The New Cars and Blondie
Nokia Theater, May 2006
I THOUGHT I only knew one song by the Cars with Ric Ocasek The egoist in me takes note of all songs with “Candy” in the title. Candy-O fit that bill, and that’s how I remembered the Cars.
How wrong I was! Almost every song they played that night, I was totally familiar with.
It was the same when I watched Blondie open the show. I didn’t realize how many songs of theirs got the radio play. It was like old home week. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this music.
The New Cars weren’t the same Cars that recorded Candy-O. Ric Ocasek chose not to tour and Todd Rundgren was in his place. Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes were original Cars, but prized sideman Kasim Sulton was on bass.
I’d interacted with Kasim earlier in the backstage hallways. He knew my name, and how I related the Cars to Candy-O.
So, when that song came up in their onstage set, he stood right in front of me and acknowledged me during the first few bars. At the end, he flicked his pick at me, and even though I was in the front row, it disappeared and I couldn’t locate it on the floor. I was sorry because I have a small collection of picks, and this one had all those good Candy-O bass vibes all over it.
After Candy-O, I ran backstage for a minute to see if I was needed anywhere. After all, I’m on the clock. I wasn’t needed so I returned to the spot where I’d been in front of the stage.
To my amazement, as I looked down, the pick Kasem had thrown at me was at my feet! I picked it up, it has Kasim Sulton written on it, and I added it to my collection as one of my favorites.
Anyway, I was so tired that night after work because of this concert. Normally, during the performances, I have a lot of down time, because the people I’m assisting are busy onstage. So normally, I sit around with my feet up. I've been there already for twelve hours. Not tonight.
Tonight, I was in front of that stage hopping up and down doing my hippie dancing to just about every song The New Cars did. Even during “I Don’t Want to Work,” that Rundgren had made famous, I was dancing around and singing along; “I Want to Play on the Drums all Day!” So by the end of the concert, I was bushed but still had 3-4 more hours to work.
This concert was SO MUCH FUN!! I was sorry to hear that revenue-wise, the tour wasn’t considered successful. Those who missed this performance, plainly missed out. I wouldn’t have thought it, if I hadn’t been there myself. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening of good music played by talented musicians.
I THOUGHT I only knew one song by the Cars with Ric Ocasek The egoist in me takes note of all songs with “Candy” in the title. Candy-O fit that bill, and that’s how I remembered the Cars.
How wrong I was! Almost every song they played that night, I was totally familiar with.
It was the same when I watched Blondie open the show. I didn’t realize how many songs of theirs got the radio play. It was like old home week. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this music.
The New Cars weren’t the same Cars that recorded Candy-O. Ric Ocasek chose not to tour and Todd Rundgren was in his place. Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes were original Cars, but prized sideman Kasim Sulton was on bass.
I’d interacted with Kasim earlier in the backstage hallways. He knew my name, and how I related the Cars to Candy-O.
So, when that song came up in their onstage set, he stood right in front of me and acknowledged me during the first few bars. At the end, he flicked his pick at me, and even though I was in the front row, it disappeared and I couldn’t locate it on the floor. I was sorry because I have a small collection of picks, and this one had all those good Candy-O bass vibes all over it.
After Candy-O, I ran backstage for a minute to see if I was needed anywhere. After all, I’m on the clock. I wasn’t needed so I returned to the spot where I’d been in front of the stage.
To my amazement, as I looked down, the pick Kasem had thrown at me was at my feet! I picked it up, it has Kasim Sulton written on it, and I added it to my collection as one of my favorites.
Anyway, I was so tired that night after work because of this concert. Normally, during the performances, I have a lot of down time, because the people I’m assisting are busy onstage. So normally, I sit around with my feet up. I've been there already for twelve hours. Not tonight.
Tonight, I was in front of that stage hopping up and down doing my hippie dancing to just about every song The New Cars did. Even during “I Don’t Want to Work,” that Rundgren had made famous, I was dancing around and singing along; “I Want to Play on the Drums all Day!” So by the end of the concert, I was bushed but still had 3-4 more hours to work.
This concert was SO MUCH FUN!! I was sorry to hear that revenue-wise, the tour wasn’t considered successful. Those who missed this performance, plainly missed out. I wouldn’t have thought it, if I hadn’t been there myself. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening of good music played by talented musicians.
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