By Jeb Wright
Classic Rock Revisited
The New Cars? How can a group of musicians’ get together and play songs by the Cars in a band that does not include original member, guitarist, vocalist and main songwriter Ric Ocasek? I will tell you how: Hire Todd Rundgren. What you get is 90% classic Cars with a few Rundgren classics thrown in for good measure. The result is an astonishing concert. Remember this: The Cars were not a good live band. In fact, they took a lot of beatings from rock critics on their failure to perform on the live stage. The New Cars, featuring original Cars members Elliot Easton on guitar and Greg Hawkes on keyboards, are joined on stage by three dynamic and talented musicians. Prairie Prince, most known as the drummer of the Tubes, is colorful and competent. Kasim Sultan plays bass and sings lead and background vocals and Todd Rundgren — well his talent speaks for itself. Rundgren is highly respected by the industry, fans and critics alike.
The New Cars have a wealth of songs to choose from but, much to this writers delight, they played several tracks from the Cars first two albums. The band cranked out huge hits such as "My Best Friends Girl," "Good Times Roll," "Just What I Needed" and "Lets Go" alongside album cuts and fan favorites "You’re All I’ve Got Tonight," "Bye Bye Love" and "Dangerous Type." Easton shines as a member of the New Cars as he was probably the best pure musician in the original band. The left-handed guitarist’s solo styling remains as crisp and pure as it was back in the day.
As good as the classics were, the best songs of the show were not what one would expect. "All Mixed Up" from the Cars debut album was one of the best musical moments of the entire jam. Other highlights included Rundgren’s classic "Bang the Drum All Day" – performed with acoustic instruments. The crowd enjoyed the change of pace and sang along during the acoustic segment before the band jumped back to their electric counterparts and rocked it home. The best song of the set, the night and the entire Moondance Jam, was Rundgren’s "Black Maria." Rundgren gave an amazing performance of the tune. Todd played a blistering gutiar solo that left all in attendance in awe.
The Cars ended Day III with a bang but the evening was not over for a couple thousand Jammers. As soon as "Good Times Roll" hit the final notes everyone scurried over to the Saloon to hear ThundHerStruck. They played a Bon Scott filled set of AC/DC classics to a packed house. Day III may have started with a whimper but it ended with a bang.
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