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 Kevin Griffin, Todd Rundgren, Pat Benatar 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 Better Than Ezra. 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 songs 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 Led Zeppelin (I guess because it was Jimmy Page’s b’day). Griffin remarked, “They had to play Led Zeppelin, they couldn’t play some singer-songwriter 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 song, “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 album. 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 Kasim Sulton 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, Jesse Gress on guitar and Prairie Prince 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.