Review by SueW:
Only I could go up the wrong mountain to a concert!

After the directions took me off the main road, I started following the Winery signs and must have misread where one was pointing and headed off up the wrong mountain! When I realised my mistake I turned around (there aren't many places to turn a car around up a mountain!) and found the correct route. It was really windy going up the last part and my ears kept popping as I ascended.

We then come to my main grouse of the evening (apart from the cold) as we were literally two or three miles up a mountain and they charge us $10 to park! It's not as though we had any choice! There were supposed to have been 2,500 at the concert so there was about 1,000 cars there = an extra $10,000 for the venue!

We had to walk the last part and they checked our bags (but they didn't say what for) but there were no signs about no photography and I didn't see anyone being stopped for doing so.

After heading up the whole time the actual venue was down in a dip behind the famous 1852 doors. Unfortunately the stage wasn't very high at all (maybe 2 foot if that) and there was one guy in direct line between me and Kasim who was taller than him when he was standing on the ground and Kasim was on the stage so he kept blocking my view when Kasim was at his microphone!

When I got there, Blondie had already started their set and if it's as cold on Saturday in Konocti as it was last night, then I'll get there just before The New Cars' set as it was bitterly cold! I had my jacket on and thankfully I brought my coat too but it was still cold! Deborah Harry made some comments about it and Todd said that we were probably all standing as we were worried about our "asses" being frozen to the seats!

Blondie received the best reaction that I've seen all tour. During some of the songs there were a few girls dancing in the aisles but as soon as Rapture started, probably 90% of the people stood up. They played an extra song again today which I think was The Ramones song that they also played in Los Angeles. During Blondie's set Prairie, Elliot and Kasim all came to watch.

I was in the 8th row in direct line with Kasim's microphone) a total lucky coincidence!) and I was next to a very drunk guy who insisted on standing and singing through all of Blondie's set. I was convinced that I was going to be drenched by his beer at any stage! At one point he stood very slightly (probably half his body) into the aisle and security made him go back but then once everybody started dancing (and standing for The New Cars) I didn't see security at all so I did experience anything like that professional reviewer did. Before The New Cars came on the drunk insisted on telling me that it was "Todd Rundgren, Todd f@@king Rundgren!!" and the people in front of me decided that The Cars were a British band!!

As I said, everybody stood as soon as The New Cars came on stage (and this was virtually a sold out crowd!). A few sat during Black Maria but then got back up again. During songs like Best Friend's Girl, Bang The Drum and You're All I've Got virtually everybody was singing along so it was a great atmosphere! Kasim always gets people to sing during Good Times Roll and tonight he leapt up onto a podium thing to get them to sing in the beachers!

The "Best Dressed Musician Award" for the 8th concert of the tour went tonight to Kasim Sulton (for the 8th time on the tour!) as he was wearing black trousers, a black jacket and his lovely white / green shirt. Todd appeared to be wearing a tracksuit top zipped up underneath his jacket as it was so cold!

Kasim must have been taking his Sanatagen again as he was all over the stage again...far more than he was at Viejas. At one point in Shake It Up he was talking to Prairie and must have realised that he couldn't get back to his microphone in time so he ran towards Elliot's mike shouting the words which made Elliot jump a bit!

I thought Kasim's performance on All Mixed Up especially was very strong tonight. That song ends with an amazing sax solo my Greg Hawkes and I think that often people are applauding that rather than Kasim's singing but he sounds great on that song....it would be a great inclusion in his next solo gig.

A couple of times during the set the sound seemed to fade a bit but I think that was more due to the wind rather than actual sound problems - one of the perils about playing outside. Overall this was one of the better venues for the way was mixed as none of the instruments or voices overshadowed any of the others.

There was a nice touch during Bang The Drum as Kasim leant against Todd's shoulder like in that official New Cars promo photo!

