please note the sound quality will vary here due to these being “bootlegs” obviously.

GTR – Away (No One is to Blame) from the unreleased NeroTrend album (1987). This features Max Bacon on lead vocals and Steve Howe on guitar. Steve Hackett left the group at this point and Robert Berry was his replacement.

Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello – So Like Candy demo from the Flowers In the Dirt Sessions boot (1988). This is a great version that features both McCartney and Costello singing lead.

Todd Rundgren – Slut from the Vancouver August 25, 2006 boot. a great audience recording. It’s a rough and loose rendition with Tony Levin on bass and Jerry Marotta on drums.

Lindsey Buckingham – Go Insane from the Coach House December 10, 1992 boot. an awesome solo performance of his early eighties hit. definitely an improvement over the original recording which sounds a bit dated now due to the heavy use of the Fairlight sampler.

Susanna Hoffs – Darling One from her unreleased columbia album (1994). This is from the album that Columbia Records rejected. Hoffs ended up re-recording this song (along with some others) for her 1996 album “Susanna Hoffs”. This particular version is more upbeat than the officially released one.

Yes – Cinema/City of Love from the June 19, 1994 Canandaigua, NY boot. There are a ton of boots from this tour since the band did a simulcast of each show via “ConcertSonics”. Even though the “Talk” album isn’t one of my favorites, I thought some of the performances on this tour were pretty strong. I definitely miss Trevor Rabin, though. It’s definitely way overdue for Rabin to get back on stage!!

Journey – Send Her My Love from the Detroit Raised On Radio simulcast in 1986. It’s not the greatest sounding live recording but the “Raised on Radio” tour is fascinating to me for a multitude of reasons – one of which is the presence of Randy Jackson (of American Idol) on bass for this tour. listening to these old live recordings of Journey make me miss Steve “the voice” Perry even more!

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Happy Friday, everyone!

Tue 12/01/09 San Francisco, CA – Palace of Fine Arts
Wed 12/02/09 Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre
Fri 12/04/09 Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre
Sat 12/05/09 Ventura, CA – Majestic Ventura Theater

Todd will be using the same backup band from his previous gigs in September with one exception – former Utopia member Ralph Schuckett will be replacing Roger Powell on keyboards. I’ll be interested to hear about the song choices for the opening “Utopia” set now that Schuckett is in the band.

anyway, get the latest info on the gigs by heading over to AWATSLive.com or TRConnection.com.
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Is It My Name? – from Akron 07Sep09

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Opening song from the Utopia Set – Road to Utopia:

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Sun 10/18/09 Bay Shore, NY – YMCA Boulton Center
Tue 10/20/09 Rochester, NY – German House Theater
Wed 10/21/09 Annapolis, MD – Rams Head
Fri 10/23/09 Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Spectrum (with Hall & Oates, the Hooters)
Sun 10/25/09 San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House

The Spectrum show in Philadelphia is part of the “Final Farewell Concert Series” for the Spectrum which includes major rock acts like Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam closing out the sports arena. And believe it or not, tickets for the Hall & Oates/Rundgren show are only $6!!!

As for the musicians Todd will be using for these shows, it’ll be the usual “Arena” band minus Rachel Haden. I guess there was a scheduling conflict so in Rachel’s place will be none other than bassist Sara Lee. I’ve personally seen Sara Lee play live several times in the past, including her stint with the B-52’s and the Indigo Girls. She’s a fantastic bass player and it will be great to see her play along side the Wizard himself, Todd Rundgren.

OK, it’s time now for the Song of the Day! Since we’re on the subject of Todd’s Arena tour, I thought I’d post one of the many highlights from his Arena set.

Weakness by Todd Rundgren

I don’t keep a lot of secrets
But the ones I do will die with me
It’s not because I’m hiding something
A trusted friend I try to be

That you are my weakness, my weakness
You are my Kryptonite
The sun that shines a light on my soul…
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Download a live version of “Weakness” [mediafire, mp3]
recorded off the live webstream of the Norwegian Wood show in Oslo, Norway, 13 June 2009. (courtesy of TR fan robznl)

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purchase Todd Rundgren’s latest release, Arena from CDUniverse.

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for more Todd Rundgren related posts on retroblog, click here.

and for the list of Rundgren live dates, please visit the TR Connection.

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Since I was one of the many that wasn’t able to physically make it to one of the 7 U.S. AWATS shows, I had to settle for watching the shows online via live webcast. I was initially a bit wary about plunking down money for a “glitchy” feed or other streaming-type issues but thankfully the live webcasts were very well done and practically glitch-free. Kudos to Todd (along with Todocast and NewTek) for providing fans an alternative way to see the shows.

