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Home , Desperately Wanting, Down in a Hole, Hell Is for Children, Jesse Gress, Kasim Sulton

The Roots Report: A Busy Week of Shows

Okee dokee folks … I have had a VERY busy few days going to concerts. I usually don’t go to so many in such a short period of time but I figured, “What the hell!” I decided to give you review of them as well. So, here are my takes on the , , and Kiefer Sutherland shows. Read on…

KEVIN GRIFFIN | THE MET | MAY 18

Photo Credit: Lori Mars

On a whim I went to The Met the other night to catch the Kevin Griffin show. He is best known as the front man of the band . I was an early fan back in the ’90s and saw them perform at Lupo’s II. After the ’90s I kind of lost track of what they were doing and didn’t think much about them even though “Desperately Wanting” was one of my fav from that era. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show. I wasn’t even sure if he was solo or would be with a band. I know, I didn’t do my homework. I even forgot my notepad — I had to scribble on the back of a couple of my biz cards and TRY to remember the rest. First I have to say that I am VERY glad that I went to this show. I had been toying with the idea of going to see Stephen Stills/Kenny Wayne Shepard and The Ride at Lupo’s but I definitely made the right choice! This was one of the most entertaining shows I have been to in a while. Not only was the music great, but I laughed a lot! Griffin hopped onto The Met stage around 8:45 and strapped on his beautiful tobacco sunburst Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. The ambient music was still playing and it happened to be (I guess because it was Jimmy Page’s b’day). Griffin remarked, “They had to play Led Zeppelin, they couldn’t play some singer- stuff!” After that he (jokingly) began to play “Over The Hills and Far Away” by Led Zep. It was very good! This pretty much set the tone for the show. He then went right into Ezra’s “Lifetime” after which he spit out his gum on stage and said, “It’s kind of hard to sing while chewing gum!” Griffin goofed around a lot and was trying to be very rock ‘n’ roll by kicking things over on stage, jumping around and doing rock star poses while playing. He kept this up throughout the evening. The next , “Porcelain” had the room singing along and not just on the chorus, the verses, too. I was amazed that so many knew ALL the words to so many of the songs. The audience frequently sang along loudly with or sometimes in place of Griffin. I obviously had not kept up on my Better Than Ezra. He introduced Jen Lowe to the stage and she joined him on percussion. When I saw her I thought to myself, “I know her!” I was right. After the set I talked with her and realized that I had worked with her trio, Soul Food, a Newport based act, back in the ’90s! Next he played “Dollar Sign” and then went into the very recognizable (to me, anyway) opening chords to “Desperately Wanting” and said, “Yes, I am going there now.” During the song he did a spot-on Dave Matthews impersonation, complete with high holding guitar, even playing a bit of “Crash.” He covered other songs such as The Gorrillaz’ “Feel Good, Inc” and Sublime’s “What I Got.” One song that he played he said he should have patented the opening guitar chord on. That was the song, “Collide” that he co-wrote with Howie Day. He wrapped up the night with the Violent Femmes song, “Add It Up.” After that, he said goodnight.

The 100+ member crowd applauded then fell silent and sat there quietly. It was almost an awkward silence. Waiting. Someone revved up the applause again and that brought him out for an encore that I cannot for the life of me remember what the song was. No pad, bad memory! Once again he was playing rock star and turned to one of the poles that are part of The Met stage and ran the string side of the guitar across it. He said, “Now I have LITERALLY played The Met!” He told the crowd that he would be out to meet and greet in a few minutes and took photos with and signed autographs for every person who stayed after the show.

This show had the feel of a coffeehouse show — definitely had the banter of one. The Met was set up with tables and chairs, which helped with the coffeehouse atmosphere. Griffin is a very entertaining individual. He has quite a vocal range and is a very accomplished guitarist. Seeing him perform solo highlights these talents. He also is a pretty good mimic and is quite funny. If you look back at the old Better Than Ezra videos he looked like he was more of an Abercrombie and Fitch model than a musician. Nowadays he reminds me of Hugh Grant or a Kennedy. The 90–minute show was definitely one of the all around most enjoyable shows I have been to. If you see Kevin Griffin in a venue’s line-up I would HIGHLY recommend going to the show. You WILL be entertained.

