Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC

Second Todd show of the week for me and my fiancee. Asheville Sunday, and Charlotte (our home town) tonight. What a contrast. Here goes... The Neighborhood Theatre is NOT the place to hold any future Todd Rundgren shows. Leave it to Charlotte to fuck up a good thing. First, the opener, Jerry Chapman, was not good at all. I am positive that Todd had nothing to do with this. Chapman's musical style was inappropriate for this show, he seemed very out of place, and ruined any sort of credibility with Todd's fans by saying that in the late 80's, he was "turned on" to a Utopia album. When a voice in the crowd asked, "Which one?", his response was "I don't remember. Maybe it was their GREATEST HITS" (a nonexistant title). This guy didn't know Utopia from Uganda, was addicted to his capo,and a reasonably talented person could have practiced for two weeks, and blown Jerry Chapman clean off the stage (Hey Liv, send Royston back out on the road). In the case of an opening act like this, Todd could rely on the MP3 player to get the crowd up for the show. After the opening travesty, the audience was treated to bluegrass music (which I like, but again, inapproprite), and I actually heard a song called "Burn Down The Trailer Park". I am completely serious. We find out that Todd is late, but in the building. The first thing Todd says on stage is "It's nice to stand on a relic". This venue is old and worn out. As soon as the guitar came through the sound system, I could hear the overhead PA rattling. As Todd sat down behing the piano, his hair was blowing from cold air coming in from outside. The sound improved, but was really thin at the start. The acoustic sounded like it was coming through an overextended transistor radio. And I was in the second row. There were girls sitting on the stage (my ticket didn't say Todd Rundgren w/ special guest Some Drunk Chick), and my fiancee and I were two of about ten people who didn't flash cameras throughout the entire show. He was interrupted on stage numerous times, we missed "Love In Action" because of technical problems, and a woman at the end of our row actually said, "TODD, WILL YOU PLEASE PLAY HELLO IT'S ME?" I am so surprised that our local radio stations subsist on a steady diet of Boston, Scorpions, and more Boston. Todd was fun to see and hear, as was the case in Asheville. That brings me to my final point, which is, if anyone in Charlotte wants to see how to put on a show, make the drive to Asheville, and check out The Orange Peel, a superb venue. The crowd was respectful of Todd, and you could tell he enjoyed himself. Thanks to Todd for treating us to intimate shows. Good luck with the rest of the tour. Anyone wanting to discuss my ramblings can do so at beersnort@yahoo.com. Thanks again Todd for making me even more of a fan than I was before.