On this Friday night in June, 2006, The Cars, with Todd Rundgren taking over the role as frontman, played the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre, with Blondie opening. I do not recall how or why, but somehow I had a seat up front, center orchestra about 7 rows from the stage. I had never before had a great seat for Blondie, having only seen them at one of the NYC concert series, maybe in the late 1970’s; unfortunately I never saw the band in their downtown club days. Deborah Harry looked older than I anticipated and, if I recall correctly, she was wearing a long dress/ gown giving her a Mae West vibe. The Cars were kind of lost as an entity after the passing of founder Ric Ocasek and for this tour the band enlisted the multi-talented legend in his own right, Todd Rundgren, who I am a huge fan of. The Cars sounded fine and played the hits, but while the audience seemed to enjoy the group, for me it seemed a bit forced without Ocasek leading the way. Rundgren could sing all the songs capably, but this experiment which might have looked good in theory, did not really work completely. I do not recall if the reconstituted band stayed together for long after this show and tour, but the evening was otherwise enjoyable for what it was worth.

Check out a great interview with Todd Rundgren by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins on YouTube.

Just What I Needed

Rock on!

GQ