Todd Rundgren Live at Ames Center - Burnsville MN - January 27th 2016

An Evening with Todd Rundgren live at AMES Center

As the last notes of One World brought Todd Rundgren’s 2-hour January 27^thperformance at AMES Center in Burnsville, MN to an end, a fan behind me stood up and commented, “He’s a musical genius!” The Twin Cities has been fortunate to be a regular stop on Rundgren’s touring schedule and considering the depth of his body of work, you never really know what to expect from his live shows. After starting out Wednesday’s show playing I Saw the Light, Love of the Common Man and Open My Eyes, Rundgren admitted to sometimes feeling like he let fans down by not playing material they hoped to hear stating, “… this time I’ve put together a set that should satisfy all those requests.” With that, he launched into one of his best known hits that I haven’t heard the last 3 times I’ve seen him, Can We Still Be Friends.

Few words were exchanged beyond that as he was fully committed to delivering a complete sampling of his musical mastery featuring his first rate touring band consisting of John Ferenzik (keys), Jesse Gress (guitar), Prairie Prince (drums) and Kasim Sulton (bass). Rundgren came across as genuine and enthusiastic seeming to enjoy this stroll back through his music career and ended many songs jumping in the air like a young rocker. Todd’s vocal ability has not fallen off in the least and his guitar solos sounded fresh and on point. It’s also important to mention the AMES Center was a great setting for this show with fantastic sound and just enough room for all of Rundgren’s fans to settle in comfortably while still maintaining an intimate feel with great sight lines.

The evening truly was the product of genius and a peek at the substantial set list should confirm that it was everything that all Todd fans in attendance were hoping for. Seeing Todd Rundgren live was a wonderful experience.

Set List:

I Saw the Light

Love of the Common Man

Open My Eyes (Nazz song)

Can We Still Be Friends

Lysistrada (Utopia song)

Hammer in my Heart

Number One Lowest Common Denominator

Compassion

Love in Action (Utopia song)

Determination

Black & White