Rundgren's shows are usually great, but -like the records- they go all over the place. His last tour, supporting his recent "Arena" cd was a wild excersize in retro blues rock, fused with TR's own weird sense of humor. (Think Nazz or Yardbirds), but definitely not "Hello, It's Me", "Real Man" or "Love is The Answer". But even that doesn't explain the self aware humor that seems to occasionally confuse the audience.
Near the end of the set, TR performed one solo shirtless, prompting a female friend who accompanied my wife and I to the show to proclaim that she was tempted to throw her bra, as TR needed it more than she did. I'm pretty sure the shirtless bit, though pretty funny to me, turned off a decent portion of the people who actually liked the music. Between those who wanted a different set list and those who felt that this show was "over the top", it seemed like everyone had something to bitch about. Personally, I loved it.
TR just can't help himself, but it's part of the charm. He seems dogmatically allergic to commercial acceptance, until he needs cash. The he tosses off a few perfect pop songs (or joins The New Cars) , pays his bills, and sets out to confuse anew. Either you get it, or you don't. Judging by the comments I overheard in the parking lot outside LA's House of Blues, most fans didn't.
Marty
BTW, Jesse Gress, music editor of Guitar Player Magazine (and a pretty monster guitarist in his own right) was the "other" guitar in the band. This was one loud, aggressive night of rock n roll. As TR pointed out, if you and the wife were looking for a night away from the kids to hear a blue eyed R&B show of TR's greatest hits, you were shit out of luck.
Marty
