From: Jeff Miller Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:22:57 EDT Subject: re:review by ed melchoir
greetings........
I have been to numerous shows in my 40 years on this rock....i have travelled far and wide to see shows by many bands, including T.R./Utopia...and i must ask this gentleman this question, and perhaps a few others as well..first of them being.....have you ever been to any other shows on the opening night of a tour..??..or was this your 1st??
well i must tell you i have been to an OPENING of 2 todd tours....2 utopia tours......a few dead tours...a bunch of zappa tours...every opening night ofthe allman brothers at the beacon theatre in new york city every march for 12 years....the last 7...yes 7 stones tours...get the hint??...and to tell you the truth, they are nothing more than a glorified soundcheck that they charge us to watch(unfortunetly)...and when you go in a total fan of said artist and you see they just absolutely blow chunks on opening night...yeah you are pissed..even hurt...but remember..when you are planning to write a review of a show and have the balls to post it...you really should try to do it in an un-biased way...not a..well i am a todd fan, and his opening night really sucked, so let me whine about it...are we as fans supposed to feel those emotions..??..HELL YEAH...but hey what do you want??..ANY act that goes out on the road who DOES NOT USE COOKIE CUTTER SET LISTS..(for those who don't know what that is...same set list same cues...same everything except the name of the city when addressing the crowds).are going to encounter the glitches todd and many bands do, that have a rich history of music in which to pull from for each show....alot of times these "cookie cutters" are funded by BIG record companies that give them alot of $$ and time, to not only rehearse but to work out a stage show...and all of the bells and whistles that go with it...so when you decide to ever see another band on the opening night of a tour...i hope that you remember to not set the expectation bar so high for your heros...and remember this...sanctuary records is a small record company compared to warner brothers, whom todd was signed with the last time he had a full blown production tour..actually 2 in a row..nearly human and 2nd wind...both partially funded by waner...both made little $$ for todd as well as warner brothers thus he was dropped by them and has been with several labels since...so his disclaimer was actually kinda nice of him..alot of bands would just as well do a shitty..hack band type show..take your money you just spent on a ticket.....
a t-shirt...and whatever you drank for the night..and after 75 minutes..including encore...with not a shred of production value(no special lighting and or costumes)...and tell you good night...there are several....so i recomend as i said...not setting the expectation bar so high...and never go see another band on opening night...wait untill like 2 or 3 weeks into a tour or perhaps even wait a few shows into the tour to see ANY band..every glitch and pop will be worked out by then..you say well my hometown is early on in the tour...well i say get off your heinie..travel..see the country and go see a show in another city within a days drive...well that's what i wanted to say to the gentleman who wrote the review of the opening night of todd's latest tour...and by the way mr concert reviewer...todds sound has never been the same since larry toomey left the fold a few tours ago....so that's more than likely why the sound was crap..or maybe the house sound system blew chunks...that's a 50/50 shot to call..either way..this should be considered when whining about sound...well that's all i had to say about this review/whining session posted by mr. e. melchoir on 4/10...
thanx
In my experience, Todd's shows have always been two parts Rock & Roll, and one part theatre, with some Philly Soul thrown in. Would you rather have the band come out in black pants, white T-shirts, and sneakers? Oops, I think that may have been done already.
Lighten up a little and enjoy the show.
And Todd said, "Bring on the Dancing Girls and the Freak Parade"
Patiently waiting for the KC show,
Tom DeRuby A fan starting in Syracuse, NY 1975.
From: Eric Lund Subject: To Al and Neal in Norfolk Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 20:48:53 -0400OK...too late to weigh in with my thoughts on the show I did see (in Philly on Saturday- it was great!!!) but I just had to write something to Al and Neal regarding their comments on the Norfolk show. Hey guys- get with the program already. It boggles my mind that someone would even go to these shows without any prior knowledge or a listening of the new music. It's not like OH is turning out new cd's every six months...or even every couple of years, for that matter. I think I'll scream if I read another review from someone wondering where all the old hits are. I for one have seen every Todd tour since 1972- YIKES!!...and I've had my fill of the old hits done on acoustic guitar and piano. Not that I'm complaining, but seeing him do "Just one Victory" with a band and with a smokin solo was worth the ticket price all by itself. And I appreciate the fact that he'll still do "Hello it's me" - he refused to do it for so many years back in the late 70's. Where have you guys been anyway...in a cave- or just Virginia?