TODD RUNDGREN | GREENWICH ODEUM | MAY 20

Next up was Todd Rundgren. I have been looking forward to this concert for MONTHS. I got a taste of Rundgren when he was a member of Ringo’s All Star band a couple of years ago. The three songs he did that night was definitely not enough to fill me up. “Hello It’s Me” has always been one of my all-time favorite songs. For whatever reason, I had never seen Rundgren live until recently. Tickets for this show sold out almost immediately after going on sale in February. Rundgren has a dedicated following and I knew folks who were coming in from other states to see this show. The backdrop of the Odeum stage was a huge banner of the inside artwork from Rundgren’s 1972 Something/Anything . It was a silhouette of Todd with his arms outstretched while standing in a recording studio. When Rundgren took the stage he turned to mimic the pose. He put on his guitar and launched right into “I Saw The Light.” With no stopping between songs, “Love of the Common Man” followed. He took us back to his first hit from 1968 with The Nazz and played “Open my Eyes” and the 67-year-old Rundgren did a couple of jumps and spins to end it.

When Rundgren finally addressed the audience he said “Welcome to our one and only RI gig. It’s spring in New England and you never know what kind of friggin’ pollen you are going to wake up with. That’s why I sound like this.” He had a bit of a rasp to his voice. After he played “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference” he chastised the lighting person for the side lights and had to have them shut off because, “I can’t see the edge and I’ll fall off the stage … that won’t be very romantic!” “Real Man” had him strutting around the stage, peppering the walk with an occasional two-step and doing a muscle flex with his arm. Rundgren let out a scream to start and then pretended to swing a tool for “Hammer In My Heart.” He went deeper into his musical catalog for the next few songs: “Buffalo Grass,” “Soothe,” “Born To Synthesize,” “Sweet,” and “I Don’t Want To Tie You Down.” Two drums were brought front and center and Rundgren remarked, “I don’t want you to make any assumptions about what this means.” He began to play a slow beat and sang a very monotone “Hello It’s Me.” Fortunately that stopped quickly and he started the anti-work anthem “Bang The Drum All Day.” This highlighted drum solos from Todd and the band’s drummer. “God Said” featured a great bass groove from bass player who is best known for being in Utopia. “Secret Society” featured Rundgren playing a very Santana-esque lead throughout. “Black Maria” was one of the strongest songs of the evening and once again showcased Rundgren’s guitar licks. He threw in a few windmill strums for good measure. “I’m So Proud” had one couple slow dancing in front of the stage. After a few more songs Todd ended the set with the arena rocker, “One World” that had folks clapping and singing along. A standing “O” brought them back out for three additional tunes. But before they began Rundgren introduced the band. Besides Sulton on bass the band included John Ferenzik on keys, on guitar and on drums. “Black and White” kicked off the encore. “Hello It’s Me” had Todd shaking hands with folks in the front row and encouraged the crowd to sing the bridge with him. When he sang the opening line, “Hello it’s me…” he added, “Like you didn’t know!” The night closed with “Love In Action.” Rundgren threw his guitar pick into the audience, blew a kiss and left the stage.

The 25 song, two-hour show was quite satisfying. Rundgren’s voice was a bit rough for parts but he got through the night. It was actually difficult to hear his voice at times. The mix was not great. I actually heard the best sound in the men’s room when I had to visit mid set. The walls filtered out the band and allowed the vocals to cut through cleaner. There wasn’t much interaction between Rundgren and the band. They were evenly lit in a row behind him and just played with little acknowledgment from Rundgren. Though they were just in the background they were a great backing band of music stalwarts. I was a bit disappointed with “Hello It’s Me.” It was the weakest song of the night. I guess after probably singing this song 5,000 times over almost 50 years he may be a bit sick of it and just going through the motions. Todd often sang without playing guitar and traveled around the stage like a revival preacher giving a sermon. The outstretched arms and hands to the sky reinforced this comparison. In many ways this was fitting as many in Rundgren’s congregation think that Todd is Godd! He is a musical genius so I may have to agree.

