Re: AWDAR review

[John Hughes <john@pureneasy.fsnet.co.uk>]

Another review from the Todd email list. Very supportive of JAE and his
band..... praise for Godfrey, Steve and John Beck(?) too.

Cheers,

John

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A WALK DOWN ABBEY ROAD at the Fleet Pavilion, Boston, Mass., 7/11/01

The Fleet Pavilion is a circus tent-like structure supported on an 
arched truss beam, meaning no obstructed views underneath it.  
Located on Boston's waterfront it provides great views of Boston 
Harbor, Logan Airport and the Boston skyline.

Getting to the site through Boston can be a nightmare for those not 
familiar with the huge Big Dig highway project going on, but once 
there, the area offers plenty of parking and there are numerous 
restaurants as well – all better choices than the $8 burgers at the 
Pavilion!

I arrived an hour or so before show time while there were more 
employees around than concert goers, hoping to meet up with some 
fellow Todd fans, and found a place to drink a few $6.25 beers while 
watching the interesting mix of people coming in.  Most were in their 
late 30s to 50s, but there were many people with kids as well.  This 
included fathers with teenage daughters, parents with babies and a 
couple well into their late 60s with a 40-something kid!  Someone is 
making good money selling (unlicensed?) Beatles t-shirts, as I saw 
plenty of Let It Be and Abbey Road shirts in the crowd.  Very few 
Todd shirts, though.  At least I had the opportunity to pick up a 
Todd 2000 Tour shirt, which I hadn't seen at the Mohegan Sun show 
last year.

A DJ called people to their seats shortly after 8pm and from a "show 
your hands" it looked like about 15% of the people in front had free 
tickets. The band came onto the stage and opened with Magical Mystery 
Tour as people were still filing in towards their seats.  There were 
quite a few empty seats in the front $35 ticket area, and the rear 
$30 area was only half full, but the crowd size easily compared to 
any recent Todd show in the area.

During the first set Todd wore a AWDAR black tank top and black 
pants, changing to the white puffy "pirate" shirt during the 
intermission.  David Pack was the only other person to change during 
the break, from a black jacket to a silver shirt.  Ann Wilson made a 
comment about them changing into their "Carnaby Street" rock-star 
clothes.  Ann wore a black velour tunic top and black pants, John 
Entwistle a denim jacket and black pants.

The core of this band was undoubtedly Entwistle's backup players, 
Godfrey Townshend on guitar (and occasional keyboards), John Beck on 
keys and Steve Luongo on drums.  Townshend nailed some of the leads 
perfectly during both the Beatles and first set songs.  They were 
tight and also looked like they were enjoying themselves during the 
show.  Previous tour reviews had mentioned that it looked like Todd 
was "directing" the shows, and I noticed he gave starting counts a 
few times, and signaled song ends with his characteristic jump, but 
the actual songs were controlled by this nucleus.

The one drawback to the show was the overall sound.  At times there 
were as many as 6 guitars being played, and 8 voices, and they tended 
to get muddied together.  During the Beatles set, when all the 
players were singing together it became virtually impossible to 
distinguish one voice from another.  Part of the problem may have 
been the sound system – whether this was the "house" system or the 
AWDAR one, because of the open sides on the pavilion, a lot of 
wattage was needed and the system may not have been up to the 
challenge.  Guess they could have used the sound system Todd used 
during the Second Wind/Nearly Human tours!  On the other hand, it 
reminded me of the sound of concerts back in the early 70s, when 
sound systems were always over-cranked and distorted.

This was NOT a Todd Rundgren show, nor was it a Beatles cover-band 
show like Boston's Beatle Juice, but it was a fitting tribute to the 
Beatles from a bunch of talented people.

Overall high points of the show: 

1) Ann Wilson – her vocals were outstanding, seeming as good as the
first and only time I saw Heart back in the late 70s.  Despite what
previous reviews had said, she seemed relaxed on stage, chatting
occasionally to the audience, once warmed up. A truly gifted and
beautiful singer! 

2) Todd (of course), actually seeming to be enjoying himself during the
show, playing some great licks, and singing his own songs with feeling.
He did look a bit bored during the Ambrosia songs, though!

3) John Entwistle's bass playing – his fingers do fly over that fret 
board!  Too bad he's like a rock while on stage!  

4) The warm feeling that spread throughout the audience during the
Beatles set – songs over 30 years old that seem to have become part of
our culture and ourselves.

SONG BY SONG
Set 1

Magical Mystery Tour:  David Pack & Ann Wilson lead vocals, Todd – 
green Strat

Open My Eyes: Green Strat, vocals during refrain very heavy with 
everyone singing.  
This was the least appreciated of the first set songs, as most 
audience members had never heard it before. 

