Given that he is performing with Joe Jackson, and to an audience not necessarily there to see him, I think we (and I know it is a conceit to include myself in there, but hey, call it the editorial we) did him a favor. No way he wants to do anything but shine in front of the house each night, and if he wasn't cruising to do so, it is all to the good that he got the message after only one show. And I'm sure I am not the only one wondering if we shouldn't have done him this favor long ago, for all our sakes. Especially given how quickly he seems to have assimilated the feedback and dealt with it.
I love Todd's work, I have for 28 years. I've seen him, I don't know, 100 times since May 14, 1978 at the late show at the Bottom Line, heavily skewed to the late 70s and early 80s, when I was young, loved music in that way that only a naive young man (or woman) can, and willing to travel to see 4 or 5 Utopia shows in a row. I saw Todd outside of Webster Hall last year at the NY Liars gig, and I told him that I hadn't seen an album as good as Liars coming, it took me by surprise-- intended to be a compliment, and he understood where I was coming from. I thought, and still think, it was one of the best works of his career, and the tour was mesmerizing. I wish I could have seen it a few more times, and I can't wait for the DVD.
But I've seen the solo act somewhere between 30 and 50 times, and while each time there are at least a couple of moments that make it worth the trip (I still love hearing him on "Love of the Common Man," and any night he plays "Hawking" I go home happy), if I'm honest I have to admit that the show had lost its freshness, and he has relied on the affection we fans have for him, for being in his presence at such an intimate performance, to replace practice and polish. Clumsy but lovable may be lovable, but its still clumsy.
I've written on a listserv that I've seen many performers over the past few years who I'd consider peers of Todd's, do the one man show thing-- Paul Weller, Marshall Crenshaw, Dave Edmunds, John Hiatt, Nick Lowe, Glenn TIllbrook to name a few-- and they all have total command over their chord changes, don't flub songs, etc. Todd is far too talented a musician to hold himself to any less a standard of excellence than these fine players. Any time he performs in a band setting-- Ringo, Abbey Road, any of his own tours-- his performance is outstanding; I saw the first Abbey Road tour, with Ann Wilson and Entwistle, and I thought he carried the show on his back, especially the second set. (Put Todd and Clapton with Paul and Ringo, call it the Beatles, and I'd go.) I generally assume that in a band setting, there is the natural competitiveness among musicians involved, plus the requirement of rehearsal, and these things bring out Todd's best.
So the truth is, if Todd comes through town in a band setting of any kind I will be there, but I've taken to skipping some of the one man shows, because I'd simply stopped considering them must-attends. This is not a negative comment, it is a simple fact of where I'm at with the work given the sameness of the material and the performance itself (and weighed against the fact that I'm 45 and have a 1-year-old daughter; if I were still childless I might have a lower threshold for spending my entertainment dollar.) But after reading the Clearwater reviews, I am wholly energized anew for the Beacon show in New York on the 26th. Who among us isn't thrilled that the show seems to have gone from "same old, been there done that" to kickass in the blink of an eye? Todd remains a monstrous talent when he sets his mind to it; it is a pleasure to see him setting his mind to it in the one man band setting again. I can only wonder whether we should have sent this message a couple of years ago; imagine some of the wonders we'd have seen...
