We arrived early and had "upgraded" tickets so we got to sit up close and personal near the front of the stage, so knowing the stage set up, I steered the hostess to sit us stage right so we could be in front of TR and Jesse again.
When the band came out to play, Todd looked to me as if he was just up from a cat nap. They strapped in and got ready to go (and so did we), and from that point forward it was one helluva ride! Rachael was wearing a cute little black hood that was part of her shirt and the hood came down after the first song or so - she also played a bass much smaller than the giant Fender she sported at the key club, and I thought it fit her much better - at the Key Club it looked like the bass was unwieldly and playing her, and last night she was in command of it...
...and speaking of in command, Todd's voice was on, and you TR fans know that when his voice is on, he's more relaxed and let's face it, we get a better show for all the obvious reasons. And he was clearly in the mood to really have some fun, he was much more chatty on the mic this time around and in fact even made reference to "Hollywood poseurs" at the Key Club show and said the REAL fans were there last night...
The set list was the same again - 4 openers that included the usual 2 covers, and Love in Action and I Saw The Light, then he launched into all 13 Arena songs which were performed with lush backup vocals and all members of the band firing on all cylinders - what a delight! I really, really like the new songs a lot and I think you will too unsless you can't stand guitar driven hard rock songs.
So please know this, my friend I haven't met yet, who lives somewhere on or near the path of the upcoming shows, I envy you - because Todd and company are clearly getting better show after show!-or at the very least, they're hitting their stride... So as I said in the Key Club review, if you like hard rock music and TR, go to this show! If you're on the fence and not sure, just go anyway, you'll only be out a little bit of money and some gas - go out and have fun!
Just One Victory: Todd fans, PLEASE get up off your seat for the last song of the night!! I motioned for those around us to stand for Todd on his uplifing signature last song of perseverence and hope, but I had no takers - there were probably eight of us who stood and I really wished that the whole place was in on the fun. And, by the way, I'm just a normal guy who happens to like Todd Rundgren, so these are not the words of a crazy-ass type of fan, you know what I mean, eh?
Tracy snapped some good pictures which I'll post now, so take a look at them for your visual pleasure!
