| Saturday
2/16/02 found me at the Abbey Pub for a solo acoustic show by
guitarist/bassist/singer/songwriter Kasim Sulton. For the uninitiated, Kasim has performed
consistently at rock’s highest levels since the 1970’s. He spent a decade with
Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, played bass on Meatloaf’s mega-selling "Bat Out Of
Hell" album (48 million copies so far), was a member of Joan Jett’s Blackhearts,
and has also logged time with Indigo Girls, Mick Jagger, Bon Jovi, and Cheap Trick. He is
currently on a solo tour to promote his upcoming solo CD Quid Pro Quo which is
due out in April.
It was evident from the first minutes of his set
that Kasim is a songwriter of uncommon gifts. His songs embodied the best things that pop
music has to offer: gorgeous melodies, memorable chord structures, emotive lyrics, and a
clean and beautiful tenor voice to ice the cake. He is also a thoroughly engaging
performer and quickly had the pretty much sold out Abbey crowd in the palm of his hand. He
also told stories of his exploits to the crowd much as you would expect someone casually
playing songs in your living room might do between numbers, including one humorous account
of his song "Sometimes Love Is A Dangerous Thing" ALMOST making it onto a
Meatloaf CD. Sulton went on to tip his hat to his Utopia days, performing his song
"Set Me Free" which was the band’s only Top 30 hit. My favorite moments of
the show, however, were a pair of songs I’d never heard before that night. The first,
"There Goes My Inspiration", is a heartbreaking tale of lost love told through
the metaphor of a painter losing his muse. It was one of the best, most complete song
lyrics I have heard and it left the crowd with their jaws on the floor. The other gem of
the night was "Before She Was Gone" which deals with looking back on a failed
romance and wondering if there might have been some way to save it. "It’s not
what was said/Maybe it’s what you could have done instead/You should have showed her
that she was the one/You should have told her before she was gone." Strong stuff.
Anyway, you probably get the idea by this point
that I really loved the show and had a great time listening to Sulton spin his musical
web. I cannot recommend this performer highly enough to anyone who is a fan of pop music
or singer/songwriters in general. He was simply one of the best I’ve ever seen, up
close or otherwise. It’s always cool to see the Real Deal in action in front of you
and the Abbey got an earful of one this night. I was just happy to be there.
All Photos Provided by Beth Shandles DLL Productions © 2002
Official
Kasim Sulton Website
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