I'd pretty much sworn off big-arena concerts after three poor experiences in a row, back around 10 and 15 years ago. But for The Who, I would not only subject myself to cramming in with 10,000 others, I'd drive 2 1/2 hours each way (much longer, because it was in a snowstorm, as it turned out) to do it. Despite the sexism of some of their songs, I've been a Who fan for more than 40 years. Who's Next is #1 on the list of albums I'd want with me if stranded on a desert island. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is my #1 favorite rock song of all time. But I'd never thought I'd actually get to see them live. Or that if I did, it would be worth the effort and expense. What changed my mind was the televised set they did at the benefit for Hurricane Sandy relief on December 12. This was not some kind of mail-it-in/wind-up-the-crank performance; these guys were giving all they had. I kept the website for their tour open on my computer desktop-and then my wife presented me with a pair of good-seat tickets for my birthday a few days later. We drove all the way to Manchester, New Hampshire from our home in Western Massachusetts, and for the first time in my life for any cultural event, we paid more than $100 for tickets. I love their "iconoclasism" around the power structure, the working class heroes that populate their songs, the attention to the downtrodden and forgotten. But I also love Roger Daltrey's soaring vocal range and Pete Townshend's powerful psychedelic guitar work. Daltrey and Townshend, the two surviving members of the original quartet, are now in their late 60s. Daltrey (older by a year) could pass for much younger; Townshend actually looks a bit older than his age. And both still have the juice. Daltrey's singing is as strong as ever, and Townshend-though he no longer smashes instruments or leaps repeatedly high in the air (he does once in awhile)-still uses wild athletic slashes to pluck those unique and magical sounds out of his assortment of guitars. This tour was the complete performance of the 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia, plus several of their most beloved songs from earlier in their career:
They played for about 2-1/2 hours, and they played HOT. Some reviewers earlier in the tour complained of lackluster performances and Daltrey having difficulty reaching some of the notes-but my experience was very, very positive. Even toward the end of the show, when they were clearly tired, they performed as if they'd just gotten to the stage, only showing the fatigue between songs. Perhaps as a concession to their aging audience (at 55 and 56, we were in the younger half), the volume was loud but not overbearing. I used earplugs, but didn't have to jam them way in. Occasionally, I even took them out entirely and did not go deaf. The duo were accompanied by a large band, including (among others) drummer Zak Starkey, who looks a whole lot like his dad (known to the world as Ringo Starr of the Beatles), and Townshend's younger brother (and lookalike) Simon on backup guitar and vocals, as well as bunch of keyboard and horn players. One of the most interesting aspects was a video montage running the whole length of the concert, masterminded by Daltrey: film and still photo footage of everything from World War II to the Occupy movement, intermingled with vintage Who concert video and memorabilia, closeups of the musicians live, ocean films so realistic I thought I was going to get wet, and special-effects lighting. And thank goodness, this was not a note-for-note rendition of the recordings. While the performances were close enough to the originals that fans could sing along (or fill in the occasional blanks the singers left for us), there were a myriad of delightful little variances, keeping he music fresh after 40 years. Shel Horowitz is the Editor of Global Arts Review. His eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green, shows businesses how to be both green and profitable. |
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