Set List:
Hello Again
Let's Go
Shake It Up
Best Friend's Girl
Candy-O
I Saw The Light
Dangerous Type
Moving In Stereo
All Mixed Up
Black Maria
You Might Think
Drive
Bang The Drum
You're All I've Got
Bye Bye Love
Not Tonight
Just What I Needed
Open My Eyes
Good Times Roll
Review by SueW:
No review from me today, just a few comments and loads of photos:
I think the guy next to me summed it up perfectly - "This is the best concert that Reno will have this year, it's just a shame that Reno doesn't know about it!"
When I walked inside the venue (nowhere near a mountain and free to park!) there was hardly anyone in the venue and this was just after Blondie should have taken the stage! There was probably only about 30 people in all the seats around the outside, hardly anyone in the seats at the back and there were lots of spare seats in the middle blocks. There were three long blocks on the floor and we would easily have all fitted into one of the blocks! Out of this 7,000 seater venue I think there were probably only 1,00 of us there which makes me even more surprised that I could *only* get 7th row seats when tickets first went on sale!
As soon as Blondie first went on stage (late as always) people rushed to the front and lots even stayed there during the interval so that they could get a good place for The New Cars.
Blondie had their best reception of the tour so far but easily most people at these concerts are here to see The New Cars. Todd's songs especially get a good reception.
Despite what my photos show, Kasim really looked as though he was having great fun on stage again tonight. I can honestly say that I've never seen him on a tour smile as much as he is on this tour.... it's a joy to see!
Out of the 9 concerts that I've seen on this tour so far, this one was easily my favourite. The sound was really good, all the band looked as though they were having fun tonight and they were all word and note perfect!
Someone threw a (large) bra on stage so Todd wrapped it around his guitar and when he was standing in Greg Hawke's silver hoop with him, he kept swinging the bra toward Greg who kept ducking! Later Todd tried to remove it from his guitar but couldn't so Kasim went over and easily undid it! (Obviously Kasim has had more experience of removing bras than Todd!)
The bra on the end of Todd's guitar
Todd was a very close runner-up tonight but Kasim won "The Best Dressed Musician Award" tonight again!
I thought Kasim gave some of his best performances of both Drive and All Mixed Up tonight. His voice and confidence seem to be getting stronger from concert to concert. I just wish he sang lead on more songs in the set. When he first sang Drive at the showcase gigs back in January, he was all hunched up over his microphone and didn't seem at all at easy singing it but now it's as though he's been singing it forever!
Todd introduced Kasim as the "panty moistener in residence" tonight!
It's nice seeing the rapport between Kasim and Elliot Easton at each concert. They often share a microphone, especially at the end of Not Tonight.
Roll on Konocti tomorrow!
Review by Grady Moates:
The best live concerts happen when an ensemble of musicians
all worship at the altar of. . . the music. That's what's
going on with The New Cars. I've seen it with my own eyes.
I've heard it with my own ears. Tonight.
When it happens, it's magic. . . to quote Todd (from 'The
Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect' video, "There's a
compression of consciousness" that happens. Each musician,
in the worship of each song, seems to effortlessly hit all
the right pitches, the right syncopated beats, the right
emotional tones, to allow each song to live. . . for a few
moments, and be as good as it can be. That's what's going
on with The New Cars. I've seen it with my own eyes. I've
heard it with my own ears. Tonight.
I haven't seen this level of precision, in service to the
song, in a decade or more; and as each musician kicks their
own contribution up a notch, the others are challenged to
follow. I can see why Todd is so "into" this project. . .
it's easy to see, when you've seen the problems on many of
the other joint ventures he's assisted over the years. . .
A Walk Down Abbey Road, Ringo's All Starrs. . . it's one
thing to put a bunch of talented musicians together and
have them play -- it's quite another thing when the SONGS
are the point of it all. It COULD have been that way on
AWDAR, but sadly the magic didn't happen. But it IS going
on with The New Cars.
Now don't get me wrong. . . I'm not saying that the
Cars songs are some kind of songwriting gold, but they
WERE major hits of the decade, setting the tone for the lives
of quiet desperation that many of us were living at the time.
The songs cannot now be separated from their effects upon
each of us at the time they were radio's favorite flavor.
At the time that "All Mixed Up" came out, I was exACTly
that. . . in 1978 I was embroiled in my third marriage, and
it wasn't going well at all. The lyrics to this tune almost
exACTly mirror my feelings toward that woman. I cannot
now disassociate the song from the experience, and it
colors my enjoyment of the song. This was a MAJOR
part of my life. It's over now, and I'm glad it's gone, but
it's still in my memories, for better or for worse, and. . .
my life experiences deserve songs that can help me
revel in the fact that, hey. . . I SURVIVED that!!
Sloppy performances won't do it. But The New Cars
DID it. That's what I mean by "In Worship Of The Song".
Todd's voice was dead-on all night, his inflection
and intonation, his emotional pitch, exactly where it
needed to be. Kasim's vocal delivery on "Drive" and "All
Mixed Up" was perfect. Drive in Reno was so much better
than on the "It's Alive" CD. Kasim and Todd have
reached out and made this material their own.
All the arrangements ran like well-oiled machines,
great starts, killer endings, nothing sloppy at all.
Those critics who feel that their job is not done until
they find something to complain about should just sit
down, "in the moment", and involve themselves in what's
happening NOW. This show is JUST FINE.
I ran into Michele after the show. . . she and Randy
were here. Michele said (with no urging from me) that
Black Maria by these guys is the best it's ever been.
I agree. It's blistering hot, and technically perfect.
Kasim just slays me with his interpretation of the two tunes he
sings. My Todd can he morph! When I heard the recording from the
January show, I was worried, 'cause he hadn't wrapped himself around
it fully at that time, and I didn't know if he could make it the rest
of the way there. _Drive_ an incredibly difficult song to sing right,
mainly 'cause it requires such an extended hold of almost all the
notes with no vibrato at all, and special inflections to fully convey
the emotions in the lyrics. Last night, Kas was DEAD ON!
I have to reveal now that I was not a huge Cars fan, but _Drive_
was one of the "songs of the year" for me, since I just LOVE to sing
harmony (years in church choirs and HS and College choruses as a second
tenor) and _Drive_ gives you so many excellent harmony phrases to sing!
Comments about this gig posted on messageboards and mailing lists include:
I don't know that Todd's ever been better, nor had an apparently better time working than he showed us at Reno last night. I know I've never heard him more on-top of his game than he was for Black Maria with good ol' Foamy.
Kasim's rendition of "Who's Gonna Drive You Home" is as spookily heart-grinding as the original.
This band takes nothing from the creativity of the original group nor does it falter in the slightest in putting a fresh polish on the original songs
Unfortunately for producers of the group's Friday night show in Reno Events Center, local fans haven't warmed to the lineup. Even with 1970s hit machine Blondie as co-headliner, the show drew only about 1,000 fans, leaving a mostly empty hall. But great musicians don't need a packed house to produce a quality show, and both Blondie and the New Cars proceeded with class. In fact, only Rundgren went as far as to acknowledge the dismal turnout, and he did so graciously by thanking the "faithful."
As one would expect from a group of veterans, the band is extremely tight. From the opening harmonies in "Hello Again" to spirited readings of Rundgren's own songs, like "I Saw the Light," the show went off without a hitch.
The crowd in front of the stage:
All Mixed Up
Kasim singing lead on Drive (with the headlights videos):
Bang The Drum:
The New Cars Road Rage Tour
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