Todd Rundgren's Utopia

Singer-guitarist Todd Rundgren describes his prog rock band Utopia, which first formed back in 1973, as an “organic thing.” The band evolved from the group of musicians who helped him record his 1973 solo effort A Wizard, A True Star. The band's heady music often alternates between jazz fusion-inspired guitar and keyboard riffs and Rush-like prog rock jams. The band would split in 1986 only to reform six years later for a tour of Japan that Rundgren says he thought would be more expansive but didn’t because of “lingering issues” and the fact that some band members had to still hold down day jobs. The tour that brings it to town this weekend represents its first major outing in decades. (Niesel)