AWDAR in Brooklyn

Review by Frank Lynch (Switch to
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7/31/2001

Ahh, what an evening to be re-united with a Todd concert. Me (double digits), my wife (two prior shows at the Ritz), and our eight year old for her first. A very comfortable evening... The warm-up act, state senator Marty Markowitz, was in splendid form (this was our third Marty Markowitz show this summer - - !! first in Greenwood Cemetary on Memorial Day, later in Prospect Park for the New York Philharmic, and now THIS!! this guy gets some good gigs!)

A truly wonderful show, although I felt badly that Todd's "Bang The Drum" was sandwiched among great hard rockers like "The Real Me", "Barricuda" and "My Generation" - - it just sounded limp, and "Love In Action" would have been more competitive, I think. Performances from all players were professional and tight.

In the 2nd set, however, I almost felt as if things were too religious in the desire to re-create the Beatle's recordings. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was worth driving across the state for, but everything basically sounded -too- faithful and polished. Like, did you ever hear the story of ELP's first takes on Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man"? They sent tapes to Copland (well into his 80's at that point, I think), and he basically said 'try again - - there's too much of me and not enough of you.' Well, I know I'm asking too much for them to have gotten more original and have more fun, but perhaps that's why I liked TR's "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" so much - - not the sign shenanigans, but Todd singing the flute part at the end, rather than someone playing flute...

Apologies: I have rambled about non-performance aspects. The performance was fine, we were thrilled. And our daughter, who has been raised on Utopia videos, is now convinced more than ever that Todd is a fun lunatic.

By the way, for those of you who DIDN'T hear Marty the first time, if you're there in a couple weeks for Kenny Rogers, "I dunno how many will be here, all I can say is, come early."


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7/26/2001 - Seaside Park - Brooklyn, NY

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