~  CDr List and Photo Gallery  ~ 
Want list/credits/acknowledgements on page one

--------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-------------------- 
2005 - present
+ Toddities
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screenshots by Roger Lindar at trconnection.com
Testimony of Todd Rundgren 
Hearing on "Parity, Platforms and Protection: The Future of the Music Industry in the Digital Radio Revolution" 

Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary April 26, 2006 9:30 AM EDT 

(photo by debi adams) 

Uncut May 06 

~~~~~~GREAT INTERVIEW~~~~~~ 

check out the new video! 

Toddcasts
3/15/6 w/ me
12/29/5 w/ me - go to #22

backstage at LA's house of whites (LOL) pre-press conference on March 14 
(photo by Kasim Sulton) 

PHOTOS FROM 3/14/6 PRESS CONFERENCE

rehearsal for the Tonight Show 

New Album "It's Alive" due May 9-backed up to 6/6/6

The track listing is: 
1. Just What I Needed (4:12) 
2. Let's Go (3:49) 
3. Candy-O (2:50) 
4. You Might Think (3:13) 
5. Best Friend's Girl (4:12) 
6. I Saw The Light (3:02) 
7. You're All I've Got Tonight (5:23) 
8. Not Tonight (3:33) 
9. Drive (4:05) 
10. Moving In Stereo (5:15) 
11. Shake It Up (3:46) 
12. Dangerous Type (4:25) 
13. Bye Bye Love (5:02) 
14. Open My Eyes (3:02) 
15. Good Times Roll (4:53) 
16. Not Tonight (Studio version, previously unreleased) (3:25) 
17. Warm (new studio recording, previously unreleased) (4:04) 
18. More (new studio recording, previously unreleased) (3:41) 

All the live recordings were produced by The New Cars, recorded by Mark Linett and mixed by Todd Rundgren. The album was engineered by Mark Linett and Phillip Broussard. The drums on Not Tonight and More were performed by Kenny Aronoff , the rest feature Prairie Prince 

Video for new song "Not Tonight"
 

Friday, January 20 2006 Setlist: 

Just What I Needed 
Let's Go 
You're All I Got Tonight 
You Might Think 
Best Friends Girl 
I Saw The Light 
Candy-O 
Not Tonight (new tune) 
Drive (sung by Kasim) 
Moving in Stereo 
Shake It Up 
Dangerous Type 
Bye Bye Love 

encore 

Open My Eyes 
Good Times Roll 

~i was VERY excited about todd and elliot performing together... 
and the Ravinia show sure excited me!~ 

Dig TR's axe! 

LOVE the concept this porTRays 

(photos from 1/20/6 by TikiGirl/Lani...THANKS SO MUCH!!!!) 

(1/20/6 photo courtesy of Scott at trbazaar...THANKS) 


AVAILABLE here, here, and here on Nov. 29 

"Greatness resides in his music; a brilliant and often bemusing mixture of supermelodic pop, blissful soul balladry, clangourous zonk rock and wigged out psychedelia. Rundgren is the consummate songwriter, showman, production maestro, pop visionary, multimedia magus and soul survivor." - The Independent 

The UK Music Press on Todd Rundgren and the Liars:

"Liars treasures don't let up until the final curtain. It all confirms what many of us have long suspected - the prodigal genius of the 1970s acid rock has most definitely not left the building."
- Daily Mirror 

"Rundgren is the Zelig of rock… He stomps out onstage in five-inch platforms, floor-length frock coat, sci-fi goggles and black/white hair, looking like a druid from Gallifrey (his band, the Liars, are dressed as a cardinal, a priest, an unspecified religious leader from the orient and another from the subcontinent) and launches into a first set which echoes the industrial techno-rock intensity of Ministry and Nine Inch Nails." 
- Independent on Sunday 

"The pomp-goth first section of the concert is followed by a costume change (golden crocodile shoes, latino zoot suits), and a stylistic shift to smooth white soul in the manner of Hall and Oates. As he chops out the soul licks on his guitar with frightening ease and sings in a sweet falsetto which seems incongruous coming from a man of his towering stature, I can suddenly see just why Prince reveres him so highly." 
- Independent on Sunday 

"Rundgren is a superb performer. His frenzied, melodic guitar playing reminds you why you fell in love with electric guitars in the first place. His passionate, soulful voice has scarcely sounded better." 
- Sunday Express 

"Liars is 10 years in the making, which, says producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Todd Rundgren, are all about "the paucity of truth" (in particular George Bush's election, and the war on terror). It lives up to its ambition. It's irresistible." 
- Daily Telegraph 

"Typically the chronic innovator, Rundgren brought an amazing new state-of-the-art lighting setup with him. His recent album, Liars, shows him on his best musical form since his 1970s heyday." 
- Sunday Times 

"Liars is as innovative as anything on OutKast's 'The Love Below;' and possessing enough with and invention to make the rest of pop cower in Simon Cowell's corner with shame. 'The fact is,' says Todd, 'we are terrified of the truth' - the truth here being that, as with Lindsey Buckingham and John Cale last year, the old masters are still the ones pushing the envelope." 
- Time Out 

"He single-handedly invented power pop on 'Something/Anything' and produced some of the most significant albums in the last 30 years (Meatloaf, Sparks, Patti Smith, New York Dolls, XTC) as well as pretty much creating the concept of the pop artist/multi-instrumentalist producer album (hello to Prince and 'Sign O' The Times')." 
- City Life 

EARLY REVIEW

TODD RUNDGREN Liars Live 
Sanctuary Visual Entertainment SVE3087 
(Release date 30.01.06) 
Feel it...Todd in axe-throttling triumph... 
 

The first thing to say about this DVD is that it must have been a bit tricky filming around those LED pods. Secondly, this is a damn good concert. 

There have been several Rundgren DVDs over the years and the most recent live concert was a San Francisco gig in 2002. 'Liars' updates this catalogue as well as being a great souvenir for those who attended any of the gigs last year. 

This DVD was filmed in New York in June 2004 and includes the set-list that came to the UK a month later. 

Naturally, it was a showcase for the highly-praised Liars album but in a two-hour set there is enough Classic Todd to satisfy the old-timers. And, my goodness, there were a few of those in the audience. 

Highlights include 'Buffalo Grass' (from the 'One Long Year' album), this has a wonderful chorus and a superb coda when Todd throttles his guitar, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps (more guitar throttling) and 'Feel It' (from 1989's Nearly Human album). 

'Feel It' first appeared on a Tubes album which Rundgren produced: here it is a real showstopper. It's such a great song and demonstrates why Todd is such a clever songwriter and arranger, the bridge, chorus and harmonies are simply gorgeous. The urgency of the song builds until the red-hot band tees up another fine Rundgren guitar solo-coda. It simply doesn't get much better than this. 

The one omission from the 'Liars' set, sadly, is 'Afterlife', but he didn't actually play it on the Liars tour. We had to wait for his brilliant acoustic rendition when he toured in 2005 with Joe Jackson and Ethel. Again that song is another classic in the 'Feel It/Love Is The Answer' tradition. 

Liars was, and is, a great album, and is brilliantly transformed to the stage, although those unique LED pods looked better live than on film. The band, featuring long-time collaborator Kasim Sulton on bass and Prairie Prince on drums, were fully up to the challenge of what is - musically - an incredibly demanding album. On 'Born To Synthesise', (a song Jamie Cullum would be proud of), the band are allowed to stretch out with great solos from guitarist Jesse Gress and keyboards player John Ferenzik, an interlude Todd jokes 'is a DVD all by itself'. 

The extras on this DVD are the only disappointment. In the past we've had Todd pontificate about his musical style and approach, this time we get a pretty crappy photo gallery and a rather weird home video shoot of his Japanese trip. It's all good fun but the die-hards may have preferred their master's breakdown of the Liars album and how he approached the recording and songs. 

However, dubious extras aside, this concert souvenir will whet the appetite for Todd's return to the UK stage. Hopefully, next time he will jettison the debatable collaborations (Joe Jackson/Ethel) and give his public more of what they want. A more rounded retrospective of his career and some more throttled guitar would certainly satiate the greybeards. 

****½ 

Review by David Randall 

screen captures by nightotter 

TODD RUNDGREN ‘Best Of Live ’ 
Sanctuary/Castle CMRCD1235 (2005) 
 

What? Another Todd Rundgren live CD? As Todd is at pains to point out in the informative self-edited sleeve notes, this is different from earlier 'official' live albums. The performances are taken from a variety of shows. 

As such, Todd has been able to cherry pick the best versions in a variety of venues and with some surprises. The 13-track collection covers all major bases of the illustrious Rundgren career and the years 1979-2004 in terms of recordings. 

Whilst Todd completists will want this for the 'new' live tracks from last year's 'Liars' tour, they might be best placed checking out the 'Liars' DVD and the live show from which they are taken. 

When I interviewed Todd earlier this year I had to confess that I was 'new' to his music and it was 'Liars' that switched me on. Since then, as you do, I have investigated his back catalogue. 