PAT BENATAR | TWIN RIVER | MAY 21

Photo credit: Lori Mars This was another show that I took a shot on. I had never been to Twin River before. I don’t drink, smoke or gamble, so it was never a temptation. They do frequently have concerts there that do call to me. I figured it was about time that I check this out and stop missing shows and start letting people know about what is going on there. I saw that Pat Benatar was on the schedule and I (surprisingly) made it out of the MTV years without ever having seen her live. Now the fun part…

We arrived at Twin River just before 8pm. I wasn’t worried about parking because I have seen the acres of parking lots that they have there and thought we could pull in and park. Wrong assumption. We drove around for 20 minutes looking for a free space. When we finally parked it was a bit of a hoof to the building. Once inside we had to locate the Event Center. That was an arduous journey through packed hallways, smoke-filled gaming rooms and rows of slot machines. At a VERY brisk pace it took about 10 minutes to get to the event center. It was about 8:30 by the time we were seated. We missed the first few songs but asked the people in the next seat what we did miss. I am not sure what the room’s capacity is but it looked as if there were about 2,000 people at this show and it was at capacity. The room has a stage but it is not a dedicated concert hall. It is a multi-purpose room. All of the seats are (padded) folding chairs and all are on the same level. Our seats were second section from the front and we had a great view. This was augmented by the large Jumbotrons on either side of the stage. Benatar was already performing when we arrived. She was clad in a black blazer, tight black leather pants and spike heel shoes and was sitting on a stool singing. He husband and musical partner, Neil Girado was also dressed all in black, shirt unbuttoned almost to his navel and wearing lots of necklaces with crosses and other pendants. He stood to her right playing acoustic guitar and adding backing vocals. One of the first things I noticed was the sound of Girado’s guitar. It was weak and thin. Jokingly I said to my date, “I bet it’s a Taylor.” I was right. Benatar’s voice was powerful as ever. Girado filled in occasional backing vocals. He did a lot of the between song banter. Espousing his producer credits and stories of the songs he compared the night to VH1s Storyteller series/MTV’s Behind The Music. After playing a few songs they spoke of their sadness about Prince and then dedicated “When Doves Cry.” Benatar then spoke of what she called the “Holy 14.” What she meant was “They are 14 songs that we have to play every night otherwise we get sh*t on Facebook.” The duo performed duo versions of “Promises in the Dark,” “,” “What Are You Trying to do to My Heart,” “Hell is for Children,” “Outlaw Blues” and “Best Shot.” When introducing “True Love” they spoke of how they recorded it with local legends Roomful of Blues. The finished the set, after little more than an hour, with “”. Heavy applause brought them quickly back to the stage. “Stay Together” started off the encore. “This is what started it all,” remarked Benatar and the couple went right into “Heartbreaker,” which morphed into Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” “Don’t Slander Me” and Back into “Heartbreaker.” The crowd sang along to “Heartbreaker” and the house lights went up for a bit to illuminate the audience. That song was the wrap for their show.

I was intrigued to hear how a rock couple like Benatar and Girado would pull off an intimate, acoustic show. I am not sure that this is their forte. They are rockers and should stay in that format. I have seen many performers play solo, acoustic shows and this wasn’t one of the better ones. Girado is a rock guitarist and needs the effects and amplification for his sound. Performing acoustic shows his limitations. They tried to fill in the fuller sound of the recognized tunes with pre-recorded bits, beats and loops. Benatar’s pipes are holding out and no notes were off limits. She SAT on a stool for the entire evening only getting up once to plant a small kiss on her husband’s check. Besides singing, Benatar occasionally used a shaker or tambourine. I think that this show would be better suited to a smaller venue. The show was too short. At barely 75 minutes/14 songs it seemed like there should have been an intermission not an ending. There seemed to be a lot of diehard fans among the sea of people and flashing light beverages. They seemed to know the Benetar/ Girado routine and seemed satisfied. It was fitting that this kind of duo show should happen. It showcases their music and real life partnership. She calls him “Spider;” he calls her “Patricia.” I think that this show could do well without the prerecorded parts and should add another 10 songs. Girado should look into a better sounding guitar since this is the only real instrument in the show and relies on this sound. This concert just served as an appetizer for me and I would like to hear more, probably from the full band. They seem to be around regularly so the wait probably won’t be long.

