Fans:So many great and interesting people. Lovely to talk to any and everyone. It was like being at a special in the know party! We were all there for our guy!
T Shirts: The 3 sellers were so fun to chat with! But unfortunatly, the shirts were not so cute for female shapes. The one Prairie designed (with the big face of Todd) is really eye catching. I will re evaluate on Saturday...
Opening band: Was it just me? I liked them. Yes they did the Neil Youngy, Bob Dylanny, retro thing but they were great musicians, a terrific clean snare playing drummer, the lead singer had a beautiful dusky voice and hey, they were nice looking fellas with appreciative attitudes.
General appearance of Todd's band: Excellent! Dark outfits looked stunning. Jesse in his black long sleeves, Todd in his sparkle pants, Rachel in her tights and Doc Martens, Matt in a maroony shirt...Prairie in his weird -but- it- worked outfit...
Too bad that Jesse, Todd, Prairie, and Matt all wore sunglasses. Note: Take OFF the sunglasses! Please! Why hide your eyes and expressions? Rachel was the brave one who did not hide!
After having the pleasure and luxury of being able to see Todd perform sometimes more than twice a year since his outing with Joe Jackson, I want to say it was again a thrill to see Todd again. His charisma, stage confidence, singing and playing, and yes, his rockin' good looks were all evident. Todd is a joy to behold.
Jesse was on fire. He too looked healthy, fit, and handsome, and in all the years I have seen him playing with Todd, have never seen him let loose like he did July 2. He and his guitar moved as one, and his music and sounds were awe-inspiring. He seemed very happy, it came out in his music. Matt-When you could hear him, he was a very fine keyboard player! And when you could hear him sing... Man what a voice! Matt needs to sing more! And when he finally took off the silly sunglasses you could see his face! He is cute!
Rachel- I have to be honest here...when the news first came out about Rachel being in this band I felt a mixture of happiness that female creative energy would be included in Todd's band and of envy because as a female and a bass player it would not be me :) ... Rachel was completely up to the task, and right away during the 1st song I was humbled and impressed. What I especially picked up on was Rachel's commitment and seriousness. Bass players know that there is no room to mess up, you can not play one beat off or a wrong note, if you do it can throw everything off..it really is that important a job. So to the people who were calling out for her to smile ( as if that is all a woman in a band is supposed to do, just be pretty and smile?...) or the reviewers who critiqued her movement or lack of ( ? What ever that is supposed to mean. If she wants to stand like a rock it is her business. I thought she had a fantastic stage presence ) ... I want to say Rachel was captivating and steady and clean. I came away a fan of hers and very inspired by her attitude.
Prairie- He was not at his best, I am so sorry to say. The bass and drums rarely really locked in, there was no deep groove, and Rachel must have looked back at Prairie 10 times, to lock in?, and he in his glasses, seemingly looking away or looking down or not at her... There was no connection between them and it showed visibly and aurally. I am not trying to be mean to Prairie but I want to say what my impression was. I have seen Prairie a lot too along with all the Todd shows, and this must have been an off night for him. Drums are hard work I know, and I do hope Saturday at Canyon Club is a better night.
The new album: Hard to tell with the flaky Key Club sound. About 5 of the songs were whole heartedly great, the rest I need to hear again -needs a better sound system, a more locked in and nuanced groove, and I especially want to hear Todd's recording. I will say I more enjoyed hearing TR do his new songs and unusual covers more than his golden oldies. I like his fresh new ideas, it is invigorating.