To be honest, it's an absolute nightmare because there are so many combinations of live recordings and reissues and a lot of duplication due to a large number of licensing deals and - it has to be said - reworkings of classic material. For those, like me, coming to Todd anew this 'best of' might be all you need - for starters. 

As an introduction to his music it shows off his supreme writing skills as much as his musicianship and production values. Songs like 'Real Man', 'Love Of the Common Man' and 'It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference' betray Todd's soul brother credentials and, indeed, 'Soul Brother' from 'Liars' is included. 

In compiling this album, Todd hasn't been afraid to go for unusual takes. When you're casually listening to 'I Saw The Light' you might think you have a faulty CD. In fact, it's included because Todd likes 'the unique texture' of the orchestra accompaniment. 

The emphasis in this set is on songs, but when Rundgren cranks up his guitar as on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (from the Liars tour) the results are splendid. 

The closing song 'Love Is The Answer' has always been a personal favourite of mine. It's a great way to finish and ranks as one of this artist's finest constructions. 

Has anything appeared before? Well I dug out those albums I have purchased since 'getting into' Todd Rundgren and - in particular the 6-CD 'Can't Stop Running' set released by Castle in 2003. Six tracks are duplicated, although for this 'best of' CD they've been digitally remastered. 

So, new entrants start here, converts be careful. 

**** 

Review by David Randall 

Todd Rundgren talks about the songs on the live album: 

This is different from my earlier 'official' live albums in that the performances are from a variety of shows. Basically, it's a production conceit to make it sound like it's all from one show, but they're from various venues and time periods. We go back as far as the mid-80's and all the way up to the last year (2004) with the Liars. We started out with that concept so that the selection of material was tempered by that idea. 

It's sort of an unusual concept for a record…most of the time you just put out a whole live show. Here, some songs were recorded in small clubs while others were in a concert setting. The venues varied so much that it could be jarring going from one track to the next trying to adjust to the new acoustic space. To make it sound like a whole show we put audience response in between the cuts to make them all flow together. 

In choosing the material and placing it in a certain order, and even in giving it a little post equalization and texturization, I was going for something that sounded like a typical evening of live music. 

THE SONGS: 

REAL MAN 
This is one of the more popular songs with fans… one that works in a lot of contexts. When I first began performing it we used a more psychedelic, highly orchestrated arrangement similar to the original recording…maybe with a bit of a Philly influence. By the time we got to capturing it with the Big Band (the "Nearly Human" era), it had evolved into something else, the high octane version represented here. 

LOVE OF THE COMMON MAN 
That's a song that I play in just about every context, solo to quartet to big band. We played it in Utopia for a while. I still play it in my shows. Never before or since have we done such a large arrangement of it, or an arrangement that has such an extended instrumental exploration. 

I SAW THE LIGHT 
This performance was the most problematic from the standpoint of the recording quality. We opted for this version because of the unique texture that the Acapella orchestra added to it. What's going on underneath is actually a taped version of the song…we had no band, only singers…. so it's pretty much the original track with all the vocals stripped out. It has a quality that somewhat resembles the "Nearly Human" era because of the number of vocalists (eleven people). It's an unusual sound. In some ways it's anomalous to have a gigantic number of vocalists singing over the original track that had a fairly stripped down sound to begin with. The thing that makes it unique is that we have so few songs from that Acapella era on this particular record probably because the texture is so radically different. 

IT WOULDN'T HAVE MADE ANY DIFFERENCE 
This is one of the very first songs that I dared to perform live at the piano. When I first started out, I was strictly a guitar player and never considered that I would be playing keyboards and singing at the same time. To make that change took many years. I first took the plunge when the early versions of Utopia were touring and I would open for the band myself. I would come out all alone and this was one of the few songs I was able to pull off then. So it's remained in the repertoire even to this day. It hasn't gone through the same kind of evolution that a song like "Common Man" went through in order to accommodate the big band. 

SOUL BROTHER 
When I composed this song for Liars, I was trying to recreate the kind of record that disappeared after the '60s…kind of like these live club recordings that would occasionally yield a hit single, say like Ramsey Lewis' "The In Crowd." Regardless of how large the venue is, we're still trying to capture a club atmosphere where everything is live and intimate. 

LOVE IN ACTION 
This is a Utopia song that was written originally for an album called "Oops Wrong Planet." It was written in an era when we were tightening things up a bit and not doing as much jamming as we used to do. So the song has always been something that I almost feel uncomfortable playing outside of the context of the Utopia show. At the same time, it's a song that is so much a part of my musical history that I can't avoid playing if I have a band to do it with. It is definitely an audience pleaser. One of the memorable things about it (that unfortunately you can't appreciate on the record) was the high kicks that everyone would do during the solo part. The last time we did that Kaz stepped on his foot the wrong way and broke his ankle, so there is a little bit of danger associated with that tune, particularly if you're going to do the high kicks…and the fans know what I'm talking about! 

CAN'T STOP RUNNING 
Speaking of physicality, this is another song where the listener isn't aware of the aerobic exercise that accompanies the live performance. When we'd go into the extensive soloing at the end, I'd be running in place for however many bars it went on. It could get pretty exhausting. The song was originally written and submitted as a theme for the 1984 Olympics (obviously never used). 

CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS 
A big audience favorite even to this day. I never released it as a single under my name, but it was by any number of artists, including Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart. I always had some burden in performing it because of the other, more familiar singers who had taken the song as their own. I always made up the difference by representing the musical interludes a little bit more accurately. I think this particular instance is interesting for the sheer massive amount of vocals with all the Acapella singers participating. I succeed by sheer force as opposed to finesse! 

WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS 
I started doing it on Ringo Starr and Abbey Road tours, and wound up contributing it to a tribute album for George Harrison. It became a part of our repertoire on my recent tour with Joe Jackson and Ethel as well. When I first started doing it, I was singing it, but not always playing guitar. Sometimes the fans complain if I don't play guitar as well, so this version came out of our Liars set. I DO play guitar on this version. 

SOMETHING TO FALL BACK ON / ROCK LOVE 
These performances represent the Big Band in its heyday, although they are from tours at least a year apart. The recordings demonstrate how well the band fulfilled its mandate as a 'show-stopper' unit. The label is somewhat oxymoronic in that we never allowed any time for the show to stop. The object was to exhilarate to the point of exhaustion, so maybe 'heart-stopping' would be more apropos. 

HELLO IT'S ME 
This is a song that some people consider the centerpiece in my songwriting oeuvre. Other people, myself included, sometimes consider it just an albatross that I am constantly required to revisit periodically because it just won't go away. In that sense, the version that we've got on here is the one that I prefer to do from time to time because it's more fun for me, as opposed to doing it the way it appeared on "Something Anything." It gives it a bit more of a big band swinging feel that I can ham it up a little bit on. Depending on the context, I will play it solo on the piano with a feel similar to the original album version, or if I do have anybody there to help back me up, I usually insist that we do it the way this particular performance is done. 

LOVE IS THE ANSWER 