And one more thing...this means you Al...the sacrilege here is you not paying attention to the lyrics. I suggest you get them first before you jump to conclusions and make judgements, then let me know if you are still disappointed in Todd's perspective on life, God and religion. OK, sorry I just had to vent. No hard feelings guys. I'm just so thrilled that my favorite musician of all time since 1972 continues to be relevant and performing. I dare suggest that no one has ever gotten more inspiration from mowing his lawn. LIARS is a masterpiece.
From: "David Nemeth" Subject: Kasim Sulton/Tubes in Milwaukee Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:54:21 -0500I do not know if this review of the Milwaukee fest show of Kasim Sulton and the Tubes would be appropriate at this time on this web site.But since Kasim is on tour with Todd and also Prairrie Prince is also on tour with the Liars. I thought that this is an appropriate venue to touch base with the fans.
Well We left Chicago Late for the Approximate 90 mile ride to Milwaukee. We got there late and caught the last 3 songs by Kasim. He sang "One world" and another off the new album, and A not yet released song! I told Kasim to stay for 2 more songs, but he told me he could not tonight. My wife and I also noted Michelle Rundgren in the crowd, and she was digging Kasim's performance. Kasim is TALENT.
We stopped by to say Hello to Michelle between sets, and she was her usual upbeat, happy, proud self. My Wife really likes Michelle and gave her a big hug. We also complimented her on her comedy show.
The Tubes were their usual crazy self. Fee was happy and loves to play the musical roles. Prairie Prince blew me away on the drums. He is one of my all time favorite drummers. All of the other members were outstanding. The sound mix was great. They played a lot of their 1970's-80's brand of rock. But to me it was not an oldies show. This is the Tubes and they are a classic rock band. Michelle joined the tubes for 2-3 songs and had a great time on stage. She really let lose. I was so Jealous.
Well afterwords the Tubes stayed around to sign autographs and to chat with the fans. VERY COOL! They are a great bunch of guys, We also got to say goodbye to Michelle and I shook Praires hand, I complimented his drumming on the Liars tour.
We walked out the Summerfest and I was on cloud nine. Tubes Style.
From: Donnagoat Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 23:19:44 EDT Subject: John Hughes, Birmingham, EnglandTo John: I was lucky to see Liars twice in the US, to address your negative review about the merchandise. My first show was at a "bar", dissapointed they had NO merchandise at all, since it was 7 years since I'ld seen Todd and needed a new shirt or memorabilia. But, 2 days later at a "ballroom" type setting ALOT of merchandise for sale, shirts, sweat pants, shorts, etc.. before and after the show. So it depends on the venue you see the concert, if they're set up for merchandise, think positive and maybe your next gig will find you with a table full of stuff for you to spend your hard earned money at!! Hey, you can always visit other TR sites to buy TR stuff, glad you at least enjoyed the music!!
From: "donabeth" Subject: new york to london Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 22:39:40 -0400I've been in London for vacation and liked the city and thought I met some fine people there. I can't understand how anyone there can say that they have'nt seen todd for 10 years since his last london tour and complain about the show. todd is touring to suport his new record and a fine one at that. Why after not seeing him for 10 years would you think he would do a greatest hits show, plus how would he do a show in a hour aand a half with all the material he has. uk, suport the show and buy the cd, and be thankful the band made the trip.
From: David Moir, Local 60 Subject: Campbell Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 19:59:13 -0700I have a real problem with some of Ms. Sharon Barbour's comments regarding Mr. Rundgrens show in Campbell.
The Venue is run by a NONUNION company...VENUETECH....So the fact that MS. Barbour is blaming the union(I.A.T.S.E. Local 134) for sound problems is absurd.
Ms. Barbour should check her facts!!!!(
From: Sharon Barbour Subject: Sorry re "union" comments in Campbell review Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 14:06:19 -0700Hey, I'm sorry about the "union" comments on the Campbell show -- I should have been more sensitive about that, because I was aware of a "leaflet protest" at the venue that night. I was making an unthinking, off-the-cuff comment, and I shouldn't have done it. Won't do it again, I promise.
