(reviewed by Philip Maddox)
I've been to quite a few concerts in my day (thanks to the ability to get free tickets to the Nissan Pavillion - don't ask), and even though I LOVE the Who, I didn't know quite what to expect from this show. I mean, they are certainly one of the greatest groups of all time and a personal favorite of mine, but the Who are notorious for playing late period shows with gigantic backup bands and with little enthusiasm. Their late period touring has even hurt their reputation greatly. I was expecting a decent concert packed with crowd pleasers and a gigantic backing band and a very lackluster Who. I was mighty wrong. This was the best concert I have ever been to. Easily.
OK, things didn't start out that great. The opening group, Un-American, was extremely loud and riffy, but not much else. They played so loud that I had to get up and move for fear of damaging my fragile hearing. I went to get a cheeseburger, and apparently a lot of people had the same idea, because the line was about 30 minutes long. When I got back, the group tore into an awesome rendition of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down", which ruled, but then again, it's hard to mess up a song that's that perfect in the first place. Anyway, they finished up with 2 decent rockers and left. Not too bad overall, but I'd never plunk down money to buy any of their CDs.
Tensions mounted as the 30 minutes between the sets passed, until finally, Pete, Roger, and John took the stage. The crowd went totally nuts, with me among them. Zak Starkey, Ringo's son, came out to play the drum seat long ago vacated by Kenney Jones, and longtime keyboard man John "Rabbit" Bundrick came out to, well, play keyboards. And that was it. No large backing band. No excess frills. This was going to be loud, traditional, untamed Who. I was ecstatic. Could this concert really be as good as, say, their famous concert at Leeds? I was soon to find out.
They opened up with a traditional "I Can't Explain", which blew any doubts of this being a sunstandard concert totally away. Roger sounded perfect, hitting notes and screaming like most young singers nowadays can hardly dream of. Pete riffed and soloed like a madman, ecen doing lots of windmills and jumps. And amazingly, he didn't look like a joke. There he was, Pete Townshend, 50-some odd years old, bouncing around like a teenager and looking totally sincere. John, as always, stood like a statue. He stood over on the far left of the stage and didn't take a step the entire show. But man, did his fingers ever move. But more on that later. Zak sounded and looked great, too. He was certainly trying to be Keith Moon, and he nearly succeeded. Lots of energy and a great sound. May he continue to drum for the Who for a long time to come.
The follow up, "Substitute", ruled like it should. The song hasn't lost a thing in 35 years. It's still totally relevant, powerful, and LOUD. The group didn't disappoint. The follow up, "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere", was one of the absolute highlights of the show. Pete cranked up the feedback and really jammed it out here. The song went on for a really long time, but never got dull. Roger did the lead vocals excellently, and Pete and John's backing vox were spot on. If you needed proof that the Who were still alive, well, there it was. "I Don't Even Know Myself" followed, and it wasn't a particular highlight of the show, as "I Don't Even Know Myself" certainly isn't as good as, say, "My Generation", but it still rocked pretty hard. No complaints. Chalk up a few more windmills for Pete. Roger started baring his chest at about this point. If any other 55 year old singer had tried this, he'd have been laughed at, but Roger pulled it off. He's still got it after all these years.
The Ox got to do one of his numbers next, the Who's Next classic "My Wife", which John enthusiastically declared ("This is a song I wrote back in '71" before going on into it. The band took the opportunity to solo here, jamming on over the "She's coming!" bit for a long time, and it never got dull. More rock and roll perfection.