When this song was first performed live it was done by Utopia (since it originally appeared on 'Oops, Wrong Planet') with Roger Powell covering the stratospheric falsetto parts. It's always great when I've got a unit that has some female singers in it so they can hit some of the terrifically high parts that get written for the records, but are much more difficult to re-produce live. In this particular performance we have the advantage of female voices to make those high parts nice and clear and not so squeaky sounding. 

Thanks for listening! 

Todd Rundgren, July 2005 

*****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***** 

TODD RUNDGREN 
Best of Todd Rundgren Live 
(Sanctuary) 
Rating: 6 
US release date: 15 November 2005 
UK release date: Available as import 
by Will Layman

There are only a handful of quirky geniuses in rock 'n' roll, and there are even fewer quirky geniuses who write legitimate pop hits. And then there's Todd Rundgren. 

Rundgren is a madman of sorts; a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, to be sure. But he's also a whiz-bang producer and multi-instrumentalist and -- here's where things get more distinct -- a computer pioneer, software innovator, video producer, and soundtrack composer. He wrote big hits for his '60s band Nazz ("Open My Eyes", "Hello, It's Me"), then he wrote even bigger hits as a solo act ("I Saw the Light", "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference") -- then he went on to produce and play for artists as diverse as Patti Smith and Meatloaf. His brilliant live act (usually with his bands Utopia or The Liars) was a combination of Funkadelic and Zappa, but with legitimate hit songs! 

This release, titled Best of Todd Rundgren Live features concert recordings of most of Rundgren's best-loved songs from various concerts spanning the last 25 years. Though they are cobbled together to seem like a single concert (a bit of studio trickery for which Rundgren apologizes in his detailed liner notes), they represent the considerable breadth of his musical vision. Though Rundgren is seemingly incapable of writing a dull or tuneless song, his output takes in most of what has been good 'n' smart in rock since the British invasion. He has absorbed the Beatles, sure, and Brian Wilson, too. But he's conversant in doo-wop flavored soul, flights of complex progressive rock from the '70s, power-pop tune-smithing to rival Elvis Costello, and even extended instrumental soloing. As a result, this "Best of" collection can seem schizy but is also rich; a primer in Todd-mania, a pu-pu platter of the Rundgren oeuvre that should hook folks with a taste for sophisticated rock music. 

The demands of Rundgren's music -- detailed harmony singing, layered rock instrumentation, and occasionally orchestral rock conceits -- make most of this music sound like the kind of pre-punk rock that isn't much favored these days. Though his songs are both less sardonic and more direct than those of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Rundgren is perhaps most accurately compared to Steely Dan. Renowned for making intricate, expert rock, The Dan came to be seen as the kind of fussy, too-tailored pop music that was supposed to have been swept away by punk and the lo-fi DIY indie revolution. Rundgren's music is similarly grand. And funny. This is music high on craft and melody, giddy with the music itself, and not at all concerned with issues of "authenticity" or "credibility" or "edge". 

"Something to Fall Back On", "Rock Love", "Hello, It's Me" and "Love of the Common Man", drawn here from a 1991 performance by what Rundgren calls "the Big Band in its heyday", are overripe examples of true show-band music: organs flying, brass surging, background vocals bulging with overtone, the whole band pulsing over the top. "The object was to exhilarate to the point of exhaustion," Rundgren writes. These tracks do just that -- but they're likely to put off music fans who would count "stripped down" and "rootsy" as high compliments. "I Saw the Light" and "Love Is the Answer" come from the 1985 "A Cappella Tour" and find him at the center of a group of 11 singers, intoning great vocal songs in considerable harmonic glory -- but again the richness of the sound may confuse the matter of Rundgren's redoubtable musical quirk. 

The band sounds leaner and more rock 'n' roll on the '90's Nearly Human Tour (particularly on "Love in Action"), but even here the sounds are rich with suspended-4 chords and expertly assayed counter melodies. "Can't Stop Running" marries '80s pop to gospel-shout glory, and "Real Man" kicks with horns and Zappa-esque growls under a Steely sheen, right down to its final fancy chord. 

Finally, two tracks are from '04's The Liars: a down-and-funky "Soul Brother" and remarkably faithful version of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", both sung and played by Rundgren. And while it's certainly fun to hear him pay tribute to an undoubted influence, the real kick of this collection is the "Best of" quality; the accumulation of a career's-worth of terrific tunes, laid out with pride. 

My favorite memory of Rundgren is seeing him perform Gilbert & Sullivan on TV's briefly brilliant Night Music. Wearing a strange hat and bearing a high-wire grin, he sang with his wife and Taj Mahal, accompanied by saxophonist Dave Sanborn and turntablist Christian Marclay. It was one of the weirdest things ever broadcast on network television, and it bore the mark of a rock star with nothing more to prove but every reason to have fun. By then, Rundgren had written more legitimate hits -- genuinely terrific songs -- than any other five rock stars combined. You'll find most of those hits here, played live, but not enough of the Rundgren weirdness. Which is too bad, but doesn't detract from the good clean fun within Best of Todd... Live. 

— 12 January 2006 
 
 

TODD RUNDGREN & ELLIOT EASTON CONFIRMED FOR NEW VERSION OF THE CARS

The rumors are true, and the Cars will ride again. Todd Rundgren and Cars lead guitarist Elliot Easton have joined together in a new lineup of the band, and they've already started working on new material together. If all goes well, the plan is to release a new greatest-hits album with some new songs next year, and then to tour, but no dates have been announced. The rest of the band hasn't been set, and it's not known whether Cars drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Gregg Hawkes will take part. 
Cars singer-guitarist Ric Ocasek has already told us that he's not interested in a reunion, but he won't stop his former bandmates from playing.
Singer-bassist Benjamin Orr died of cancer in October 2000 

TODD'S 11/15 MESSAGE

Todd's message on the "New Cars" 
For the screamers: 
Now that the cat is out of the bag, or rather 'car is out of the garage', I should address the issues I would have dealt with had someone given me a heads up before we went public. 

There is a new cadre of 'fan' who has taken to constant second guessing of my motives and decisions. Their responses are usually Cassandraesque, rife with predictions of career death and loss of core audience. If results are not to their satisfaction, they threaten... what? To actively campaign against playing my music on the radio? 

Here are the facts. I don't know what kind of job you have, but I imagine that if you want to keep it you have to adapt to changes in your job description and to changes in the job market itself. And I don't know if you've heard, but musicians have notoriously brief careers. You can't do the job well on a part time basis, so you had better make a living at it. And if you want to keep the job, you better take advantage of whatever opportunities you have to work. 

You would have thought that 2004 was a big year for me careerwise, and in many ways it was. But the effort to bring the tour to the widest audience was not a profitable venture and I am still paying it off today. You would have thought that 2005 has been a nearly disasterous followup, and in some ways it has. But I erased the debts of last year, got caught up on my taxes and even vacationed for a couple weeks. Oh yeah, and I supported my family. 

So now an opportunity has arisen for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year. The catch is, a lot of people have been counting on something else. Let's make this clear: the possibility of a Utopia reunion of any kind has always been extremely remote. We disbanded for specific reasons that a previous reunion attempt only exacerbated. Despite whatever enjoyment we got from playing the music for our fans, the reformation left a sour taste. It would be ludicrous to Spinal Tap our way through a tour so fans could be satisfied that we simply showed up on the same stage. That's a redefinition of Utopia I can't personally handle. No 'magic date' is so magical that it can transform such an ingrained relationship. It's not happening and we'll all have to live with it. 

The rest of the equation is obvious. I can take out a band of my own and slide inexorably into debt, or I can go out solo and take my chances. Except that's no choice. Most of my recent material doesn't translate to the accoustic guitar (let alone piano), so the act has become stale to the point that I won't accept any more gig offers for solo shows. 

