be grateful you didn't see him on the Liars tour, where instead of playing any of his wonderful 70's classics he insulted us by leaving the stage for a costume change and having the band play a 10 minute rendition of Peter Gunn and some other medley guff.

...due to illness and general mishaps in the johna household. So we had tickets for last night and I was truly miffed but at the same time (having viewed a few Youtube recent Todd offerings) did have a niggling worry that it might not live up to expectations (as gigs by old heroes sometimes dont - nay cannot !). Lets be honest give or take one or two song gems Todd hasnt produced any consistently great output since the late 70s (there must be an argument coming my way !). If I could have picked the set list it would have included the following songs which Im sure he didnt do (?) - We Gotta Get You A Woman, The Wheel, The Last Ride, Wailing Wall, Sometimes I Dont Know What to Feel, Just One Victory, Sweeter Memories, Pretending To Care (the saddest song ever ??), Couldnt I Just Tell You.

Hey ho Im just trying to convince myself that I would have come away disappointed.

Todd is one of my all-time faves, and we should probably be glad that he is wilful and capricious as at least he makes odd turns on his artistic jaunt. But I like a bit of nostalgia. I saw the AWATS show a year ago, which was as good as the 'Johnson' set in support was dull. It's a shame he hasn't brought 'Todd/ Healing' over here, and it was cruel to see the reformed PROPER Utopia performing for a Ralph Shuckett benefit gig in NYC, but not here. But maybe he'll show some decency and put together the complete 'Ra' show (including the full set list of the time: Overture/ Communion with the Sun, When The Shit Hits the Fan, Le Feel Internactionale, Last Ride, Jealousy, Sunburst Finish, Windows, The Ikon, Emergency Splashdown, Love of the Common Man, The Wheel, Mister Triscuits, Something's Coming, Death of Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal Kids, Hiroshima, Singring and the Glass Guitar, Boogies (Hamburger Hell), Just One Victory). Now THAT'S a psych-prog setlist to conjure with; a couple of edits to replace the real stinkers (Windows,jealousy, Emergency Splashdown) with some soulier gems and melodies - but keep Singring for absurdity value - and we're in buasiness.

...on Saturday night. With one exception (a song even I didn't recognise, and I am a FAN, in capital letters) he could do no wrong for me and a completely packed house, but he described the set as "those songs that I think YOU would have chosen if we did requests".

It certainly wasn't the set I would have chosen and it was no worse for that, but he clearly doesn't want to just do the obvious stuff all night long (he did play for a solid 2 hours 20 mins and his voice was in great nick). At least he didn't make us stand through the complete Arena album, which he did last time I saw him.

One thing I thought no-one leaving could believe was that he didn't finish with Just One Victory, but as I think someone said about Miles Davis, the Doctor gives you what he knows you need, not necessarily what you think you want.

My only real disappointment about the night was that sound was muddy, masking some subtlety in the playing, especially from Kasim Sultan, who's fingers were all over the fretboard, but you'd never have known it from the sound.

By the way, the new HMV Ritz was a good venue - holds a lot of people but nowhere is very far from the stage. Just need to sort out the sound.

to TR as a live performer before last night, and I only have "Go Ahead: Ignore Me" on CD, but I thought it was a wonderful evening's entertainment. I didn't realise quite what a dedicated fanbase Todd Rundgren has in the UK, but I can see what all the fuss is about now. Danny Baker had tweeted earlier on the Monday: 'Todd Rundgren at the Jazz Cafe tonight. He said casually. But really its like people in 1783 saying, "Oh Mozart's playing in town tonight."' A touch of hyperbole maybe, but a hugely gifted musician and songwriter nonetheless. I hadn't appreciated what impact TR had had on the rapping community, but Dizzee Rascal was standing next to us, and appeared to be enjoying himself hugely. TR's music's barely been off my ipod all day today, and I think we all left the venue with mile-wide smiles. It had all got a bit up close and personal earlier in the evening, though. At one point I went to raise my beer bottle only to find I had lifted it into the upper sleeve of the t-shirt of the somewhat taller gentleman in front of me!

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/​todd-rundgren/2011/jazz-cafe-l​ondon-england-33d0747d.html

and the top end of TR's voice was starting to go. Some people that had been previous nights said the band was better (looser)last night, so swings and roundabouts. Setlist was the setlist. He made a joke about torturing us in the afterlife 'just like I've tortured you for the past 40 years.' You know when you go to see him he'll be wilful - you'll get a bossa nova 'It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference' and 'Liar' but you know that means you might get the chance to hear 'Love Is The Answer' and the Soul medley, both of which had the crowd raising the roof trying to match the vocals. Kasim looks younger than he did 20 years ago and the backing vocals are stellar. As a crashing 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' careered into the night TR shouted 'Finally, we're a London pub band.'in triumph. A hot, sweaty, joyful night. The big guy next to me had flown in from Mexico and stood with his mouth open most of the night. I shook his hand as I left and gave him a thumbs up and raised eyebrow. He grinned hugely, made the universal circle motion at the side of his head and said 'Fucking crazy!'. My thoughts for the last 40 years, exactly.