Saturday, February 5, 2011

Review: Reunion show from Backstageaxxess.com

http://backstageaxxess.com/index.php/concertreviews/495-utopia-concert-review-2011


Utopia @ Highline Ballroom New York City, NY January 29, 2011
Last Updated on Saturday, 05 February 2011 01:19
Written by Thom Jennings
Thursday, 03 February 2011 23:40

Throughout his forty-year plus career, Todd Rundgren has gone through many phases with varying degrees of commercial success. Through it all, he has developed and maintained a fiercely loyal following. Nonetheless, there are certain phases of Rundgren's music that are revered by fans, one of those was what can be characterized as his progressive rock phase in the mid 1970’s. It was then that Rundgren formed the musical collective known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia, which later evolved into just Utopia.
Accompanying Rundgren in the early days was Mark "Moogy" Klingman, a multi-talented session player and songwriter. The band known as Utopia, along with a few guests, came together Saturday night at The Highline Ballroom in New York City for a benefit for Klingman who is battling cancer. This was the first opportunity for many fans to witness this iconic lineup live, thus both shows sold out almost as soon as they went on sale.
The show opened with Klingman on piano playing an extended intro for "Never Never Land" and then Todd appeared onstage drenched in the spotlight. It was a magical beginning to a magical evening. The band continued with "Crying in the Sunshine," "Lady Face," and "Dust in the Wind," three of Klingman's songs.
The meat of the program was the Utopia material. Marathon numbers like the "Utopia Theme," and "The Ikon" sounded spectacular and brought the sellout crowd into frenzy. The entire band played with conviction and they all seemed to be drawing energy from the crowd.
The set also drew heavily from 1975's "Another Live" including "Another Life," "Heavy Metal Kids," "The Wheel," and "Do Ya." They also played "Set Me Free," from the four-piece lineup, with Kasim Sulton on piano and vocals. It was Utopia's highest charting single.
The regular set ended with a stellar version "Just One Victory," the traditional closer of Utopia shows for many years. The encores included a massive sing-along to "Sons of 1984" and "Friends," a Klingman composition made famous by Bette Midler.
Everyone in the band smiled as if they were playing their first show, and fans roared their approval. There was no indication these guys had not played together since 1974. Background vocalists Darryl Tookes and Curtis King sang with Sulton throughout the evening and longtime Rundgren guitarist Jesse Gress sat in on a couple of songs, most notably on "Dust in the Wind."
This was a show that some Rundgren fans had waited a lifetime to see, and nobody left disappointed.

Set List:
Never Never Land
Crying in the Sunshine
Lady Face
Dust in the Wind
Utopia Theme
Freak Parade
Another Life
The Ikon
Heavy Metal Kids
The Wheel
Set Me Free
Do Ya
Last Ride
Freedom Fighters
Just One Victory
Encores:
Sons of 1984
Friends

All photos by Backstageaxxess.com Correspondent Charles Madden.

Even though Utopia has no firm plans to tour in the near future, Utopia members Ralph Schuckett and Kasim Sulton will be performing with Todd this spring. They will be performing the “Todd” and Healing” albums for five performances; dates, venue and ticket information can be found at www.sonsof1984.com.

Friday, February 4, 2011

RundgrenRadio tuesday night: Darryl Tookes vocalist from the Utopia reunion

Tuesday, February 15 · 8:30pm - 10:30pm

Location RundgrenRadio.com

More Info Darryl Tookes is a singer, pianist, composer, arranger, poet, educator, and humanitarian. He has recorded and performed with George Benson, Diana Ross, Sting, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Carly Simon, Laurie Anderson, Dave Grusin, Gerry Mulligan, Patti Austin, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Steve Tyrell, and many others. In spite of these collaborations, Tookes' style is completely original. He has wha...t has been described as an "angelic" voice (NY Newsday), which along with his message of love, are at the core of who Darryl Tookes is an artist.

Studying physics in college gave Tookes a perspective on harmony that informs his music in surprising ways. From his first hit single, Lifeguard, Darryl Tookes has been seen and heard as a prophetic messenger of love and spirituality, essential elements in all of his songs. He has never wavered from this path.