So you see, if someone gives you an opportunity to make a good living for a year without violating your musical ethics (or HAVING to play Beatle songs), and throws in the ability to retain your own identity and perform your own material and possibly create new fans, well, what choice do you have, really? The schedule even gives me plenty of time to record a new solo project, so what's the problem? If my working musician's decision offends you, start calling the DJs and beg them to stop playing all that TR music that's in such heavy rotation. 

Otherwise, me and Kas and Prairie and Elliot and Greg will be playing parts of the country we'd never get to otherwise, and hope to see you all there when we do. 

TR 

Ooooooohing backing vocals for Bat Out of Hell III with Kasim and Eric Troyer 

sporting shirt i designed as a takeoff on the popular "got milk?" ad campaign 
on 7/4/5 at the Wis. Rapids downtown fireworks celebration with The Lizardz
got it?
(photo by brother-in-law Jason Shields) 

artwork by smeeg 
courtesy of  trbazaar

from Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL on 4/15/2005 by Sam Shilling 

from Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, Pompano Beach, FL on 4/16/5 by EJ Haas 

from Florida Theatre Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL on 4/18/5 by Sam Shilling 

TR busted foamy out for the first time on this tour for the encores in Philly on 4/24/5 
(photos by Shari Hamilton) 

the Kimmel Center - Verizon Hall in Philly 
(photos by Grace Susan) 

(logo by al seremak) 
******** NOTE: THIS IS NO LONGER "IN BIZ" ********
The Fahrenheit 451 site is up and running at Café Press. What is F451 you may ask? Let us tell you all about what we are doing. We're all about Todd stuff-live stuff, rare stuff. We are a volunteer (meaning we all donate our talents/resources to the projects always to the cause for free-some work on audio, some history, some graphics), unified (meaning the support/participation of all major collector sources) fan project. You, being a hardcore Todd fan are one of us. Consider this to be your place too. This is Todd stuff for Todd folk only and not for the general public. In no way is this in any way intended to pass for, look like or compete with official Todd products. 

        These are fan club releases (of what we feel is very high quality) intended to celebrate the performances (that have been traded freely on the TR scene for decades) that stand above the rest both from a historic perspective (broadcasts, boards, etc) and from a recording perspective (captured series will celebrate the best recordings/performances from the fans).  If you have an idea, remember this is your place..let us know.. welcome, so, let’s see if we can do something unique here-let’s see what we can do with this... 

        We’ve started out with a big bang/celebration with ..count em... FIVE (5)  CDS of the most long and oft traveled boot cds-all from our ESSENTIALS series. More have been added since! If these cds were shoes, they’d have no soles left cause they’ve been around forever.....but, my, my-please check out what we’ve done to ‘em. Our promise is that all titles on F451 will always be re-visited sonically  to find/edit/create the best sound possible (also these titles will be re-re visited as technology progresses- ie new software). Each F451 release will always have complete new original design work, picture cds, and commentary on performance in the booklet. Quality is what it is about. 
Check em out-you can even listen to MP3 file samples before you buy at the CP F451 site!!! 

OUR FIRST TITLES ARE: 

FHR 451001      5.2.72 HEMPSTEAD (W/ BONUS 72 MATERIAL) 
FHR 451002      11.8.73 ATLANTA (W/ LIVE RARE STUFF, 12/73 MIDNIGHT SPECIAL)
FHR 451003      10.9.75 LONDON (EXTRA TRACKS) 
FHR 451004      1.25.77 OXFORD (WHOLE OF SINGRING ADDED) 
FHR 451005      2.4.99 BOSTON (BONUS INTERVIEW EXCERPTS 2.99) 
FHR 451006     8.24.4 NYC (with JOE JACKSON/ETHEL-ENCORE) 

       MOST IMPORTANT PART/WHY WE’RE DOING THIS/OUR CREDO:                                                     . 
        Here’s the deal:........ Each product sells for $13.99. The cost at Café Press is $8.99. We will forever be a never for profit deal as it applies to us. Period. 

        Our pledge : Every penny above cost goes to Patronet or the man in the most direct way we can benefit him and his projects.  We may purchase Patronet subscriptions thereby benefitting the artist for his work- (hence, our name). We then in turn will give the subs away to those most deserving or those most in need, or we may gift the money to a project more directly if the possibility presents itself for any project he has. But above all, you can guarantee everything you buy will help the cause in that way always and forever. Thus,  we feel, this arrangement is ultimately “whats right”. 

        Where it’s at: we here (and you there together) at F451 also promise that everyone involved in this is at the right place spiritually and mentally about the projects, meaning that there’s no effort for any individual seeking recognition or alternative motive involved, etc from anyone- we’ve all learned by now that it takes a community to succeed. We all agree and should definitely acknowledge that we have something special here. All you need to do is look at any mainstream coverage of TR, they always talk about his dedicated fan base.  But that’s all because of the man himself as a person, an artist, his integrity and his message. This our chance to give back a small dribble to help benefit the man’s projects and to offer sincere thanks. 

        We all are working together to make this hopefully something little that can grow, influence or adapt to maybe help out a little. All who work on these projects do it without credit, their work their collections of Todds music/art being their reward. No one here will ever take a cent from this project. www.cafepress.com/f451 

Lest we forget: 
        Our work here in these projects is actually a building standing on the building of all the original folks who transferred this stuff long ago. Without them, there would be nothing preserved to enjoy. This is also a thank you/salute to them.You know these people and they stand here with us. 

        Again, this is a private site so please bookmark it. We are your 451: only the hardcore Todd fans. We strive to deliver only the highest quality. 

        I have hope that in the future, the live stuff or captured series will be concentrated on with the evolution of CP’s packaging options.  Again, the f451 stuff comes with writings, sterling remastered sound, bonus tracks, picture cds. At the site, you can only view the cover, which is only a small part of the package-Trust me, these are stunning pieces of art.  Don’t fret, there’s always more to come here as well but not too fast ...always remember that any and all the money over the cost goes where it should.. 

        The second series starts (captured) with the NYC Delacorte 04 gig very soon and a rarities cd. 

        We’ll try to eventually put up a separate site but keep an eye here: www.cafepress.com/f451  -this is where the action will be. We’ll let you know the best way we can when new stuff’s coming..thanks in advance for helping us getting this going/ you’re gonna love em.....we plan on keeping the projects rolling (at a less crazy pace than we went thru getting this up and going!!). 

Disclaimer for clarity’s sake: 
        For Todd's or even God’s sake, all of us at F451have always completely and will always totally support Todd’s official product and in no way do we intend to compete with same. Please buy all his official product before you come here-all of us here buy even every different format (vinyl lp, dual disc, import, dvd 5.1...CD-I player????,  etc). If you haven’t bought all of Todd’s stuff-this is not for you. Our site is private (not accessible by public search engines) by design for fan club items and available only to hardcore Todd fans.  If you are a collector, these are unbelievable packages, they really are. And they will continue to be, that’s our promise.You will want em all. 

So add it to your faves please- go get em while you can at  www.cafepress.com/f451. I think they’ll remind you of what it felt like when you first found out about the man.They sure do so for me-...Thanks, happy listening and see you on the road!!! 

.......FRIENDS AT F451

from tony... 

"f451 is no more. i got a note from the folks today about content and items were removed from the site. somebody must have spoken up..too bad..i thank everyone for hard hard work- we didnt make much money but we made a statement...there were only 6 of em...the last 4 never made it out...bummer..there is some small money pending that i will send to tr and close it up. we all tried and i thank my pals for it......" 

Todd's latest, and the greatest in quite some time, 
LIARS 
 available on CD, DVD-A, Dual-Disc, and UK Double Vinyl 

Ethel (strings), Joe Jackson (piano), and Todd Rundgren (guitar). 
Photograph courtesy of (c) Steven J. Sherman 
8/24/4 Central Park, NYC 

(photo by son of 1984)

ETHEL 

WE MADE IT!!!!!!! THANKS TO ALL THAT CONTRIBUTED IN MANY WAYS 
This ran in the Rolling Stone 964/965 PEOPLE OF THE YEAR issue on 12/30/4-1/13/5 
one can spot me over the lower "d"...misspelling and all 
 

this is a photo of the card sent to Todd in january of '05 
by some of the  PatroNetters 
as a thank you for the Liars Tour VIP passes 
(photos by veggiegirl Lyn) 

