Todd and his wonderful, fantastic band came to Rochester January 28, 2008 and blew the roof off the joint! This is a very Todd starved town and the crowd gave Todd nothing but love, and Todd gave it right back!! It has been a long time since I have seen him have so much fun--genuinely-- in some time! Perhaps it was the venue--small, great acoustics. Perhaps it was being right up front in the "spit zone". Perhaps it was, and I do think this is a large part of it, the venue was standing room and we were all there to dance and rock out! Whatever it was, the chemistry was right on, and 24 hours later I am still high from the experience!
The way the German House works is, if you patronize their restaurant before the show, you are let into the theatre before the outdoor crowd. Naturally, this is what we did! When we got in, the row in front of the stage was empty, so my friends and I bee-lined it to the front and that's where we stayed all night, dancing, singing, and getting some great pictures! Todd was in great form! He played most of his guitar solos 3 feet in front of me (my neck is still sore from looking up all night!) and had a blast with the crowd and the band. We had the usual song requests coming from the crowd, but Todd laughed it off. He even joked that one woman calling out requests was probably the heir to the Eastman fortune! There had been several women who had made their way toward the front of the stage and Todd pointed to our general area and said, "There's a group of hot women in one area right here." I'll just run with it and include myself in that group and take the complement!
Todd lost his balance a little and began to teeter a bit during a solo and gave himself a "controlled" fall. He laid on the floor on his back, and didn't miss a note of the solo! It was really quite impressive and he got a huge applause!
Prairie ROCKED the house and really gave amazing backbone to those great songs. Jesse is simply quite amazing and seemed at ease--as always--and smiled a lot while playing. Kasim was having fun with the women in the audience, tossing out picks. He even went to the front of the stage and handed one women a pick to make sure she got one. Always sweet and smiling and wonderful, our Kaz!
Todd sold out this show in Rochester and the crowd just loved him! He seemed to love us back, too. My wonderful Todd travel buddy, Amy (4Dog) and I have begged Todd for years to come to Rochester. He finally came and I truly hope he found it rewarding enough to return! I will always travel to see Todd, but what an incredible treat to only have to drive home 4 miles after the show!!!
Many thanks to Todd and the band for persevering and still putting on an amazing show after all these years! And thanks to Roger Linder for keeping us connected! My faith in the Todd community has been restored after this blissful show! I Love My Life!
