philadelphia vs baltimore

Review by Tony Rogers (Switch to
)
4/26/2005

the philly show could not have been more of a contrast to the prior nite's in charm city..as has been said many times, the venue was probably the best sounding place todd or joe had ever played..four stories in a semi-circular design that rose hundred+ feet into the sky..my wife and i were lucky enough to have the perfect seat-4th row dead ctr...although i love todd, something about the show at rams head live-made me wonder why?? was this to get joe's fet wet about going it alone??? certainly in balt, it didnt appear to me that todd had much to gain..i was thinking -how about 30 min ethyl, 45 joe , 45 tr, 45 together..(expand the last segment) all in all........the bar setting was far inferior to the concert hall scene which is why rams is prob the only one like it on this tour..was very good to hear afterlife, and PTC of course....but then philly..

this was the way it was supposed to come off, acoustics perfect, great choice of material-only very very minor mistake on HIM..but Hawking was the deal..i mean the real deal..the version from philly will live as one of the alltimers..the pacing, the breath, the emotion was, to my very jaded ears...superb genius and from about 3 min in-it was the most trancedent performance ive seen from the man on this piece ever played solo..some of you may know that ive obsessively collected nearly every known version and this was on for the ages..a spontaneous standing ovation and im not afraid to say, tears down my face..even for someone like me who knows no bounds for todds talent even these days, it was a comlete stunner....the end of the tune kind of floated upward in a spiral-like the hall design(no i was not on drugs) and lingered like a mist or smoke in perfect harmony with nature...you need a recording of this show, trust me..it wasnt just hawking........ptc was again remarkable, as was the balance..this night, joe looked a bit one dimensional compared to our hero..and it made me wonder how (if indeed it is true) todd will open for joe in UK???

nevertheless, there may be more, but im glad i was there to see the signature gig so far...todd remarked about coming down to the neighborhood and getting slammed against a police car for having no ID..there was no ID needed this night (he didnt even say his name at the end)--everyone recognized him and honored him as a king..funny how life is like that sometimes..and again..i was just glad to be there to see it happen for todd...


Other reviews for Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and Ethel 2005
04/24/2005 - Kimmel Center - Philadelphia, PA

Other reviews for overall Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and Ethel 2005

The Todd Rundgren Connection is brought to you by Roger D. Linder & The Linder Logo Rocemabra Web Services.