Eye in The Sky:  David Pack on lead vocal and lead guitar, Todd still 
on green Strat

Crazy on You:  Ann on vocal, David Pack on acoustic guitar, Godfrey 
Townshend hit the   leads exactly like the record

My Wife:  John Entwistle's only vocal, Todd on green Strat with a 
few windmills and splits

Hello Its Me:  Todd on vocals, no guitar.  The only song where ne of 
the performers "worked" the stage, Todd moving from one side to the 
other a couple of times.   Todd put his arm around Entwistle's 
shoulders at one point, Entwistle turned to him, and flashed a 
little forced smile, at which Todd cracked up and flubbed the words.

Don't Answer Me:  David Pack on vocal and lead guitar, everyone else 
on acoustic guitars, leaving a very muddied sound.

You're the Biggest Part of Me: David Pack on vocals and keyboards.  
Todd, not playing and getting a little bored, goofing with Townshend.

How Much I Feel:  David Pack on vocal and acoustic.  When introducing 
the song, mention of how it was a real "makeout song" when it came 
out, joking about how many babies may have been conceived while 
listening to it.  Todd commented " About a half a million Chinese 
children"!

Bang The Drum:  Todd on vocal and drum, heard audience people saying, 
"oh, THAT'S Todd Rundgren".

The Real Me:  Godfrey Townshend on lead vocal and guitar, only JE and 
his band on stage for this one.  Townshend did a great job singing 
and playing.  Biggest audience ovation of the first set.

Dreamboat Annie:  Everyone on acoustic guitar except Todd who played 
the shakers.  Ann ended with the flute part like on the record, just 
beautiful.

Games People Play:  David Pack and Ann Wilson sharing the lead 
vocals, Todd on acoustic, Pack on lead guitar.

Barracuda:  Ann singing, Todd on green Strat, Townshend nailing the 
lead guitar parts once again.

My Generation:  David Pack and Todd on lead vocals, Todd blows a line 
in 1st verse.  Entwistle smokes the bass lead parts, and Todd wails 
on the green Strat leads.  Great set-ender.

Set 2

Back in the USSR:  David Pack on lead vocal, Todd on black 
Rickenbacker lead guitar

Lady Madonna:  Todd on lead vocal

I'm Down:  Ann Wilson on great lead vocal, David Pack on lead guitar

Fool on the Hill:  David Pack on lead vocal, Ann and Alan on flutes,  
Godfrey Townshend on keyboards. Todd being the fool towards the end 
of the song

While my Guitar Gently Weeps:  Todd on lead vocal and "The Fool" SG 
for the long lead.  Townshend on the short lead guitar parts.  Ann 
joined in on vocals in 2nd half of each verse as Todd seemed to be 
forgetting the words (again).

Here Comes the Sun:  Townsend and Pack on acoustics, Todd on black 
Rickenbacker.  

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds:  David Pack and Ann Wilson trading off 
lead vocals

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away: Todd solo on acoustic and vocals. 
(Except for the "HEY" part.)  Audience was extremely appreciative of 
this one, including Todd's trademark free-forming vocals at end.  
Basically the same as when he did this last year in the Power Tour.  
This was the only solo song of the night except for Blackbird.

Maybe I'm Amazed:  Ann Wilson on lead vocals, sounded like she 
forcing the end of the song a bit.  Townshend played electric piano 
on this and Pack the lead guitar part.  Alan Parsons introduced the 
song by telling a story of when he was working at the studio doing 
production, and scheduled for studio time was "Sam Brown".  Someone 
asked him to stick around to help, and who should show up to record 
but Paul McCartney!  Before starting the song Ann said "I always 
wanted to do a song by Sam Brown!"

Rain:  Todd on lead vocal and black Rickenbacker 

Blackbird:  Alan Parsons by himself on acoustic guitar, introducing 
himself and saying he "never expected to ever be playing a guitar 
solo in front of a crowd in his life!"  Anyone else notice he looks 
like a king-size version of "Mr. Bean"?

Everybody's got Something to Hide Except Me & My Monkey: Ann and 
David shared the lead vocal, Townshend on lead guitar, Todd playing 
the Rickenbacker.

Revolution:  Todd on lead vocal, still playing the Rickenbacker.  
Townshend on lead guitar.

Day Tripper:  Todd and David on vocals, Todd, David and Townshend on 
guitar

Ticket to Ride:  Same as Day Tripper, with Ann and Alan also singing.

I Want to Hold Your Hand:  Same as Day Tripper.

Hey Jude:  Ann Wilson on lead vocal, John Beck doing piano and organ 
keyboard parts.  Big sing-along at end, though not quite like McC's 
live album version in response.

ENCORES

Birthday:  Everyone singing and playing.

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End:  Ann singing on Golden 
Slumbers, everyone on Carry That Weight.  Townshend, Pack and Todd 
trading the leads off during The End.  Todd on the SG.

Everyone lined up for bows at the end, very responsive crowd, 
hopefully the rest of the tour had equal audience response.
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