Set List:
Just What I Needed
Let's Go
You're All I Got Tonight
You Might Think
Best Friend's Girl
I Saw The Light
Candy-O
Not Tonight
Drive
Moving In Stereo
Shake It Up
Dangerous Type
Bye Bye Love
Open My Eyes
Good Times Roll
Review by a fan of The Cars:
So, We get there early, and it turns out, Elliot is kind of just hanging out, talking with folks. He's cordial, but has things on his mind, so I only chat with him for a minute. Kasim, the bass player is extremely nice, very cordial, and is chatting with lots of people. He's very approachable, and very friendly. A really nice, decent guy.
This was a small venue. Probably 100 or so people. Mostly music industry folks, and friends and family of the band members from what I could tell. Kasim told me that after he had invited a bunch of people they told him NOT to invite anyone else, because it was too many people. He was like, well jeez! First they said invite people then they said don't! I know a fender rep had invited my musician friend, so word got out.
Just before the show starts someone comes out and asks for NO PHOTOGRAPY, and NO RECORDING equipment of any kind. Of course during the show a few people pulled out digital camera's and took a few shots. I got a couple which I'll share later. Then some guy makes the announcement, that "it's been 17 years since they've played live" or something like that. This of course made me think of what someone on one of the lists wrote. "what are they talking about? these particular musicians have NEVER played live together!" They announce them as "The New Cars".
The show starts. The instrumental part was good, keyboards a bit too low in volume for the first song or so, then that gets worked out. Elliot does some guitar riffs on a couple of songs, that was nice. Todd sings all the songs except Drive, which Kasim sings. Kasim did a great job too, and while he got the inflections right, he didn't try to mimic Ben's voice, and he sounded really good. He was great, and did a great job. Had all the bass parts down really well. Greg's Keyboards were awesome, as was Elliot's guitar work. Drums sounded fine.
Now to the singing.
Todd forgets the lyrics to probably half the songs. Yeah. Sometimes it was a word or two, sometimes he just stops singing all together, so they keep playing and he gets his place and jumps back in. That really was kind of painful to watch, especially since many in the audience knew ALL the words.
A very well known music producer who's been around for years was also there. I knew him through a mutual friend, and at one point when Todd forgot the lyrics, yet again, he looked at me and shook his head. At the end of the show, and before the encore, The guy turned to me and said "well, I've seen enough. I'm out of here." Then he commented about maybe learning the lyrics would be nice. This is a MAJOR music producer who's done stuff as far back as Sammy Davis, Sinatra, as well as a number of today's acts.
The new song, Not Tonight, sounds very Cars-ish.
Show ends, Greg, Elliot, and Todd disappear. Kasim hangs out, talks with the fans, and is really cordial again. The Drummer also hung out too. Basically the story is they are planning on touring this year, then going into the studio to cut an album next year.
Now, I'll be honest, if Todd doesn't learn the damn lyrics, they're dead. He might get away with that with his Todd Fans, but Cars fans won't stand for it.
Also, he didn't sound like Ric live, but the studio recording we all heard the snippet from he did. So, I MIGHT get their album, if they cut one, and it sounds good. I'm not sure I'd see them live though.
My final thoughts? Elliot & Greg need to call Dave and Ric. They fire Todd, and while the drummer was OK, he wasn't David. They keep Kasim, who played great bass, and then do some reality show where they find someone who sings and sounds just like Ben.
The whole bit about "You're witnessing history in the making, it's been 17 years since they've toured" was over the top. The fact that Greg, Elliot, and Todd all ran off IMMEDIATELY after the show was disappointing. They were on for an hour and a half. There were maybe 100 people there. Would it have killed them to spend a moment and say hello?
Kasim was great. He mingled with the fans, shook hands, chatted it up with ANYONE who approached him. There was NO EGO whatsoever with this guy. Totally down to earth. He was a total professional, he sung Drive, and did a damn fine job of it, play great bass, and sung backup as well. The guy is a true class act, and a true professional in every manner. He has my respect.
I'm saddend by what has happened to my favorite band. I was skeptical, but gave them the benefit of the doubt. There's still a chance MAYBE they could do something cool. But based on what I saw last night, it was like watching a cover band with some very talented musicians led by a guy who didn't have a clue and didn't care.
Sorry, that may sound harsh, but it's how it looked to me.
Comments about this gig posted on messageboards and mailing lists include:
Kas, as most of the women know, is an emaculate man. He sometimes goes into a 'power stance' whilst playing that is simply a pleasure to watch... especially up close. I was surprised tho that he didn't have more in the way of lead vocal duties. His only lead vocal of the night was on Drive, which, tho probably a popular radio favorite for some, never really did much for me. guess I'm not much of a ballad kinda guy... at least, not in the context of this kind of band. never cared for it much when Foreigner did it, either. but Kas can SMOKE that bass when he wants to, and on the closing Bye Bye Love he did just that!
By your description it seems Kasim knew his stuff but everyone else played by the seat of their pants.
Kasim Sulton is considered one of the top bassist's around. This is what David Robinson told me, as well as my friend Ricky, another very well respected Bass player. David also told me that when they were all talking about re-forming, there was a VERY short list of bass players, and Kasim was on the top of that list.
I was pretty much blown away by how seamlessly Todd Rundgren fitted into The Cars mould.
