Review by Grady Moates:
Well, it's a new year, and there's not a better reason to go see a Todd show than that!

So here I am in Milwaukee again, to see Todd, Kasim, Jesse and Prairie at the wonderful Pabst Theatre, on the Riverwalk.

This venue is just wonderful! Not only is it a State of Wisconsin Historical Site, but the United States Department of the Interior has designated it a National Historic Landmark. Fully renovated, it's a great place to see live music because of it's excellent acoustics. From my vantage point about 20 rows from the stage in the left-hand section of orchestra seating, the sound and the view were quite good.

The musical performance was tight and full of energy, and the audience was really into it from the start. As the (by now "standard") set-list progressed, Todd's mood clearly seemed to improve. Having played the night before in Minneapolis, the day of travel became the subject of much of Todd's between-song patter. . . he spoke of grey skies in Minneapolis, a grey Minneapolis airport, flying through grey skies to the Milwaukee airport, and then the grey highway into Milwaukee, and suggested that only just now had the day begun.

A little further along, we learned that this was the first time that Todd had experienced temperatures this low since he moved from Woodstock to the southwestern-most of the 50 states.

Later, after a screaming performance of "Drive" that left the audience breathless, Todd told us that he had changed the lyrics to "Dry". I agree, having been dealing with nosebleeds for hours.

The sound was so good that I was able to hear much more deeply into the mix than in other shows on this tour. I could clearly hear the little accents and fills that Jesse does so well. Kasim's bass work was not at all muddy, and the way he frequently plays lead guitar parts on bass was strikingly apparent. The Prairie / Kasim rhythm section was really cookin' all night, providing a strong foundation for Todd's amazing catalog.

Another benefit of the good sound was the way Todd's joyous sense of harmonic relationships was showcased. There are some chords he wrote 20 years ago that still turn my spinal chord to jelly! Broke Down and Busted, Mystified, Number One Lowest Common Denominator, all were clear and powerful.

Now it's on to Chicago and the first of two sold-out shows at Park West.

Other websites:
TRConnection.com has some reviews and photos of this gig here.
There's a good close-up photo of Kasim by Doug Shiley on TRC here.

MusicBox has a review of this gig here. It only mentions Kasim in passing but the gig is described as "just under two hours of prime rock ‘n’ roll.".

Comments posted by fans on mailing lists and messageboards include:
"I love the way Kasim roughens his voice when he goes "trapped!!""

"It sounds like a broken record but the boys ripped through another great show flawlessly on Saturday night."

"Watching Kasim & Todd interacting seemed like old times."

"It was a seriously rockin' show. Two guitars, bass, drums. Kasim Sultan on bass. Todd played a lot of guitar (he's got a pretty cool, wild style) and his support guitarist was also excellent. Kasim has never been one of my favorite bassists, but he did a good job and his vocals are very strong. The bass was something with soapbars, tobias or modulus or something and was a little too boomy for my taste, but it worked OK in the context of things."

"TR's energy level was amazing & the whole band seemed to be having a great time."

"Todd, Kasim, Jesse, and Prairie play so well together."

"Kasim and Todd had some goof ups, and they laughed at it."

The venue (taken from the KasimInfo.com Blog that day):
Tonight Kasim Sulton plays the 6th concert of the Todd Rundgren January 2008 Tour. The concert is at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI.

The address of the venue is The Pabst Theater, 144 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Click here to view the venue website and here to purchase tickets for the show which are $29.50 each. Yesterday there were two seats together in the 26th row from the stage. This venue seats 1,345 people and the gig starts at 8.00pm.

Kasim Sulton has not played at this venue in recent years (if at all). The last time that he played in Milwaukee was on 7th July last year when he played at Summerfest as part of The New Cars.

Many thanks to Chris Z for all the photos on this page.

Todd Rundgren 2008 Tour