~~~~~~~~~~ ********** ~~~~~~~~~~ 
Feb. 24, 2005 
Rundgren finds Sanctuary for unique accord
By Chris Morris 
Todd Rundgren has signed a wide-ranging three-year agreement with Sanctuary Group that covers the full spectrum of his creative talents as musician, producer, songwriter and technology consultant. 
Under the terms of the new pact, Rundgren will give at least one new studio solo album to Sanctuary; that project likely will be released in fourth-quarter 2006 or early 2007. He also is licensing 13 previous solo album and sets by his band Utopia to the company. 
There also will be multiple live DVD/CD projects. The first two will be devoted to a spring acoustic tour to be co-headlined by Joe Jackson and a 30th anniversary Utopia tour next year. 
Sanctuary, which operates its own music publishing arm, will administer any new compositions written during the term of the agreement. 
Additionally, Rundgren will produce mutually approved Sanctuary recording artists or acts handled by the company's management arm; remix 5.1 audio projects for those artists; act as a senior adviser on digital delivery strategies; and create branded-themed collections from Sanctuary's large catalog. 
Said Sanctuary Group CEO Merck Mercuriadis of the deal: "It goes hand in hand with what Todd has done as an artist over the years. He wants to push the envelope, and we have the infrastructure to push the envelope. It made for a great partnership." 
Added Sanctuary senior vp catalog and special products Mike Jason: "It would be very hard to duplicate (this arrangement). There are few artists as prolific as Todd, few who can do as many things." 
Because of the multifaceted nature of the arrangement, Rundgren's deal is not a standard record label contract mandating an advance for delivery of an album and options on future releases. Instead, Rundgren will receive a monthly minimum payment. 
Said his manager Eric Gardner, "The monthly minimum guarantee was quantified by assigning minimum values to each of the categories of services or deliverables, totaling the amounts, adding a premium representing the estimated worth of having Todd acting in effect as a consigliere to the worldwide Sanctuary Group of companies, and then dividing by 36 months." 
Rundgren's arrangement with Sanctuary is his first pact with a major-distributed music firm since the end of his long-running relationship with Warner Bros. in the early 1990s. Since that time, he has focused on releasing his music directly to fans through his own online service, PatroNet. 
"Once you reach a certain point in your career, it becomes difficult if not impossible to get the label to prioritize you," Rundgren said. 
But Rundgren decided to give conventional distribution another look after undertaking a couple of successful licensing agreements with Sanctuary. In 2002, he licensed his live audio and video archive to the company, and he later granted worldwide rights to his 2004 concept album "Liars" to Sanctuary. 
"We expressed an interest in being part of Todd's musical journey," Jason said. "Between Eric and I, we came up with an omnibus agreement where we would be Todd's home for a lot of things." 
Added Rundgren: "Part of (the new arrangement) evolves out of the comfort level we've achieved with Sanctuary and the people there. They have gone out of their way to do not only a good high-profile job on the rereleases, but the experience with 'Liars' was especially gratifying -- particularly in Europe, where they are more or less home-based." 
Describing the essence of the deal, Rundgren said, "I am more or less on call for any particular thing in my skill set that is apropos to Sanctuary's business. There really isn't necessarily a limit on it." 
He added, "It's not intended to be a giant goldmine for me. It essentially guarantees me peace of mind, and rent paid, and all those things people who show up at a regular job are guaranteed." 

