The Picture House, Edinburgh
4 stars
There’s a 60 year old man onstage wearing regulation rock star shades and the tightest leather trousers this side of Iggy Pop. Flanking him are three other big-haired men in sunglasses. Only bassist Rachel Haden (daughter of jazz composer Charlie), looking somewhere between Tank Girl and Tinkerbell, offers a visual counterpoint to what could be a very macho scene. It’s Todd Rundgren’s voice that really stands out, though. After forty years practice, Rundgren’s vocal cords have matured into a guttural roar from Hades. Accompanied by a blistering melange of glam-metal as demonstrated on his new Arena album, Rundgren sounds invigorated.
Arena works even better live, as proved when it’s played from start to finish as the centre-piece of Rundgren’s current show, which stopped off in Edinburgh as one of only four UK dates. Rundgren remains something of a tease, however, and for the first half hour the material dates back as far as the Who-influenced 1968 B-side, Open My Eyes. This may make sense of the target t-shirt Rundgren is sporting, but it’s nothing when he says that we “deserve some pudding.” It comes in the sticky flavours of the Carole King homage and bona fide hit, I Saw The Light, which is just dessert enough.
After that, it’s time to get serious, harder and heavier. With a three-guitar line-up, the short, sharp shocks of each song bridge the tasteful side of 1970s soft rock with AC/DC style fist-in-the-air anthems and something more foreboding. Not that there’s any angst on show. There’s a sprite-like playfulness to proceedings which even sees the band throwing sweeties out into the audience. Unlike Iggy, though, this isn’t pantomime.
The Herald, November 10th 2008
ends
4 stars
There’s a 60 year old man onstage wearing regulation rock star shades and the tightest leather trousers this side of Iggy Pop. Flanking him are three other big-haired men in sunglasses. Only bassist Rachel Haden (daughter of jazz composer Charlie), looking somewhere between Tank Girl and Tinkerbell, offers a visual counterpoint to what could be a very macho scene. It’s Todd Rundgren’s voice that really stands out, though. After forty years practice, Rundgren’s vocal cords have matured into a guttural roar from Hades. Accompanied by a blistering melange of glam-metal as demonstrated on his new Arena album, Rundgren sounds invigorated.
Arena works even better live, as proved when it’s played from start to finish as the centre-piece of Rundgren’s current show, which stopped off in Edinburgh as one of only four UK dates. Rundgren remains something of a tease, however, and for the first half hour the material dates back as far as the Who-influenced 1968 B-side, Open My Eyes. This may make sense of the target t-shirt Rundgren is sporting, but it’s nothing when he says that we “deserve some pudding.” It comes in the sticky flavours of the Carole King homage and bona fide hit, I Saw The Light, which is just dessert enough.
After that, it’s time to get serious, harder and heavier. With a three-guitar line-up, the short, sharp shocks of each song bridge the tasteful side of 1970s soft rock with AC/DC style fist-in-the-air anthems and something more foreboding. Not that there’s any angst on show. There’s a sprite-like playfulness to proceedings which even sees the band throwing sweeties out into the audience. Unlike Iggy, though, this isn’t pantomime.
The Herald, November 10th 2008
ends
Comments