Timothy Winton

I spent all day Saturday on the inter-coastal waterway in West Palm Beach for the annual SunFest music, food and arts festival. It cost $23 to get in and my friend Rich and I got there early and put our blanket and lawn chairs down in the first row of the general admission area of the main stage. We managed to hang in until the last act finished and had plenty of time to sample the food, art, contests and freebies in the various booths. We even got to see a giant screen outdoor simulcast of the Kentucky Derby.

During the hottest part of the day Todd Rundgren played a great set. His band included Jerry Marotta and Jesse Gress (half of the Tony Levin Band). The only complaint I have is that he did not play any of his hits. I guess he was featuring his latest album. No ‘Hello it’s Me’, ‘Can We Still Be Friends’ or ‘Bang on the Drum All Day’. I only recognized two songs including a cover of Red Rider’s ‘Lunatic Fringe’ and I have seven Todd CDs and two DVDs.

Fortunately, some clouds gave some relief from the heat for Stephen Stills set. Unlike Todd, Stills played a bunch of his hits. He did several solo acoustic numbers including ‘Suite Judy Blue Eyes’. He rocked out to ‘Woodstock’ and played some scorching lead guitar including some bluesy numbers including ‘For What It’s Worth’ at a super slow tempo. He closed with ‘Dark Star’.

The headliner for the evening show was the All American Rejects. I did not recognize any of their songs, despite them having two platinum albums. Their audience consisted of 12 to 16 year old teenage girls who screamed at every move they made. We also caught a little heat from the teeny bopper crowd who tried to jump in front of us up against the fence. Along with the two ladies next to us, we wouldn’t let the kids cut in front of us and walled off our section. The Moms behind us were yelling and cursing us along with some of the kids for not giving up our spot. Such is life in the rock and roll world I guess. I really wasn’t very impressed with the Rejects music, but their young fan base was in heaven.