Now that I’ve seen it, I can understand why he arranged for the broadcasts. The man went the extra mile this time around in terms of stage presentation. After years of seeing him on low-budget-no-nonsense tours, the AWATS shows were a refreshing surprise. Not only were there multiple costume changes but also video screens, smoke-machines, lasers and a stellar backing band. OK, OK, this is nothing when compared to something like U2’s 360 Tour but STILL a truly welcomed treat for us Todd fans.

I caught the two Chicago gigs via webcast this past weekend and it was well worth the $20. It featured multi-camera views of the concert and good sound right off the soundboard. Todocast also provides the webcast as an archive so for those that didn’t catch the show live can still watch the shows after the fact. I haven’t personally checked out the archives but from what I understand, a “1 meg” archived stream is available for viewing which is an even better quality stream than the initial live broadcast (which was at 700K).

Both shows were great to watch but if I had to pick, I’d say the Sunday show (Sept 13) was the stronger of the two. Todd had some guitar issues at the end of the AWATS set on Saturday that sort of dampened the mood a bit. No guitar issues on sunday plus the opening Utopia set was tighter as well.

So if you haven’t seen it yet, you still have time to watch the pay per view from TodoCast. I believe the “1 meg” archive just got posted today and will be available “on demand” for approximately a week.

highlights of the show included: seeing Roger Powell play keyboards on stage again after all these years, “I Don’t Want to Tie You Down”, the “I’m so Proud” medley which featured Bobby Strickland preachin’ about the Cool Jerk, Todd in the Nicky Nichols outfit during “Zen Archer” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Blvd”

and for those that are curious, here’s the opening Utopia set list:
Road To Utopia
Libertine
Abandon City
Back On The Street
Hammer In My Heart
Trapped
The Ikon
Caravan
The Last Of The New Wave Riders

*UPDATE 17Sep09*: the webcast archives will be available for on-demand viewing until Sept. 30th.

I’ll probably watch the 1 meg archived version before it expires. I’ve heard that it’s a different edit from what was seen live.

Here are the links to the PPV online webcast sites:
package 1 – live PPV of both Akron, OH shows (06-Sep-09 and 07-Sep-09) for $20
package 2 – live PPV of both Chicago shows (12-Sep-09 and 13-Sep-09) for $20

But if you want to get the FULL live experience, the good news is that there’s still time left to get your butt over to one of these shows -

Sun 09/06/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Mon 09/07/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Wed 09/09/09 Stamford, CT at the Palace Theatre
Thu 9/10/09 Bethesda, MD at The Strathmore
Sat 9/12/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Sun 9/13/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Tue 9/15/09 Minneapolis, at the State Theater

From what I’ve heard, these 7 dates are the *only* U.S. AWATS dates planned at this time. So don’t miss out on seeing one of these special performances. Also there has been some rumors of a “special secret surprise opening act” at these shows. I’m not sure if this pertains to Rundgren’s opening set of songs before his performance of the AWATS album in its entirety or if it’s a totally separate performing act altogether. I’m hoping for some sort of Utopia-related set (they’ve already got 3/4 of the band in the AWATS lineup) for the opening but no confirmation either way at this point.

for ticket info, check out AWATSLive.com

the AWATS live band features: Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell, Prairie Prince, Jesse Gress, Greg Hawkes and Bobby Strickland

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oh and by the way, Rundgren has booked a few more gigs in October but these appear to be shows in support of his most recent album, Arena and not related to AWATS.

10/18/09 Bayshore, LI, NY – YMCA Boulton Center
10/20/09 Rochester, NY – German House Theater
10/21/09 Annapolis, MD – Rams Head
10/23/09 Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Spectrum (with Hall and Oates)
10/25/09 San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
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Sun 09/06/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Mon 09/07/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Wed 09/09/09 Stamford, CT at the Palace Theatre
Thu 9/10/09 Bethesda, MD at The Strathmore
Sat 9/12/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Sun 9/13/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Tue 9/15/09 Minneapolis, at the State Theater
Fri 10/02/09 San Francisco, CA Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park *still unconfirmed*
Sat 02/06/10 London, United Kingdom at Apollo Hammersmith
Mon 02/08/10 Amsterdam, Netherlands at Paradiso

Apparently the limiting factor with these initial AWATS shows (besides concert promoters being a bit gun-shy in this state of the economy) is keyboardist Roger Powell’s work schedule. That’s right, Powell currently has a full time day job so he can only participate within a certain window of time.