Review by InsideBayArea.com:
Taking spin with New Cars proves to be a great ride
By Jim Harrington

I DIDN'T forget about Ric Ocasek during the New Cars show on Thursday night.

I did, however, forget to miss him.

That shouldn't be taken as a slap in Ocasek's face. I'm not trying to slight the singer-songwriter's importance to the original Cars, which ran from 1976 to 1988.

It's just that the New Cars hardly came across like they were missing anything (or anyone) during their sold-out show at the absolutely gorgeous Mountain Winery in Saratoga. The band — which includes original members Elliot Easton on guitar and Greg Hawkes on keyboards — delivered a show that only strengthened the legacy of the Cars. In doing so, they strengthened Ocasek's legacy as well.

I was highly skeptical when I originally heard that the Cars were going to hit the road without Ocasek and drummer David Robinson, both of whom reportedly weren't interested in taking part in the reunion. Counting the absence of bassist Benjamin Orr — who died from cancer in 2000 — that left three sizable holes in the lineup.

I grew more hopeful when I heard that the new edition of the Cars would include the great guitarist-vocalist Todd Rundgren, bassist-vocalist Kasim Sulton (who worked with Rundgren in the band Utopia) and drummer Prairie Prince (former hit-man for the Tubes). My attitude about the band grew more positive after hearing an advance copy of "It's Alive," the New Cars' concert CD that hits stores on June 6.

Still, I had no idea that the band would be as good as it was in Saratoga.

The biggest thing that the group had going for it was the actual songs. The Cars produced so many memorable tunes during their career and it's been far too long since we've had the chance to hear them performed in concert. The live versions turned out to be every bit as enjoyable — and, in some cases, even more so — than what's on the Cars' old studio albums. It was a great night to be a New Wave fan. Besides the Cars, the lineup also featured Blondie. Led by vocalist Deborah Harry, the band sounded much stronger than when I saw it a few years back at Wente Vineyards in Livermore.

Most fans in attendance were there to see the New Cars, which meant Blondie had to win over these music lovers. The band accomplished that task at a slow, yet determined pace.

They came out swinging with a one-two punch combination of "Call Me" and "Dreaming." Many fans were still finding their seats at that point, balancing plastic cups of wine and blankets on this chilly night, and it took them a few songs to catch up to the band's energy level.

Backed by five rock-solid musicians, Harry wooed the crowd into her corner as she continued through the fun "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Accidents Never Happen."

Some scoffed when Blondie was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, joining a class that included Miles Davis, Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols. But the band certainly sounded like it deserved such an honor, turning out killer takes on "Tide is High," "Rapture," "One Way or Another" and, of course, "Heart of Glass." Even the one cover tune of the night — Roxy Music's pop-standard "More Than This" — was well received by the crowd.

With fans properly revved up, the New Cars hit the stage and turned in a set that was a gas from start to finish.

The smartest move of the night was that Rundgren didn't try to imitate Ocasek. Instead, he ran the music through his own filter — and his own enhancer — and delivered roughed-up, rocked-out versions of the familiar fan favorites.

The group opened in appropriate fashion with "Hello Again," followed with "Let's Go" — and, then, off it went, zooming down the classic rock highway with no apparent end in sight.

Like on some Top 40 radio station run by a highly caffeinated DJ, the hits just kept on coming — "Shake It Up," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Candy-O," etc. Those are just samples from the Cars songbook. One must also factor in Rundgren classics "I Saw the Light," "Bang on the Drum All Day" and "Black Maria," all of which ranked as show highlights.

The New Cars kept the pedal to the metal as the band brought the main set to its conclusion with "You're All I've Got Tonight," "Bye Bye Love" and "Good Times Roll."

I don't know how much longer this reunion will last. I hope it lasts for a few more tours. I sure wouldn't mind taking another spin with the New Cars.

Comments about this gig posted on messageboards and mailing lists include:

(Greag, Ellliot and Prairie were on stage too tonight!)

The New Cars Road Rage Tour