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Todd Rundgren on Tour
Fans never know what to expect from a Todd Rundgren show, which is a testament to his range as a musician. For example, his "The Individualist, A True Star" tour was named so because of its unique format: Along with a set of hits, Rundgren also performed a side of his seminal 1973 LP A Wizard, a True Star. In cities with multiple shows booked, the musician played a different side of the album each night.
No matter where Rundgren's creative muse takes him on a given tour, what stands out is his voice — an instrument that can handle both growling rock and blue-eyed soul — and his charismatic stage presence. Thanks to this versatility, Rundgren has also toured as part of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band and, as a solo artist, opened for Hall & Oates and teamed up with Joe Jackson for a co-headlining tour. In 2019, he joined forces with the Monkees' Micky Dolenz, Christopher Cross and Badfinger's Joey Molland for the "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today – A Tribute to the Beatles' White Album" tour.
Todd Rundgren in Concert
Todd Rundgren first broke into the music business in the late '60s with the band Nazz, for whom he wrote "Open Your Eyes" and "Hello It's Me." He then released several solo albums, including 1972's Something/Anything? (which featured a re-recording of "Hello It's Me") and then founded the rock band Utopia, a group that drew on prog, power-pop and new wave. In 1983, Rundgren released one of his best-known songs, "Bang the Drum All Day."
In addition to his own work, Rundgren is also a well-respected studio artist who's produced albums for Hall & Oates, XTC, Psychedelic Furs and Meat Loaf. Rundgren has also continued to release solo albums, including 2017's White Knight, which featured guest spots from Robyn, Joe Walsh and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor.
I saw him several times in the 70's and early 80's, he has forgotten what made him great and wants to be blues musician. I don't mind someone playing new stuff but how can you virtually ignore your greatest hits album?
band came to play good energy but sound got worse as evening progressed.. got louder with less clarity....
IF TODD WANTS TO PLAY BLUES ONLY THEN LET US KNOW. HE IS NOT JUST AMUSCIAN HE IS ALSO AN ENTERTAINER AND HE FELL WAY SHORT.HIS PLAYING IS STILL EXCELLENT BUT THEY CERTAINLY ARE NOT THE WORLDS GREATEST BLUES BAND.
Working in Robert Johnson blues with old stanbys from his catalog,Todd entertained for almost two hours. Really good example of where he is now as an artist. Maybe just a little too loud! But he can really sing!
Todd continues to grow in his music talent more and more through the years. I love this blues period.
Although he played with enthusiasm as the songs sounded tremendous, the show was a let down. He played all new material and barely touched on his past hits. This may sound good to some, since his voice, energy level and material sounded great, but I go to a concert to hear some of the tunes that I know and love. He even remarked that this was the first time he had played some songs in concert. I missed hearing his old stuff. The new stuff may have made him happy, but who is he giving a concert for....himself or the audience. Although he still had a following, many of the audience walked out during his performance.
I love Todd. Seen him over 100 times, over many years since 1973. I keep going no matter how bad he can be sometimes. Trust me, most of the time he's great, especially the recent AWATS show. I knew from the firat note of the opening tune "Dust My Broom" that is was going to be a long night. The sound was terrible as well. I can't even believe that he actually even bothered to do a Robert Johnson Tribute to begin with. Do we really need yet another...? His voice and guitar tone don't even suit the tunes. I wish he would stop playing that silly "Foamy" guitar and trash that noisey Line 6 amp he's been using. His solos were uninspired as was myself. The guy I went with begged me to leave early. You should have seen the pained look on his face during the show. I even heard people trashing the show in the men's room. I'll be back as always, but not for this tour.
Would recommend show to a friend who did not care if Todd did not really play any of his classics. I think he hit one during his encore. Come on...we all like the blues but slightly self-indulgent not to throw his fans a bone and maybe use the encore to play his hit songs from the 80s. Don't get me wrong...he did a fantastic job with his dedication to the blues... However, I heard a lot of grumbling because his fans, like me, wanted to hear some of his old stuff. If he had played his hits for about one-fourth of the show, I would see him again. However, that was not the case. Too bad.
