So the complaints about the set list to me are frankly invalid. If you didn't know you were going to see Todd Rundgren's Utopia..specifically!...and what that entails, that's your problem. You can't blame Todd for that.
Now, as far as the performance goes...I do agree that it was very shaky in many areas. To me, that was to be expected. But it definitely was much more "loose", to put it diplomatically, than I was hoping for.
That said, it was still very exciting to see this material being played by these guys after all these years. This was an event! This was something that you'll never have the chance to see again. And even with all the "loose" moments, there were still plenty of transcendent moments. Just One Victory, in particular, was and always is simply glorious every time it's played. And watching Todd make mistakes is still way more entertaining than watching a hundred other random artists of today do their "act" perfectly. But there were plenty of goosebump moments to go around. Especially if you like and are familiar with this material. If you don't know it, then no, it might not be as interesting to you as some of Todd's more easily digestible material.
So, for those who walked out in Hollywood and those who were looking for Hello It's Me and the rest of the greatest hits in Ft. Pierce...too bad. Somehow I, and a whole bunch of us knew exactly what we were going to see. And it only took a few minutes and a few clicks to find out. BEFORE I bought the tickets. I must be a genius!
But, my biggest and most consistent complaint about this or any other concert is the seemingly endless line of people who come to concerts and then proceed to talk to the person they came with THROUGH THE ENTIRE SHOW! Talking, talking, talking, talking, talking...drinking, drinking, drinking...up and down, up and down, up and down....will it ever end?!! Do you have ANY interest in what's going on up on that stage at all? Did you pay for your tickets or get in for free? You see, because I don't know about you, but when I pay hard-earned money to go to a concert, I actually want to watch and LISTEN to the performance. Isn't that crazy?! I know. But it's kinda the whole point of going. To WATCH and LISTEN to a PERFORMER! Otherwise, you could stay home, take a match to $100 or more, put the cd on and talk over the music all night. That way, you wouldn't be annoying the rest of us who are actually interested in the show. At the Ft. Pierce, FL show, the people to my left talked all night, the people right behind me talked all night and the people in front of me talked all night. Maybe they were just killing time until Todd played Bang The Drum All Day or something else they recognized that they've heard a million times. After all, it's not like there's a special reunion tour going on up on the stage or anything, so just ignore those guys with the instruments performing for you. They don't really want you to hear what they're playing. They're just playing background music for you to talk over. So please continue on with your conversation. They don't want to disturb you.
So I beg all of you TRUE Todd fans out there. If, in the future, if Todd decides to do a Hermit/TEPTAE Tour, which would be my ultimate Todd solo album performance tour, and the people around you start talking, during every song...tell them to SHUT UP!! And LISTEN!!