KIEFER SUTHERLAND | THE MET | MAY 21

After the Pat Benatar show at Twin River we high-tailed it over to The Met to catch as much of the Kiefer Sutherland show as possible. I have to admit that I was going to this one out of sheer curiosity. I am a fan of Sutherland’s TV and film work so I wanted so see what he could do with music. By the time we arrived he was already a few songs into his set. When the song he was playing finished he said, “We are playing 12 or 13 songs that you never heard and we really appreciate the fact that you have come out on your Saturday night to hear us play.” He talked about how the next song, “Calling Out Your Name,” was the product of a broken heart and how he started with blind innocence and turned to a cynicism. “Truth in Your Eyes” was about losing someone that you loved. He played other original songs such as “Going Home,” My Best Friend,” “Goodbye” and “All She Wrote.” He also covered a couple of Tom Petty Songs: “Honey Bee” and “Ways To Be Wicked” (thanks to Marc Clarkin for the correction, I only knew it as a Lone Justice song from ’85). He closed the show with the title cut from the soon to be released disc, “Down In A Hole.” This, and “Ways To Be Wicked” were what I thought the best songs of the night. “Down In A Hole” was a heavier rocker that had the band circled around and facing the drummer for the ending. After brief applause Sutherland returned to The Met stage. He asked if anyone was in the service or was a veteran and told a story of how he was coming out of an LA bar and saw a guy being accosted. He helped the guy out and found out that he has just come back from Iraq and managed to assist the man to the VA hospital. He says that this memory of how this man was treated has always bothered him. Though the next song he introduced, “Gonna Die,” was not directly from this memory he did dedicate it to this. The next song was chosen from his growing up in Canada and feeling the need to listen to and like Canadian artists. He mentioned Rush as one of them and said, “If I played Rush I would die in front of you.” Instead he played “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot. He reminisced with another story of riding in a beat up Ferrari when he was 5 or 6 years old that his father had. He remembered this, he said, because it was about the time his father (Donald Sutherland) was making “Kelly’s Heroes.” He didn’t get to spend a lot of time with his busy father so he said he cherished these memories. While he was rising in that Ferrari he recalled hearing an eight track tape that just played over and over and it was a Dylan tape. Because of this recollection he closed the night with his version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”

Sutherland’s tour was called “The Not Enough Whiskey Tour” and this was in support of his soon to be released CD, Down In A Hole. I tried to get a copy after the show but they were sold out of the pre- release EP versions. He worked on this with his friend and musical collaborator, Jude Cole. Sutherland’s band was tight. Kiefer played the musician part just like a well rehearsed role in a film. He has all the moves, motions and looks down to a T. His voice was pretty much what you would expect, a bit rough and raspy. His songs were good and well presented by the band. Sutherland switched between a beat up Gibson acoustic and a Fender Telecaster during the show. He mentioned that a lot of his material was about drinking and at one point in the show raised a glass so he could say that he had a drink with everyone in the room. There were about 175 or so fans that came for both the music and the chance to get a glimpse of Jack Bauer. He was REALLY, REALLY appreciative toward the audience. He thanked them MANY times during the night and said “Thank You” FIVE times before he left the stage. It is clear that this is an expensive hobby for Sutherland. He has top players in his band, tour bus, all their own sound gear, dream instruments, and TWO different style t-shirts, shot glasses and posters to sell. This is a pricey way to tour and only with good funding can you do this. His sound was akin to a bar band in a honky-tonk, kind of country with some rock tossed in. I enjoyed the show but it is doubtful that Sutherland will become a musical legend. It is a good thing that he has his acting to fall back on.

Now I have to recover from these shows! That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com