Nobody said this was going to be Todd Rungren "Night of Blues" I was expecting to hear the great songs he wrote. Instead he covered one Blues tune after another. In between songs people were yelling "play something we know!" Todd is such a great talent and wrote and produced tons of great songs, if I wanted to hear Blues all night I would have gone to see Buddy Guy.
The band was tight as usual , but the set list should be changed to include some all time favorites for Todd's long time fans. The concert was just as Todd declared " We are going to play a shitload of blues", which got tiring. But we all know Todd can be "A Wizard/A True Star". A multi-talented artist with much appeal
Venue was nice music was loud and good. Todd played some old songs from his vault
We attended Mr. Rundgren's concert with great anticipation of listening to his beautiful ballads and being in the presence of true talent. We were very disappointed. The music was deafening and his repertoire too current or should I say "relevant". The evening would have been more successful had Todd given the audience what it wanted; his old songs.
This is the review I just emailed to a friend, with some additional explanation for this review... Well, I've never been a fan of themed concerts, or the walls-of-guitar sound, or super-bright high-frequency sound mixes. Thankfully I am a blues fan. The problem is, I assumed I was going to see Todd Rundgren material performed, not a blues-themed, guitar-only, many-covers show. Perhaps hard-core Todd fans know he will do something like this at a show. Unfortunately, the average ticket buyer probably doesn't. We left at about 10:15, and both had sizzling sounds in our ears when we hit the street. A guy in the bathroom, right before I left, asked another guy if there was even anyone mixing the show, and the other guy commented he saw a guy at the console, but wasn't sure he was actually doing anything. I mean, I couldn't hear a single word Todd sang. Promoters and ticket vendors should advise prior to ticket sales if the show will be themed or "off topic"-- we watched about 20% of the audience walk out before we did. My parents were pissed when they went to see James Galway when he did a non-Irish show, doing classical stuff-- no warning on that one either. At least I have my hearing back today.
Todd show great as ever. Really in good form last night and did excellent job in his blues venue. Was interesting how he incorporated some older tunes inbetween the Johnson stuff ( went to the mirror , from something anything) really surprising and tiny demons. Anything he does is just fine with me and he never disappoints the crowd, always leaving you wanting more.
OMG, words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this show. Having been a little skeptical (not knowing much about Johnson's music), Todd (in his truest form) played it to max. The band was spectacular as well. Run, don't walk, to see this series if it comes to yur area.
A boring evening of nothing but WAY too loud blues tunes...have enjoyed myself way more for NO COVER CHARGE and cheaper beers in in any number of local clubs.
Let's start calling Todd the Wizard of Rock. Musically, this man delivers every time. His repartee with the audience was great. The band was jamming. Rundgren's intuition struck another bull's-eye. "The blues are back," he proclaimed. "They went to another neighborhood for awhile, but they are back." "Weakness" is Rundgren at his best. It strikes a deep chord from its bluesy beginning to its stripped-down honest ending.
Any Todd fan will find this show amazing. Don't want to give anything away and spoil it for you;just suffice to say it is the top show for me ever. The band was especially tight and played a solid 2 hours plus. They had everyone really roused and really enjoying. If you never saw Todd before or in a while, this would be a show to see for sure!
From, Todd's Johnson to Just one Victory, it was perfection...
Todd Rundgren is still a God in the world of rock music. On this Wizard, A True Star tour ha has managed to take an old, LP that is chllenging (putting it mildly) as a live show and turned it into a performance event. This is amazing considering; 1) He is no longer a young man and has to do some pretty fast costume changes into some cumbersome outfits, 2) He doesn't have the funds and staff of a group like U2, etc. an 3) it has to be done in the limited space provided by smaller venues.
