[ATTENDED: May 21, 2016] An Evening with Todd Rundgren
I was astonished to learn that I’ve gone most of my life not knowing that Todd Rundgren wrote “Hello, It’s Me” and “Bang the Drum All Day.”
How did I not know this?
Indeed it turns out I didn’t know much about Rundgren. I knew he was in the band Utopia and that they played weird prog rock. And I also thought he was kind of a control freak. But I didn’t realize he had those huge hits (which might explain how he makes so many weird albums–and he has a lot of weird albums).
I don’t even know what made me get a ticket of this show. I had recently been hearing a bit about him. I had looked him up on line or some reason (that’s how I knew he wrote those songs) and I recognized the photo to the right, an iconic photo from Something/Anything (which was used as the backdrop for the show). When I saw that he was playing at McCarter, I decided it was time to check him out. Now, I was going to see a show the night before and normally I don’t like to do two nights in a row, but since this show was so close by (and I knew I’d be home by eleven) I decided to go. And I had a great time.
The blurb for this show started: “The classic rocker Todd Rundgren may be 67, but he shows no signs of slowing down.” And that’s very true.
I managed to score a seat in Row J, which was so close to the man I could see him sweat (ew). The only problem was the very tall man sitting in front of me (I should have asked him to switch seats with his tiny wife).
While I was waiting for the show to start, a woman sat down next to me with her husband and some friends. She was super friendly (and a bit drunk) and we started talking. She asked how big a fan I was of Todd. And I had to admit that this was my first show. She told me that she first saw Todd when she was 16 (or 19 who can remember) and has seen him every tour since then (she’s in her 50s). She said he tours constantly and she will see him twice a year sometimes.
Normally I’m not much of a talker during a show, but I enjoyed having her next to me to occasionally guide me through what I was hearing. Unlike the louts at the end of the row who were talking really loudly and making jokes throughout the show (and getting up to go to the bar every couple of songs). They were big fans I could tell (they knew every song), but such disrespect I’ve never seen.
The lady (whose name I never got) told me that Todd makes a new playlist for each show and decides what he’s going to play an hour before he goes on. That was pretty cool. She told me a few other things that were interesting about him (he has a house that he built in Hawaii but he never goes there because he is always touring). And that, amazingly, she’d never actually met him after all these years.
And then the lights dimmed and the band came out. Followed by Todd. And the crowd went berserk! It was especially amusing because it was practically like a Tom Jones show, with women throwing themselves at him (my seatmate remained remarkably composed). These women (mostly) stood and applauded after each song, waved their arms and were so utterly into it, I was amazed. (more…)
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After Richard Thompson’s half set, I walked a round the grounds a bit and grew to really appreciate the venue. I also got a pretzel which was pretty good.
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