I expected to be blown away by Last Ride, which was just a tad underwhelming, but the remainder of the show took me way past blown away and into a new realm. It has been countless years since I left a Todd show feeling like I did Sunday night -- with a big question mark over my head asking, "Did that really just happen?" That performance left me renewed, revived, relieved, and validated. It Rocked, It Rolled, It Dug way DEEP. It soared! Ya' Ya's? They're officially OUT! TR reached into his bag of utopian tricks and delivered what we all need once in a while -- a hard smack of (sur)reality right upside the head. Stunning lights, crisp sound, ethereal ambiance, the CHORUS, 4 keyboards (!!!!), amazing costumes, horns (woo hoo!), all long overdue, came together to deliver an experience one for the ages.
Sure, there were a few moments early on where the 'flow' didn't jive quite right, a little confusion between songs, the expected missed notes on piano solos - but after the 'Todd' bugs were worked out, the door to 'Healing' opened, and it truly was just like stepping in another world. The only way to begin to describe what transpired at the Akron Civic on Sunday is something like -- Al Green meets Pink Floyd (?). A psychedelic revival? I kept looking for a baptismal pool next to the stage where I could jump right in. Indeed, the Church of Love Science is alive and kicking, and after Sunday's sermon, TR can expect his congregation to continue to flock in and offer their tithe for a long, long time. Shine shine shine shine SHINE!
