Four days after his 57th birthday Todd was in sprightly form at Berlin's
University of the Arts. Unfortunately the venue was only half-full, and
-- as elsewhere in Germany - most of the audience was far more familiar
with Joe Jackson's output than Todd's. It was perhaps not surprising
therefore that Joe's set received a more vociferous welcome than TR's.
The only Rundgren song to provoke a flicker of recognition was 'Hello
It's Me', although there was never less than polite applause at the end
of each song. The rather sedate nature of the event prompted Todd to
remark sarcastically that he was pleased to see such a lively crowd for
a Sunday evening. The absence of Todd fans was unfortunate given the
faultless set he delivered (the only bum notes of the evening came from
Joe's piano, but this didn't detract from Jackson's own impressive
performance). It looked as if Todd would get through the whole show
without a broken string until disaster struck -- appropriately! -- in the
middle of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. The audience took it in good
humour, almost as if it had been intended. The standout songs for me
were 'Beloved Infidel', 'Pretending to Care' and 'Soul Brother', though
the whole evening, from Ethel's opening set to the encores, was very
enjoyable. The set was pretty much as expected, although fans of 80s
Todd were rewarded not only with 'Lysistrata', 'One World', and 'Bang
the Drum/Uke', but also an excellent 'Compassion'. Todd remarked towards
the end that 'next time you should all bring a friend'; hopefully, if
there is a next time, the turnout will be better.
