Welcome To Beverly Hills, Todd!
Hey Todd Rundgren fans, here’s my review of the show from Beverly Hills California on January 6th – and yes, Todd rocked!
First, I apologize for the quality of the pictures…my iPhone did NOT want to capture any good shots, but I DO have some great video to share, so let’s get to it!
An Evening With Todd Rundgren!
First of all, my son Jeff and I bought the tour apparel, which looks great – and I was excited to give Jeff a chance to see Todd live for the first time!
The Saban Theater in Beverly Hills seats about a thousand people, and on this wet el nino night in Beverly Hills it was packed with fans, and Todd did exactly what he promised to do:
Todd Rundgren’s Greatest Hits Live!
Yes, it was indeed a greatest hits show, as Todd wryly noted twice during the concert: he mentioned that some fans still want songs from 45 years ago, and haven’t paid attention to anything he’s done since!
It was stated in a funny way, but he also commented that those same fans want to hear the songs EXACTLY as they were recorded as well!
Well, as you are about to hear, he did just that – Todd and the band performed the songs virtually note for note as they were originally recorded, although with all the great Todd live energy you’d expect, and with his voice sounding perfect as well…
“I Saw The Light” and “Love Of The Common Man” were first – have a listen:
Todd’s voice was perfect all night, hitting high notes with ease…and the band was tight and focused as well…
Todd then performed the Nazz classic “Open My Eyes” – this slightly psychedelic-60’s song announced to the world that Todd could write a great hook with smart lyrics…in fact, every song has such great writing – Todd really knows how to tell a story…
Todd and the band then performed flawless versions of “Can We Still Be Friends”, “Black & White” and “Lysistrata” – and this classic, “Black Maria”:
Todd was on fire with his guitar – and he was really enjoying the harder edged music…that said, Todd also performed “Sometimes I Don’t Know How To Feel” and the R’n’B medley from “AWATS” – softer material that showed off his voice – and then of course he launched into his other classic hit:
“Bang On The Drum!”
Todd was upbeat and talkative the entire show, and had a blast with “Drum” – which he turned into a bit of a sing-a-long for the crowd.
Oh, and once again Todd is at the forefront of technology!
Todd Goes “Virtual Reality!”
The jib camera crane you see in the picture above was “virtual reality!” Todd told the crowd that he filmed the entire show in VR so we will soon be able to see the show from all around Todd!
The show lost a few of the songs that were in previous fan posts: there was no “#1 Lowest” or “God Said”, but Todd did perform “Drive”, “Kiddie Boy” and a gorgeous version of “Lost Horizon”:
Todd performed both “Rise” and “Soothe” from the new album, but interestingly, his encores were “Hello It’s Me” and “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” – he did NOT close with “A Dream Goes On Forever”….here’s his beautiful live rendition of “Hello It’s Me”:
The show was great from start to finish, and the fans were dancing in the aisles by the end – the two hour show flew by – and my son LOVED IT! We’ve added a new “Todd Is God” fans thanks to this classic live Todd show!
Todd Tours With Ringo!
If seeing Todd’s new tour just makes you want MORE TODD, I posted this story about Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band tour planned for 2016, with some great insight from Todd. You can read that story here:
And since we are speaking of Todd’s live performances, one of his most unique tours took place in the 90’s:
I have a VHS – yes, VHS! copy of Todd’s “Live In Cyberia” tour – signed by Todd!
This London performance is an amazing artifact: Todd performing inside a circular cage with fans all around him – using computers to play with the order of songs as fans yelled out selections…
This performance once again shows how creative Todd is – you can read the whole story with a couple of fun videos by clicking here:
And finally, Todd fans got a great present last year when the BBC released this amazing collection of live music:
This is a great collection of Todd live performances, both solo and with Utopia – a treasure trove of great music, showing a very talkative Todd having funs with the british fans…see some of that here:
Bravo Todd for an incredible evening of music in Beverly Hills 90210!