After this, Rabbit played the oh-so-famous synth loop that opens "Baba O'Riley", which ruled. Roger even pulled out the old harmonica at the end to play out the violin coda. Cool. After that, Peter went on at great length about the genius of the Who - "You see, we sped the loop up a bit at the end. It's the genius of the Who, you see", and proceeded to play a pretend keyboard solo, speeding up his noises at the end. The crowd went wild. "The Relay", an obscure Lifehouse outtake followed, and it was pretty good, but it isn't the best song the band ever did. Still sounded great coming from these guys, though, as they injected so much energy into it that I couldn't help but be impressed. Around this time, Pete noticed that a lot of inside seats were empty while people sat out on the lawn. Pete called out "You've paid for your concert, come on down!". And so people did, with a great rush of applause. He discussed his nasal problems as a cold, saying that "I'm too old for cocaine, so there's none of that going on here". He even discussed his big nose, saying that if it were to be lifted up a little, he'd look more like Nicholas Cage, after which he demonstrated that. And you know what? He had a point!
I can't go into this much excruciating detail on every song (as it was a very long show), so I'll summarize the next few - "Bargain", "I'm One", "Pinball Wizard" (which was accompanied by the umistakable scent of marijuana - why was "Pinball Wizard" considered a good song to get high to?), "The Real Me", "Who Are You" (featuring Roger really going nuts on his trademark "AHHHHH, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!?!?!" vocals), "Magic Bus", and "Behind Blue Eyes" all ruled in a major way, each one featuring all of the great stuff I've mentioned above. Classic stuff played in a classic way.
For me, though, the absolute peak of the concert came in the next few numbers. "You Better You Bet" sounded absolutely PERFECT. In this particular arrangement, it made it clear to me that "You Better You Bet" was one of the Who's best moments. Everything was in place. A top notch performance all the way.
Next, though, came the high point of the show, "5.15". The song lost the horn arrangement and focused on rockin' like, well, a train. Roger's vocals were at their absolute best. The song rocked into solos and such, until John finally took the spotlight to play a bass solo. And let me tell you something - it made it clear to me that NOBODY can play bass like John Entwistle. Not Chris Squire, not Geddy Lee, not Les Claypool. Nobody. He could have played for 3 hours and I wouldn't have cared. His fingers were an absolute blur. It went on for a pretty long time, but it still felt too short. After the tune ended, everyone went nuts for John and John, in his absolute excitement, briefly raised an eyebrow before returning to his serene state. The crown went nuts.
Finally, the last pre-encore song, "We Won't Get Fooled Again", was flawless. During the synth bit towards the end, the crowd went silent, anticipating Daltry's scream, and went he let loose, windows must have broken in the parking lot. It was THE most powerful yell I'd ever heard. A classic for the ages. The song is great anyway, and this live version, if anything, IMPROVED on the studio release. After this, the group hugged, Pete made some weird comments about Roger that I can't remember, and they were gone. The crowd cheered for a really long time before the quintet returned, fresh as ever. Pete and Roger jumped around, while John strolled back over to his place and took a drink of water. Good old John, eh?
"The Kids Are Alright" is another great tune, played extremely well. Another long extended version, but who cares? "Let's See Action", though not one of the Who's best, rocked like a mother on stage. The crowd loved it, of course. Finally, they closed the evening with "My Generation", which contained several great moments - Pete went off into some awesome solos and even gave his instrument a symbolic smash (and actually DID crack it a bit). The best part, though, was Roger and Pete during the (in)famous "Hope I Die Before I Get Old" line. They both cracked up and totally flubbed the line and continued to grin and laugh throughout the song. I guess they realized the ridiculousness of the line coming from 55 year olds It was honestly sincere and a great way to end the show.
I could point out a few complaints (I really wanted to hear "Love Reign Oer Me" and "See Me Feel Me", but you can't have everything), but they were so slight that it didn't matter. They absolutely blew the Rolling Stones, who I'd seen earlier that year, totally off the stage. Even the mighty Jethro Tull, who put on one of the absolute best shows I'd ever seen, couldn't match the sheer force of The Who. Rock is dead they say. Long live rock. Never have truer words been spoken. Ooh, and another quick note. This tour has rejuvinated the band enough that they're actually recording a new studio album, their first since It's Hard way back in 1982. If it shows any of the energy they displayed at this show, it'll be a classic, and I know I'll be first in line to snag a copy.