2/25/5 
at the Pro Productions Show - Long Beach, CA 
(photos by darnelle vanosten-corbett) 

(photos from this date by Justin Thyme) 

3/5/5 
All-star band plays Princeville Saturday night
By The Garden Island 

Members of Kula Elementary School's Fund-raising Committee are hosting a live auction and concert this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Princeville Resort ballroom, featuring singer-songwriter Donald Fagen of Steely Dan fame, Toni Childs, Todd Rundgren, and many others. 
The artists, including Grammy-award winning slack-key guitarist Ken Emerson of Kalihiwai, will perform individually, and join forces for an all-star jam. 
At a rehearsal at a Kilauea home yesterday, most of the players except Rundgren, a Princeville resident, were present. He is on tour on the Mainland. Michele Rundgren, his wife, joined the all-star cast that included Tris Imboden, drummer for Chicago, and many others. They are calling themselves "Kula Jam." Emerson, fresh from attending the Grammy Awards gala and performing nearly nonstop in the San Francisco Bay Area after the Grammy festivities, came home to find he had to learn around 14 new songs in order to join the band, he said. 
Tickets for the event, which is to raise funds for a new, permanent home for Kula Elementary School in Kilauea, are $50 and $75, and are on sale at Papaya's Natural Foods in Hanalei and Kapa‘a, North Shore Pharmacy in Kilauea, Hanalei Surf Co., and at the Kula Elementary School front office. 

~~~~~~~~~~ ********** ~~~~~~~~~~ 
post -show report from ken... 

"KE started with some blues. TR did soul brother, I 
saw the light, and a medley of soul tunes, D Fagen did 
some steely tunes and some blues.TR and DF did an Al 
Green tune together.TR and everyone ended with bang 
the drum, a real rave up." 

fagen prepares to hit stage 

MANY NEW INTERVIEWS
 

>>>>>>~~~~~~~~~~ ***** ~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<< 
>>>>2005 Shows<<<<
~~~~~~~~~~ ***** ~~~~~~~~~~ 

opening night Melbourne 4/13/5 can be downloaded for free here

Beacon 4/27/5 is also available here
you must register (for free) first 

If the link doesn't work go here and look up Todd 

FREE video clips of Black Maria from Jacksonville on 4/18/5 
and WMGGW from NYC's Beacon on 4/27/5 at Ethel's site! 
 

TR/JJ/Ethel on Conan O'Brien on 4/28/5 
can freely be viewed here, here, and here

(screen shot by eeeeej) 

Joe Jackson covers
Couldn't I Just Tell You

sporting new 'doo this date 
(photo by Dorreen Brenner) 

5/10/5 Columbus, OH Promowest Pavillion 
Dig the Parental Advisory shirt! 
(photo courtesy of jdmartin) 

Ethel during Black Maria 
5/10/5 Columbus, OH promowest Pavillion 
(photo courtesy of jdmartin) 

TR's new axe...the "spider" debuted on 5/12/5 at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul!

AMAZING show at the GORGEOUS Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee on 5/13/5 (front and center - thanks Gary) 
TR was ON...they were ALL ON-GREAT SHOW! 
Big thanks to Scott and fellow Lizardz Mark and Milo for the lifts and Randy for the 'special vision' 

Black Maria w/ foamy (pre-D string break, which didn't take long) on Friday the 13th in Milwaukee 

with "haunted" ukelele ("there's an imp inside it that keeps it tuned")
me in hat front and center 

TR gets "laied" by some sexy lady Toddheads-look like Todd's face in his hair to you? me too! 

Me (in hat) sneakin' ("sneeeeeeeakin'?!" - Gollum) in before the encore kleenex filler, "Pretending to Care" 

More Pretending to Care...with long green hair..."like i used to have!" (TR) 
me in hat at his feet (mesmerized) 
(photos courtesy of Lani Hanson...thanks babe!) 

Friends (from left) include, but are not limited to, Milo and Mark of The Lizardz, Bob May and lovely daughter, Kurt, Gary Witt (Pabst exec. director), me (with hand in face waving in John Finucan), Lani, Soul Sis Kris and boyfriend, Mary and Mark, Pebbles, CLB, Pebbles sister (Rocks), and the infamous Rundgren Junkie 
Front are the guy we sold Anna's ticket to at the last minute and the freak lookin' for Foamy that sat behind me 

Add John Finucan of The Weavils and Andrea... 
(photos by Chris Braeger---THANKS) 

OPENING NIGHT across the "pond" 
Guild Hall - Portsmouth, England 
5/30/5 

JoJo leighs TR 
(photo by RA-i or eeeeej, not sure) 

Colston Hall-Bristol, England on 5/31/5 
- the debut of "Stood Up" with Joe and Ethel in the "encore set" - 

signing Gary's "Fool" guitar 
(photos by Matthew Beaghan) 

(GREAT shot by Phil Hunt) 

6/3/5 Leicester, England - tour debut of "Lord Chancellor's Nightmare", "Soul Brother" 
and Joe's "Got The Time Ticking In My Head" 
(photo courtesy of The Surf Talks) 

~~~~~~2006~~~~~~

Canada week with Tony Levin, Jesse Gress, and Jerry Marotta 
8.25-9.4.6 
COMPLETE 

TR's axes on the New Cars tour 

11/25/6

The Definitive Rock Collection (Remastered) 
 

The New Cars at Milwaukee's Riverside Theatre

(photo by SoulSisKris...THANKS!) 
(the following photos are all by me with my camera phone) 

elliotodd 
THIS is exactly what excited me when i first read of the tour...KILLER! 

we were fortunate enough to have KASIM onboard for this show 
(his backup, when he's meatloafing, is Atom Ellis) 

greg hawkes with sax during "All Mixed Up" 

DA BEST! 
(rippin' up "Black Maria" on Foamy) 

Elliot got to tear it up for over 4 minutes during "You're All I've Got Tonight", a highlight of the show fo' sho! 

my buddy Tim Root (the other TR) gets his limbs signed! 

after-show at Rock Bottom brewery 

Happy Birthday to Kris! 

we kept the staff busy 'til bartime 

lisa and melissa...and chris 

the world outside awaits our short walk to the hotel 


brother grant OWNS mke! 

axeman for hire! 

pabst theatre side stage door 
(where i sTRolled out with BOC a couple years back) 

bad and dangerous...Lizardz in da house! 
(shot by Tim) 

view from hotel room 
(thanks for the killer spot Gary!) 
 
 
 

