Lansing review

Review by DED (Switch to
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7/11/2007

After missing out on the last tour due to Elliot’s injury, I was curious to see if all the glowing comments regarding the New Cars were justified. Judging by the show last night in Lansing I’d say yes, mostly.

The band sounds solid and tight thanks to Prairie’s spot-on drumming. Elliot’s guitar playing and Greg’s buzzing fly synth sounds really give the songs that unique ‘Cars’ sound. Kasim was excellent as usual but there was something about his stage presence that made me think he wasn’t 100% comfortable with something.

As for Todd, well Todd is Todd and I think it’s safe to say that he at his best with a good band behind him especially if there is another strong guitarist in the mix. Todd’s voice sounded strong and his guitar sound seems to have lost that typical muddy Line 6 quality although Elliot’s tone was still superior.

The songs were fairly true to the originals and Todd did a great job on the Ocasek songs but I’m not sure anyone can duplicate or equal some of Orr’s vocal work and some of those songs felt flat to me. Todd’s songs faired well especially the dual guitar work on “I Saw the Light”.

This is a fine, entertaining show for both Cars and Todd fans. Since I’m in the Todd camp I couldn’t help thinking that it has a bit of a tribute band feel to it. With Prairie and Kasim on stage with Todd, a very familiar sight/sound to any Todd fan, it almost seems like a “Utopia does The Cars” concert.

All in all I enjoyed the show even though I left early to avoid the traffic and incoming bad weather.


Other reviews for The New Cars
7/10/2007 - Common Ground - Lansing, MI

Other reviews for overall The New Cars

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