Tegan And Sara - In-Store Performance at Twist And Shout, Thursday 8/22/2013

Todd Rundgren Ramps Up The Energy @ The Boulder Theater

Todd Rundgren made his Official State Visit to Boulder on July 3, 2013. He had last been to the Boulder Theater as the frontman for The New Cars, standing in for Ric Ocasek, who had opted out from that band's plans to hit the road.  Todd did a couple of his songs during each appearance, but mostly stuck to the Cars' catalog of songs, despite the clamor for more of his songs from those who went primarily because of Todd's presence.

Ironically, that may have been one of the few opportunities, however brief, to see Todd do a fine rendition of a couple of songs his fans have held near and dear for many years.

When Todd checked in at the Boulder Theater for a solo concert in 2004, he brought along a piano and sat at that for most of the show.  He initially regaled the audience with a story about getting into Denver and some time spent at DIA.  However, when he started doing some songs, he often just tossed them off too casually or didn't even finish them, certainly not giving them the respect they merited.  He also used some electronics and recorded loops at the concert. At one point his voice was at least triple-tracked, and you couldn't make out his real voice from the "Memorex" voices.  The concert may have been something of a letdown for those who came out thinking that they were going to get some intimate performances of songs from Todd's classic "Something/Anything" album (originally a double-vinyl LP set), plus great songs from other Todd discs, possibly along with some experimentation from Todd, who's been a wizard in the studio, a producer, a gadget geek and a true star.  The audience got small bites of the songs they wanted to hear, along with dabblings in electronic simulations and brief interludes of songs tinkled on the 88s without ever settling into them.

Now, let's roll ahead to 2013 and this recent appearance.  No piano on stage this time; high tech gadgetry and the appropriate software is much easier to bring along and use, and probably a lot less expensive too But Todd did have some real instruments with him as well.  He strapped on an electric guitar and treated the audience to some blistering solos that he placed on top of the recorded beats.  He also had real live human musicians on stage too, a bass player and a time-keeper, both of whom for the most part seemed just as much on auto-play as the manufactured sound.  They lent nothing to making a connection with the crowd, and seemed almost invisible, hidden in the strobing streams of colored lights and in the darkness when just a white spot would illuminate the area around the Wizard. Todd himself had a certain separation from the aidence as well. He didn't really address the audience or seem to notice the crowd much; there were no stories to be told; and he wore goggles or his trademark sunglasses throughout the show, so no eye contact for that warm and fuzzy feeling that he was actually looking at You.

If Todd's 2004 concert at the Boulder Theater gave short shrift to some of his best loved songs from quite a lot of albums, then the 2013 return seemed to pretty much ignore them entirely. Todd's let his love for studio wizardry overtake his talents as a conventional songwriter.  Sure, it was great that Todd made a visit to the mainland, and a land-locked state at that, from his home in Hawaii, but other than for just seeing the Star up close and personal, this was a show that could best be enjoyed if you like to go out for an evening of techno, to dance to some pulsating beats and never mind who's DJ'ing for the night.  Todd did stir up a lot of energy, though, in himself as well as the audience, particularly those who were standing down in front.  He had plenty of room to move and to jump around, as his boom mic was suspended over him, where he could move up to it to sing, rather than have a mic stand taking up space in front of him and impeding his movement on stage.  One of the highlights of the show was when he did a couple of recognizable songs, including "Future," from his 2004 album "Liars."  Maybe there were other songs too, just perhaps less discernible in the barrage of the high tech heats.

After a short breather at the end of the concert, Todd came back for the requisite encore.  Included in the extended electronic experience was (finally) a medley of a few hits from his past catalog, including "Hello It's Me," and "We Gotta Get You A Woman."  Trouble is, these sounded like toss-offs, done more to relent to the desires of old-school fans than to please himself or to take any real joy in doing them. In fact, these versions were almost unrecognizable, as they were drowned in the electronic synthesis of sound and not given the melodic arrangements of the originals.

If you're a Todd fan who was brought up on the Nazz, and the Runt, and the True Star as well as the Wizard, and want to bang on the drum all day, hopefully you've evolved along with Todd into the No World Order, or else you'll be left pining for a past that's not likely to come around again.  For myself, I had as much of a workout on the floor dancing and moving to the energy and the man on stage - well, alright, he did more of the heavy lifting - but I worked up a sweat, let loose of all the bottled up physical energy I had and the need to get out of my own skin for a while - and still was glad I was there this time around.

Todd's rides are like a roller coaster, and, if in the end you didn't get what were your initial expectations, you definitely had a wild ride from an artist who with his feet planted in the present, and his head in the future. It's up to you to come along for the trip.

words and photos by Barry King