time Religion.”
IT reminds me of a review I read on Amazon of
the Neil Young album “Living With War>’ The reviewer was upset because Neil
had gotten all political and obviously not to the reviewer’s side. I thought “Where
have you been? Did you never listen to his lyrics?” This was the guy who wrote “Ohio”
years agio.
Same with Todd. His earlier works were filled
with these questions. In “Eastern Intrigue” his lyrics asked the question “Will
the Real God Please Stand Up?”
The regular part of the show wrapped up with a
powerful version of “World Weide Epiphany.” The older crowd was on their feet begging for
more as the band left the stage. We didn’t wait long. Todd returned to a medley
of “I Saw The Light, Can We Still Be Friends, and Hello It’s Me.” He wrapped up the night with “Fade Away.” A
great song to end the show.
Todd’s band was hot. He recently lost a guitarist,
Jesse Grass. He passed away this past year. Two of his band are constants by
his side, drummer Prairie Prince and Bassist and fellow Utopia member Kasim
Sulton.
Todd didn’t seem like a man about to turn 76
years old. He moved constantly onstage.
I always dread the idea that my favorites ae
all getting older and someday will decide to retire. Tom Scholtz of Boston,
about the same age as Todd, has been silent for years. Paul McCartney, Ringo
Starr and the Rolling Stones, in their 80’s but still touring. SO, who knows? I did read in a recent
interview that Todd is already planning his new album.
All in all, I’d still say this musical
chameleon is still Godd.