Tookes' voice has been featured on commercials for Coca-Cola, AT&T, American Airlines, and the US Army, among others, and on the television show, Sesame Street. His other television appearances include Late Night with David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Saturday Night Live, The Morning Show with Regis Philbin, Great Performances, Everyday with Joan Lunden, The Joan Rivers Show, and NBC's Today Show. He has performed at the White House, and received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall for his duet with Roberta Flack.

An educator, Tookes is Adjunct Professor at the Tisch School of the Performing Arts at NYU. He also mentors a growing number of private students at the Lagond Music School in Westchester County, NY. Further, Tookes is a clinician, having taught master classes at several universities and secondary schools. He has arranged for student a cappella groups, and has been awarded numerous commissions for composing and arranging choral works. In the realm of sacred music, Darryl Tookes is artist-in-residence at First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, CT, and is frequently an invited guest soloist at interdenominational services. He also performed Duke Ellington's Mass with Jessye Norman at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Darryl Tookes has participated in many charitable activities - concerts and recordings - including Arts for Healing, Best Buddies, A Better Chance, UNICEF, Hands Across America, Songs of Love, Comic Relief, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS/HIV Foundation, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Rainforest Foundation, 9/11 Memorial, Fall In Love With America - Again, and Fun In Learning Tutorial, and Creative Learning @ FPC. He is in partnership with the global humanitarian organization, AmeriCares, serving as a goodwill ambassador, traveling the world to provide aid and crisis relief to victims of natural and manmade disasters.

For more than three decades, Tookes has been an active member of ASCAP, AFTRA, SAG, NARAS, and AF of M. He served two terms as Chairman of the New York Singers Collective, and three terms on the board of directors for the Society of Singers. Tookes was founding musical director for Black to Broadway. He is also musical director, pianist and arranger for Lesley Gore.

RundgrenRadio.com Presents a Todd Rundgren 2011 Tour Featuring His Healing and Todd Albums Live in Concert in Five Different Cities

RundgrenRadio.com Presents a Todd Rundgren 2011 Tour Featuring His Healing and Todd Albums Live in Concert in Five Different Cities


– Wed Feb 2, 2:15 pm ET
Back by popular demand, RundgrenRadio.com will be presenting five Todd Rundgren "Todd" and "Healing" albums live concerts beginning 3/25/2011. Locations include Harford CT, Boston MA, Red Bank NJ, Toledo OH, and Columbus OH. Tour information is available on SonsOf1984.com.

Birmingham, AL (PRWEB) February 2, 2011

Pop/rock music icon Todd Rundgren will perform two complete albums, "Todd" and "Healing", in the same live concert. The first show is scheduled for March 25 in Hartford, CT at the Belding Theater. The tour also includes concerts in Boston, Massachusetts at the Berklee Performance Center (March 27); Red Bank, New Jersey at the Count Basie Theater (March 28); Toledo, Ohio at the Stranahan Theater (March 30); and Columbus, OH at the Southern Theatre (April 1).

The first-ever TODD & HEALING ALBUMS LIVE concerts in September 2010 were a huge success and the reviews included many "best ever" comments from fans that have been going to Todd concerts for decades. A large LED display and lasers were on display throughout the shows with Todd and the band dressed in extravagant costumes. Todd brought out his SG Gibson "The Fool" replica guitar and even performed a few songs while playing the piano. He was accompanied by an all-star band consisting of Jesse Gress, Greg Hawkes (The Cars), Prairie Prince (The Tubes), Bobby Strickland, and Kasim Sulton (Utopia). Led by Choir Master Dirk Hillyer, local choirs from each area where the concerts were held joined Todd and the band during parts of the HEALING set and added a brand new element to the music for fans that had only heard it by listening to the album. The shows closed with the song, "Sons Of 1984" which included fan participation even after Todd and the band left the stage.

According to Rundgren, "These shows are proposed and promoted by the fans. I'm lucky to have a very loyal audience.” The musician’s followers enthuse about the energy he brings to the stage, and they embrace the charged vibe that is typical of a Rundgren concert.

Todd Rundgren is a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist, and interactive artist whose music features an amazing variety of sounds and styles. The lively tracks on Todd exemplify his interest in music synthesizers, while the gentler Healing displays the more traditional and spiritual side of his music.

For ticket information and to learn more about the tour and events, visit http://www.sonsof1984.com.

Fans and followers of Todd Rundgren can hear more and take part in the conversation at http://www.RundgrenRadio.com which broadcasts online every Tuesday night at 8:30 ET.