I had seen the set lists from previous shows, so I had mixed feelings about Todd's Unpredictable Tour stop in Atlanta. I knew I could expect about 10 Todd songs that were played at previous shows, about fives or six Todd songs that were played at some, but not in all of the previous concerts, and about four cover songs that had been played in other cities. I loved the Todd/Utopia songs, but did not care for the cover songs, except for Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," which was the best song of the night. "Running Bear, Patches" and Todd's tongue-in-cheek Country & Western ode to Atlanta were just okay, and I felt they were a waste of time. I would have liked to have heard his version of "96 Tears," but he chose not to play that one in ATL.
Despite the goofy cover songs, the concert was very good and the theater was packed. I do like that he played many of the fan favorites - "I Saw the Light, Hello It's Me, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," from Something/Anything, and played songs from many other albums including Hermit of Mink Hollow, Arena and Faithful, as well as a couple Utopia tunes. I loved Todd's ability to draw the crowd in with his playful banter. The story about meeting Daft Punk at the Grammy's was hilarious, but his political comments, particularly those bashing Republicans, were met with some jeers and a few people traded some barbs with one another until he moved on to the next song. In the end, his message was "get out and vote for the person who best represents you," but some on the far right did not seem to care for his comments about their political party.
The band. What can I say about these guys that hasn't been said before? They are truly consummate professionals and you can tell they love playing together and are masters at their craft. Love this lineup and hope they stick together for many, many more Todd shows. All-in-all, I enjoyed the evening and was happy to see Todd again (30th time?) and look forward to seeing him the next time he comes to or is near ATL.