~~~~~ ******* ~~~~~ 

MeTaLuNaTiC's collection of fans from 11/25/6 show at Riverside theatre in Milwaukee 

BEAUTY of a signed axe!
this gem belongs to abner at the trconnection forums

~~~~~~2007~~~~~~

*****FIRST SHOW OF THE YEAR***** 
Friday, January 19
Todd with Tony Levin Band at NAMM showcase 

Buffalo Grass
Black & White 
World Wide Epiphany 
The Walls Came Down
Black Maria 

New Album News!

Rundgren's next venture, though, will be. He'll make a CD that is a tribute to 1970s arena-rock, a time he believes was a good one for rock-'n'-roll.

"It was the overlap between progressive rock and the stuff AC/DC or Yes might do," he said. 
"The Mahavishnu Orchestra was selling out arenas in those days. 
Mostly, it is a case of when I see something not being done, I feel I am more useful if I am filling that gap no one is covering."

 

(photo by Darnelle) 

(photo by michele k) 
(no recording...yet) 


rehearsal for tour-photo by TONY LEVIN, the ever-amazing bassist for most of this tour

Live track from  4/23/7
see Mike A's review and HEAR #1 LCD live from this date

(4/23/7 photo by Kris Awgul)

(4/23/7 photo by Margy)

(4/23/7 photo by Michael Wagner)
*dig Tony's "fingers"*

Todd Rundgren At BB Kings:
Pop Wizard Goes Back To The Bars For
Powerhouse Performance With Top Band!
A Kweevak.com Rock Report by Ray Ecke
NEW YORK, NY -- Early on in Todd Rundgren's powerhouse performance at B.B. King's in New York's Times Square Monday, April 23rd he poked fun at his own one-hit-wonder status. 

(4/23/7 photo by Kris Awgul)
Todd Takes Time Square in New York City! 
"Yeah, name the hits," Rundgren jokingly demanded, " 'Hello, It's Me,' and..." 
Truth be told, Rundgren has had more than one hit ("I Saw The Light," "We Gotta Get You A Woman" and "Can We Still Be Friends," which was also a hit for the late Robert Palmer, all cracked the Billboard Top 40, but the drift of Rundgren's humble sarcasm wasn't lost on this sold-out crowd of 'faithful' Todd-heads: the masses may know him for one song, but his fans know he's way more than that. 
To be a Rundgren fan means suffering through his numerous re-inventions and incessant musical experimentation. If you fell in love with his music because of Something/Anything or Hermit of Mink Hollow then chances are you didn't dig the whole TR-i thing too much. But that's the price fans pay when you invest yourself in an artist that consistently challenges himself, and his audience, to keep up. Of course the rewards are those moments of sheer transcendence like (at least for me) 1988's Nearly Human - my favorite Todd record and one of my all-time-favorite records period. 

The Power Trio plus one - Jesse Gress, Todd Rundgren, Jerry Marotta & Tony Levin! 
And the reward for being a Todd fan can also be found in his current tour - a straightforward four piece featuring the remarkable rhythm section of Tony Levin on bass and Jerry Marotta, and Todd regular Jesse Gress on guitar. 
With this group of gifted players supporting him, Rundgren seemed inspired to dig deep into his musical catalog and perform songs he hasn't touched in years like "Number 1 Lowest Common Denominator" from Todd, "Broke Down and Busted" from Runt, and "Tiny Demons" off of Healing; as well as rearranging his newer electronic offerings like "Soul Brother" and "Mammon" off his most recent release Liars, and show highlight "Fascist Christ" off of No World Order, which benefited greatly from Tony Levin's trademark finger-sticks to provide the pulsating bass punch heard on record. 
His voice strong and guitar-playing precise, Rundgren began the evening with "Buffalo Grass" and "I Hate My Freakin' ISP," two cuts off One Long Year, a collection of singles essentially that he had posted online to supporters of his patronet.com website. His choice to open with two of his more obscure tunes, sent a clear message that this show and tour - with no specific record to support - was solely about cherry picking from his hundreds of great songs and letting them rip with this impressive collective of musicians. 
From there Rundgren ventured into such classics as "Black Maria," "I Saw The Light," "Black and White" and an effective cover of Red Rider's 80s classic "Lunatic Fringe," which he said he began performing after the U.S. invaded Iraq. Other highlights included a bluesy medley of Utopia's "Mystified" into "Broke Down and Busted." He ended his nearly two-hour set with "Slut," which he jokingly commented was not meant to be sexist (and to prove he meant it he substituted "He may be a slut" a few times), and another prescient cover of "Walls Came Down" by The Call.

Innovator, singer, songwriter, producer, guitar great - Todd Rundgren! 
His encore of "Hawking," from Nearly Human provided the evening's biggest surprise. A song of quiet beauty and emotional depth, coupled with its languid gospel time signature, seemed a stretch for a four-piece band despite their collective talent. Yet beaking it down to its bare essentials served to make it some how even more impactful, as evidenced by the silence that enveloped the crowd at the song's dramatic end. 
Rundgren closed the evening with a rousing version of the Utopia classic "One World". It's hope filled message of humanity reaffirmed not just the spiritual side of Rundgren's music that so many fans connect with, but the fact that when he wants to few can match his ability 
to craft a damn catchy song and deliver it with gusto.

The faithful packed the house to see the wizard and true star! 

Set List:
• Buffalo Grass
• I Hate My Freakin' ISP
• Black Maria
• Soul Brother
• Mammon
• Fascist Christ
• I Saw The Light
• Black & White
• Lunatic Fringe
• Number 1 Lowest Common Denominator
• Drive
• Tiny Demons
• Mystified/Broke Down & Busted
• Slut
• Walls Came Down
Encore:
• Hawking
• One World

Todd Rundgren fronts The New Cars; Levin and Marotta play with Peter Gabriel! 
Originally Published: 04/30/2007 on Kweevak.com 

(4/27/7 photo by Charlie B)

(4/27/7 photo by Kleingeld)

(4/27/7 photo by Susan R)

Rundgren: Expect the unexpected

BY HAYS DAVIS
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Friday, April 27, 2007 
Todd Rundgren is one musician who can be counted on to be consistent with his recorded output -- or consistently unpredictable, to be more accurate.
While this trait may have given his record labels headaches over the years, his fans are as faithful as ever.
"I can't say that everyone should attempt to be as eclectic as I am, or as I attempt to be," said Rundgren, speaking from a tour stop in Raleigh, N.C.
"But it's gotten to a point where my audience is made up principally of people who know not to expect a particular thing, or for me to just repeat what I did the last time out. And in a way, that's part of what makes it interesting."
Following his fondly remembered work in the 1960s with The Nazz, Rundgren made his name chiefly through his albums of the early 1970s.
"Something/Anything?" (1972) included the hits "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light." 
The next year's wildly ambitious "A Wizard/A True Star" further established Rundgren as a studio maverick.
He formed the prog-pop band Utopia in 1974, and that outfit toured and released albums into the next decade.
Rundgren also made a name producing albums, including Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" and Grand Funk Railroad's "We're an American Band."
Returning to solo work, Rundgren has stayed busy over the years, occasionally releasing such expectation-defying albums 
as the all-vocal "A Cappella" or the bossa nova of "With a Twist" and regularly performing live.
He's now splitting road time between fronting The New Cars (a retooled version of the 1970s-'80s hit makers) and 
playing his own shows backed by Peter Gabriel/King Crimson bassist Tony Levin's band.
It's the latter configuration that's headed to the State Theatre in Falls Church on Sunday.
Fans can expect to hear a sampling from almost anything Rundgren has ever recorded.
"You can say it's from all eras, going back even to my earliest solo albums and even as far back as The Nazz," he said. 
"At the same time, we're doing songs from that more recent album, [2004's] 'Liars.'
"I'm thinking and choosing songs that I think are apropos for the instrumentation, which is essentially two guitars, bass and drums. 
Good enough for The Beatles, I suppose," he said and laughed.
While anything goes in regard to the song list, there is one constant that Rundgren will never escape -- or want to.
"There's a segment of my fan base that complains if I go too long without actually picking up the guitar and doing anything significant, 
so it's a chance for me to exercise my chops as a player."

Review of 5/9/7 tour closer in Birmingham
wRundgren's fans accept the challenge
Posted by Mary Colurso May 10, 2007 5:25 PM
Categories: Music, Reviews
Review rating: Four out of five stars
Smack dab in the Bible Belt, Todd Rundgren performed "Fascist Christ." 
A risky choice, but not out of character for this uncompromising artist. 
Rundgren, 58, saw no reason to change his set list Wednesday night at the WorkPlay theater. 
He stuck to his songs, and his vision, even if that might make some in the crowd uncomfortable. 
If anyone got miffed during the 9 p.m. performance, they certainly didn't show it. 
Rundgren's fans were much in evidence and they know what to expect: He's going to challenge their perceptions and push the musical envelope. 
For about two hours, that's exactly what he did.
Rundgren and his band played like snotty kids with great skills and something to prove. He and the three-member group -- bassist John Montagna, guitarist Jesse Gress and drummer Jerry Marotta -- had attitude to spare as they offered a concert that was mean and sweet, raw and smooth, political and emotional.
Although its main emphasis was rock, the agenda included rap, dream-pop, emo, punk and many hybrid sounds. 
Rundgren, best known for the radio singles he produced in the 1970s, treated the crowd to one of them, 
"I Saw the Light," immediately after the religion rant of "Fascist Christ." 
"You've eaten your meat and vegetables," he announced. "Now it's time for dessert." 
It's obvious that he regards "I Saw the Light" as fluffy fare. Still, it sounded substantial at WorkPlay. 
This was no greatest-hits show, of course. For Rundgren, that would be boring and predictable.
Instead, he snatched the songs he wanted from his extensive catalog, such as "Black & White" and "Worldwide Epiphany." 
Rundgren's sharp, snarky vocals might not please every ear; if you want dulcet tones, listen elsewhere. 
His voice suits the material, though, and so does his stage attitude. 
At times, Rundgren brought to mind Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, challenging the crowd and daring you to dislike him. At others, he seemed capable of embracing the planet with his philosophical musings, expressed through songs with strong melodic threads. 
Cynic or idealist? Skeptic or humanitarian? Where Todd Rundgren is concerned, such questions don't have easy answers. 
One thing is certain, however: He lived up to his reputation as a fascinating provocateur during this rare appearance in Birmingham.

5/9/7 Birmingham setlist

Hello, it’s Todd
Rundgren still rocking on the Web, as producer and in the New Cars.
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER
Cox News Service
Todd Rundgren The best way to avoid boredom is to always be trying something new, a philosophy that holds particularly true for musicians.
Todd Rundgren is probably never bored — his expansive career has included forays into R&B and soul, heavy guitar-laden prog rock and pop.
As a producer he has further staved off boredom by working with such wildly diverse artists as punk goddess Patti Smith, glam rockers the New York Dolls, R&B masters Hall & Oates and former “Hardy Boy” Shaun Cassidy.
Q. Your Web site is fascinating, mostly because you have to sit through the whole presentation of your credits and quotes without any way to click ahead, 
but it’s so colorful you don’t care.
A. Twenty years ago, entertainment represented things where you had no interaction. … 
Now with links and browsing, the whole experience is about clicking things and hopping from one thing to another.
As a producer, you’ve always been interested in the possibilities of technology. What can you do musically now that you couldn’t do before?
It’s not necessarily what you can or cannot do musically. More, it’s the flexibility that comes with having a digital audio workstation. Now even your laptop has become powerful; it can be a studio. You just need one microphone, and you can have a studio wherever you go.
Another very visible project you’ve been involved in is as the vocalist for the New Cars, featuring members of the Cars.
That experience has been unusual. I’ve never done anything like it, attempting to stand in for somebody else. I was a little wary, a little cautious about what the reaction of the fans would be, but I’ve been pretty gratified.
You’ve produced everyone from Badfinger to Grand Funk Railroad to Bourgeois Tagg’s “Yo-Yo.”
A great album! Then (co-leader) Brent Bourgeois decided he wanted to do something else so I took his band.

the following shots from Sat 5/05/07 West Palm Beach, FL SunFest WaMu Stage show w/ John Montagna are © Alfonso Hermida 



i LOOOOOVE shots like this!
(and should have taken some sidestage shots from Liars kickoff shows in 2004 but had no camera phone then)

2007 shirt (back) by Prairie Prince
New Cars return to the road - 2007
 

TR on Babicz guitars
********** 
~~~~~~2008~~~~~~
1/23/8
TR at the Pabst