I won't go into detail over the performance other than to say that the band was fantastic, loose-yet-tight, relaxed, and obviously having fun. A highlight for me
was Elliot Easton's and Rundgren's harmony guitar solo on "I Saw the Light"; that was an extremely cool moment. Easton was a monster, nailing his quasi-countrified solos note-for-note (I'd have loved to hear a little more spontaneity, honestly), and Prairie Prince drove the bus with taste and a seriously deep groove. Kasim, well, what can you say? The dude is a world-class vocalist and bassist, and he had his moments; his harmony vocals were pop-perfection. Greg Hawks pretty much just did that thing he does, and flawlessly at that (great old-skool analog sounds!). If I could've changed one minor thing, it would've been that TR play more freaking
lead guitar -- however, that said, The Cars are Easton's territory and TR respectfully allowed him the six-string spotlight. Total respect, how cool is that?
The crowd was alive and into the performance, quieting down between songs as Los Angeles audiences tend to do.
Shortly thereafter, Kasim came out and we got to chat him up for a few moments. I asked him who had written the new tune "But Not Tonight" and he said it was basically a band composition, and that there were plenty more in the works.
Friday's Host/Announcer: "It's been seventeen years! This is history in the making, so have fun! Please turn off cell phones, our cameras are mounted all around (filmed by Rehearsals.com), no DAT or other audio recording (he's not kidding~ I heard someone's film was confiscated). Welcome...The New Cars!" You're right there up close to the stage; good thing an assistant passed out ear plugs on a platter. Several children were in the house, they made their way to the front row. Kas sang to them and gave them his guitar picks.
Todd didn't know the lyrics, and the show had some serious problems.
I only saw Todd stumble on the words once. He probably messed up more than that and I didn't catch it, but he certainly didn't screw up often. Whoever said he messed up half the words is way off.
Hon, it's a rehearsal....they're allowed to make mistakes. I'm sure the reason industry people were invited was to start a buzz. Todd has alot of obligations. They also had a meeting right after the gig with the manager who had to catch a plane back to New York. Sheesh! (In other words no one was hiding) They will be rehearsing again in April. Todd will do the material justice and then some, promise.
Ric didn't want to let the good times roll, so they chose Todd. If it weren't for him, Cars fans wouldn't have the chance of seeing Elliot and Greg. I would have much rather seen the much rumored Utopian anniversary tour, where Todd could sing his own stuff, not this bubblegum music but hey, it's still Todd and we luv him no matter what he does.
In summary, it was a fantastic, fun show, the vibe was electric, the crowd intense, the band rockin', and the blend of TR, Kasim and Prairie with Hawkes and Easton is nothing if not inspired.
I also asked Todd what the ultimate show setlist would be. He said that they only rehearsed approx. 1/2 the show. More Cars songs will be added as well as more Todd tunes.
Todd looked skinny, sang great... Kaz did too Prarie was the drummer. It was fun, but IMO half way thru I was wishing for more Todd songs and more lead guitar playing by Todd. Also, all the Cars songs sound very similar.
Well the report from The Cars side is that Todd didn't know half of the songs and they want Ric back and the other guy too .... but we all know that is a classic Todd type thing. Never nails it till the tour is in full swing
It was a Cars music show, featuring Todd as the front man (Ric). "Drive" was the only song with Kasim as the feature singer, and Kas was awesome!
I wonder if this set list is indicative of the tour songs. Like others, I'd hope they would throw some Todd stuff in there, and lord knows some of Kas's new stuff from Quid Pro Quo would sound great done with a band. If, as rumored, they will be the opening act for another 80s band on the summer tour, their set is likely to be less than 1-1/2 hours long, which would allow time for new album stuff, a few old Cars hits (they do all sound similar, don't they?) and some solo stuff.
They have only played together about a week, and they were wonderful. The show was taped on Wednesday, last night and will be taped on Sunday. I would imagine it will be avaliable sooner or later. I hope they put a few more TR songs in. Everyone at the show loved it. They did a fine job.
I would say about 25% of Cars fans are as hardcore as myself against this project, 40% are indifferent and 35% just want to support Hawkes and Ea$ton and see live Cars music.
Todd forgot all the words to Let's Go and 3/4 of the words of all the Cars classics. Industry people left because of what a joke it was. He did a great job, Real professional.
IMHO, most Cars songs sound the same, but I found myself singing along to every song, and having fun. That's Pop Rock for you. Perhaps a couple more Todd songs and more of Kasim on lead vocals would add some variety to the show.
I spoke to Greg at great lengths after the show and he said he was proud to be working with Todd.
I only noticed a couple of mistakes/hesitations by Todd and a couple by Elliot. I was very surprised at how few mistakes were made. The band hung out after the show and was, of course, very cool.
One thing I came away with was how easy it was for Todd to sing the Cars songs. I knew he was a great singer of course, but I sometimes forget how tough his songs are to sing - Cliche, for example. He can sing the Cars songs in his sleep, so I hope it holds his interest. Same thing with Kasim - the songs are so easy for him to play on bass. And I too, would like to see him sing more than one song. I thought they sounded great. I think it will be a nice tour, although I think one tour will be enough. Then we'll be even more anxious for more Todd songs.
I can attest to the awesome job Kasim did, in all aspects of the show. He did an excellent job at playing bass, was great at backup vocals, and did Drive justice. He didn't try to mimic Ben's voice, he just sang it, and got the inflections right. To top it off, he was increddibly nice, personable, and talked to anyone who approached him. A total class act, and I would see him perform again in a heartbeat. I've heard through other people in the music biz that Kasim is a very well known, and very well respected muscian. David also said that when they talked of reuniting, Kasim was the top of a very short list of people to replace Ben on bass.
Please note all the above are views from fans and do not necessarily represent the opinions of KasimInfo.com.
Other websites:
There are some photos of this gig on pages 6 and 7 in this thread on the messageboard attached to TRConnection.com.
Many thanks to Marilyn for all the photos on this page.
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