Review by SueW:
I went out to the venue in the afternoon to check how to get there and I was disappointed that none of the massive billboards on the road out there had anything about The New Cars. When I asked the doorman at the casino where the concert was, he asked me if I meant the Blondie concert and the poster in the Box Office only a had a photo of Blondie on it!

This venue is reported to hold 2,500 people but I doubt that there were 1,000 people there as the back half of all the side blocks were empty (and the lower parts weren't full).

The gig was supposed to start at 9.00pm but Blondie came out at about 9.10pm. I was amazed at how many of their songs I knew as I thought I could probably only name about 3 or 4 but in fact I recognised them all except maybe 3. They put on a good show and Deborah Harry's voice doesn't seem to have changed since she was really big. She doesn't move around the stage too much but she did do a bit of jiggering which seems weird out of context considering she's over 60 now. However she does look very good for her age and is back to being blonde again. She has two very nice looking musicians in her band too!!

There were large signs as we walked in that said "no photography" but throughout their set people walked to the front and took photos with no security in evidence at all. By the end of her set there were loads of fans standing between the front row and the stage and Blondie received loads of applause as it was obvious that there were loads of her fans there.

I was quite concerned at this point in case loads of people left (I was in the second row right in the middle and I could see that the two people in front of me and the 4 either side of me were there to see Blondie and not mainly The New Cars and I had visions of sitting on my own there for their set!). Thankfully that didn't prove to be the case at all (although the two guys next to me left after about 6 songs) and as soon as the band walked on stage the front area filled up and they did receive a louder reception!

Blondie's set only covered the front half of the stage and the backdrop was a black and white piece of material which was lit up at times to look like a city skyscraper scene. The New Cars had the whole stage and they had 4 large circular video screens up high which for a lot of the set displayed photos or video. It was more of an addition to the set rather than a distraction and was very effective. Prairie was sporting his polka dots again. The band played from about 11.00pm until 12.20am.

I think my main memory of tonight's concert will be not only how much Kasim was smiling on stage during the concert tonight but how much Kasim was smiling on stage during the first concert of a tour tonight!! I still remember his concerned look at the first concert of the Meat Loaf tour last year in Germany - I know that in that band he has the added responsibility as he's the Musical Director but tonight he looked as though he was really enjoying himself on stage which was a pleasure to watch! He obviously had some first night nerves as he was more hyper than normal (he was scampering all over the stage a lot) but it was just great to see him smile so much.

(And he wasn't wearing his glasses so we could see his face really clearly!)

Kasim had some technical problems at the start of the set. It was either with his ear pieces or his bass as several times he went over to his tech for him to do something on his back.

I never write down the set list and normally I can remember a set list for a Meat Loaf concert but as I don't know these songs too well it was hard for me to remember but I know the first few and the encore are correct above.

They started with Hello Again (which I don't think The New Cars have played before on stage) and Todd totally messed up (or rather forgot) the lyrics in both the first and second verses. However he was word perfect throughout the rest of the set (and, as I noticed at the Burbank gig I went to in January), Elliot Easten came in late again in one part during Open My Eyes.

The highlight for me was hearing Kasim singing lead on Drive! His warm voice suits that song so well and he's definitely more relaxed singing it than he was in January. With Todd's coarser voice there's no way that he could do justice to that song compared to how Kasim sings it.

Kasim also sang lead on another song which I think was All Mixed Up (I don't know the songs well enough to remember everything about the concert!) and that was incredible to hear too as the others sang background vocals on that song so it was a very full sound.

Kasim's bass playing was amazing again to watch. He makes it all look so effortless but if you really watch his hands he does play an amazing number of notes and seems to have a great rapport with Prairie - no wonder they wanted Kasim in the band!

There were 4 Todd related songs - I Saw The Light, Black Maria, Open My Eyes and near the end they sang a short version of Bang The Drum. They all came to the front of the stage and Greg Hawkes played a ukulele and Prairie had a portable tom-tom type drum. Someone threw Kasim a tambourine and Elliot and Todd played acoustic guitars (I think). They all gathered around Todd's microphone while they sang that and then they played the end part on their normal instruments.

I think Kasim used his KSulton Bass throughout the whole set but Todd used a selection of guitars including one that I hadn't seen before which was light green which looked like it had Smarties stuck to it! I didn't see him break any strings tonight and he did play one guitar solo during the set.