While you are here please check out some FREE LIVE WEAVILS

 
 

Slippery Reality
12/13/97 Oshkosh, WI 
to SAVE - Right Click "Save As" 

Heart of Yours
5/8/99 Madison, WI 
to SAVE - Right Click "Save As" 

quality fanmade toddwear like this jersey available at 
rundgrenjunkie@aol.com 
 
 

screenshots by Roger Lindar at trconnection.com

_________*********_________

Toddities
__________________________*********_________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~ TODD'S KEYBOARDISTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~

 MOOGY KLINGMAN
***********************

-------------------------> NOT FOR TRADE <-------------------------

^^^^^^^^^^ ************M. FROG************ ^^^^^^^^^^
(jean yves labat)

New Roger Powell
with Greg Koch

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
Sanctuary Records "official bootlegs"
NOT FOR TRADE

Can't Stop Running

Notes: This is a six disc set of albums previously released only in Japan. 
These shows cover three decades of his live shows.
Utopia - Last Of The New Wave Riders

Notes: This is a seven disc set of albums previously released only in Japan. 
These shows cover three decades of his live shows.
Live At The Forum, London '94 (Vol. 1)

Utopia - KSAN 95 FM Live '79 (Vol. 2)

Nearly Human Tour Japan '90 (Vol. 3)

~~aborted first cover attempt~~

~~another attempt at cover~~

~~final released cover~~

Nazz - Open Our Eyes - Anthology

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
available at: http://www.trbazaar.com/sanctuarycds.htm and http://sanctuaryrecords.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Utopia DVDs

Live in Ohio 1980

Live in Boston 1982

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
available at: http://www.trbazaar.com/utopiadvds.htm and http://sanctuaryrecords.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

be sure to check out the new WEAVILS CDs and DVD at 
http://weavils.com/fromthevaults.html

--------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-------------------- 
for 
WTS/Nazz - 1974
1975 - 1979

1980 - 1984
1985 - 1989

1990 - 1994
1995 - 1999
2000-2004

Jeff with Todd
Fans with Todd

above two courtesy of EJ at Todd Rundgren's Hot Toddies
Contact Info

jeff@weavils.com
 

jeff gauss

281 van slate st.
wis. rapids, wi
54494


http://weavils.com
http://thelizardz.com/
(my bands)

7.23.03 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre

SHINE    and   THANK YOU!!!!!!

"Sing and shout it
tell the world about it 
the TRuth is sweet"

fan-made shirts of high quality like this LIARS Tavailable at
rundgrenjunkie@aol.com
(tell him i sent ya)

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