Oh well, so… catch these shows while ya can. As mentioned previously, future AWATS shows all depend on the popularity of these initial dates so go out and support Todd and the band!

the AWATS live band:
Jesse Gress – guitar
Kasim Sulton – bass guitar
Roger Powell – keyboards
Greg Hawkes – keyboards
Prairie Prince – drums
Bobby Strickland – sax
and of course Todd Rundgren

Here’s Todd and Utopia performing “Just One Victory” (a song off of AWATS, of course)

as a quick refresher, here’s the tracklist from A Wizard a True Star:
1. International Feel
2. Never Never Land
3. Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off
4. You Need Your Head
5. Rock and Roll Pussy
6. Dogfight Giggle
7. You Don’t Have to Camp Around
8. Flamingo
9. Zen Archer
10. Just Another Onionhead / Dada Dali
11. When The Shit Hits The Fan / Sunset Blvd.
12. Le Feel Internacionale
13. Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Feel
14. Does Anybody Love You?
15. I’m So Proud / Ooh Baby Baby / La La Means I Love You / Cool Jerk
16. Hungry For Love
17. I Don’t Want to Tie You Down
18. Is It My Name?
19. Just One Victory

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**UPDATE: 14Oct09**
New dates just announced for California!! read more about it at the following link:
http://www.retroblog.net/2009/10/14/new-west-coast-dates-for-todd-rundgrens-awats/
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For info on the September 6th Akron Show, head on over to AWATSLive.com

And in honor of the recently announced U.K. show, I thought I’d share a few live versions of some AWATS tunes. enjoy!

International Feel (live 1994 at the Forum in London)
Here we are again, the start of the end but there’s more
I only want to see if you’ll give up on me
But there’s always more…

Never Never Land (with a twist 1997)
I know a place where dreams are born
And time is never planned
It’s not on any chart, you must find it in your heart
Never Never Land…

Zen Archer (Live Feb. 28, 1998 Florida)
Rivers of blood, oceans of tears,
life without death and death without reason…

I’m So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby (live Feb. 28, 1998 Florida)
Mistakes, I know I’ve made a few
But I’m only human, you’ve made mistakes too…

Just One Victory (Live 1981 Akron Ohio)
The time has come to take the bull by the horns
We’ve been so downhearted, we’ve been so forlorn
We get weak and we want to give in
But we still need each other if we want to win…

Ethel performing “Flamingo/Zen Archer” (live at TROMP International Music Festival Nov. 2008)

Bonus – Bill Lloyd’s brilliant cover of “I Don’t Want to Tie You Down” (from a tribute to Todd Rundgren CD)
Sometimes it’s hard to look up under
The times we’re going through
I scratch my head and stare and wonder
How to face the day anew…

Note: the mp3 files are hosted on mediafire for a limited time so grab ‘em while you can.

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**UPDATE: 03Jun09**
Check out the new poster for the UK gig:

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Todd Rundgren fans are in for a treat this coming September. Rundgren is scheduled to perform the entire A Wizard, A True Star album live at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio on September 6, 2009. This is a very unique event for Todd fans and depending on the demand for tickets for this event, it may be THE ONLY CHANCE to see AWATS performed live. The idea of a special AWATS show has been floating around for quite some time but for some reason concert promoters weren’t interested in putting the show together. But thanks to Todd fans Doug and CruiserMel, the dream will now become reality. Known to most Todd fans as the voices behind Rundgren Radio, Doug and CruiserMel recently dipped their toes into concert promotion themselves by putting together various shows for Rundgren and Kasim Sulton over the last year or so. The show will also mark the 2nd year of their popular online talk radio program, Rundgren Radio. AWATS is considered a landmark album in Rundgren’s long recording career and seeing him perform the whole thing live is a dream come true for most fans.

Tickets will go on sale May 4th via Ticketmaster

Event: Rundgren Radio Birthday Bash II – Todd Rundgren – A Wizard A True Star
Date: September 6, 2009
Venue: Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio
Time: 8pm

for more information – check out AWATSlive.com

The live band lineup includes: Roger Powell, Greg Hawkes, Kasim Sulton, Jesse Gress, Prairie Prince and of course Mr. Todd Rundgren himself!!

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**UPDATE 23May09**
There’s a new AWATS gig planned for the UK!! awesome!
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**UPDATE 25Jun09**
It just gets better! Rundgren Radio just added a second AWATS date in Akron – September 7th, 2009. From what I’ve heard, tickets for the second show goes on sale Monday June 29th.

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Purchase Todd Rundgren’s new album Arena on Amazon.

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As a bonus, check out this quick clip of Todd falling down on stage at the London gig (23Nov08) during the end of “Lunatic Fringe”. love Rachel’s reaction once she notices what had happened. you just have to laugh. glad that he didn’t get hurt!!