From 1975 to 1986, I was a regular Todd Rundgren concert patron,
having attended at least ten performances at various venues during this period. The Mountain Stage show on Feb. 9 was the first time that I have seen Todd perform in 16 years. It was well worth the experience for several reasons. First, Mountain Stage is one of the finest venues in the country to listen to excellent music from a wide variety of styles and genres. The Cultural Center Theater in Charleston, WV is very intimate and has outstanding acoustics. Second, all of the performances were great. I was particular impressed with Sonny Landreth - some of the best blues that I have heard in a long time with a phenomenal slide guitar. Everyone around me was going "who is this guy, he's really good." Todd was the last person to come on stage. His performance was very much like his solo performances from the early 1980's. In fact, I was surprised by how little has changed in a wide span of years. He still leads off his set with his acoustic standards, "Love of the Common Man" and "Cliché." There is still the spontaneous banter between Todd and the audience. This will likely make for some interesting editing for the radio and TV shows. There is still some nervousness when Todd plays the piano, although I think the flubs on "Hi y'all its me" were intentional. Perhaps, he was trying to get a laugh, as Steve Forbert flubbed one of his songs earlier in the evening. I can't believe Todd really has trouble playing this song considering he composed it and has played it umpteen number of times. Probably the thing that struck me the most is that Todd still has the same excellent singing voice. This and his creative songwriting ability remain his strengths. Overall, I would classify Todd's performance as nostalgic. Todd does not appear to be breaking any new musical ground but his performance was enjoyable nonetheless. For my twelve year old son who saw Todd, Sonny Landreth, Steve Forbert and others for the first time, it was an eye-opening experience, as he has never heard music like this in a live format. After the show, I asked him which song he liked the most. He quickly replied with a smile "the ukulele song" - bang the drum all day. Oh well.