Kasim had great fun throwing guitar picks into the audience tonight! So much so that he ran out at one point and had to borrow one of Elliott's until they brought him out some more! The funniest thing was when he threw one about 5 people would then all start looking at the ground to find it! One of his hit my eyelid (thankfully I'd closed my eyes when I saw it coming!) and another hit my foot so there are perils to sitting so close!

The encore tonight was Not Tonight (the video screens showed photos of things like laptops, cameras and Google), Open My Eyes and Good Times Roll and then they all left the stage to loads of applause!

Roll on Dallas tomorrow night!!

Kasim Sulton:
Before the concert Kasim Sulton wrote here "Hey ... So, all the talk, all the secrets, all the press, all the TV, all the hype, all the speculation, everything ... has come down to today. The first show of the tour. Everyone is excited, we're all anticipating a great start to what could be something that lasts for some time. We've been waiting for this as long as you have and barring any major hiccups, it should come off without a hitch."

Kasim Sulton described this concert here as "In my opinion, the first show in Tunica MS. Was ... well, the first show. Not bad at all."

Comments about this gig posted on messageboards and mailing lists include:

Kasim also sang 2 leads, All Mixed Up and Drive, and brought the house down with his (pick a superlative) delivery and passion. His bass playing was playful and masterful, always complemeting the material.

After Drive, which had Elliot playing electric 12-string and TR on the beautiful space-age black acoustic from the end of the Todd/Joe tour, they kept these instruments and moved to the front of the stage with Prairie on djembe (hand drum), Greg on electric ukulele and Kaz on tambourine. The four vocallists shared a mic for Bang the Uke and more than halfway through Prairie and Kaz returned to bass and drums to ignite into the original arrangement of Bang the Drum -- a crowd-pleasing show stopper!

The audience participation part of Good Times Roll previously seen on Leno was pure excitement in a live hall, with the people participating with an outpouring of youth and vigor some of us old guys haven’t shown a band since last century!

I hope the few fans out there that are talkin' trash get out and see the Road Rage Tour. The New Cars are incredible with Todd at the wheel (pardon the pun). I spoke with TR, Elliott, Greg, Kas, and Prairie after the Tunica opening and they said they are having a great time. They all deserve it! The music is energetic and powerful. And for all of us in our 50's (and beyond), it is a shot of energy that we've needed. I can only hope that for the Cars' fans out there, that they will choose to purchase some TR music and learn about this talented, creative musician.

The band took the stage with Elliot to the left (stage right), Kasim to the right (stage left) and TR in the center. Prairie left of center and Greg to the right.

I am so glad Prairie is a part of this. His dynamic, powerful drumming along with Kaz's solid bass make this a true rocking show. The few times I saw the Cars live on TV during their heyday, they were so understated that I truly like this configuration much better live.

Kasim also sang 2 leads, All Mixed Up and Drive, and brought the house down with his (pick a superlative) delivery and passion. His bass playing was playful and masterful, always complemeting the material.

The band appeared happy after the show and seemed to genuinely appreciate the crowd response although the hall was less than half full. Get out there and fill up the seats on this fantastic tour. You won’t regret it.

The band performed like they'd been doing this for a long, long time and still loved the opportunity to play. The musicians blended well and were genuinely enjoying themselves, the vocals were awesome, and the band rocked liked a locomotive that knew exactly where it was going.

Wasn't Todd and Kaz and the boys great last night? We were obviously standing right next to each other as my wife also got hit in the head and in the chest with Kaz's pick throwing. ( I ended up with one of Elliott's picks that Kaz threw).

You really need to see this show. I bought a copy of The New Cars "It's Alive" cd at the show and the band has gotten so much better since it was recorded and Todd and Kaz's voices were in top form for the tour opener.

Other websites
ConcertBlast.com has a great MP3 review of this concert. The first 13 minutes of this 34 minute podcast are nothing much but the review itself is quite a detailed song by song review. Unfortunately they omit Kasim singing lead on All Mixed Up (and they keep calling him Kay-zum!) but they rave about his lead vocals on Drive.

ConcertBlast.com also have some photos of the concert. The best ones which feature Kasim Sulton are:
Kasim, Todd and Greg.
Kasim Sulton!
Kasim mid-note in Bang The`Drum.
Kasim and Elliot Easton sharing a microphone (and a shot of the back of my head!).

The New Cars Road Rage Tour

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