Looking Out My Back Door

Rocking With Th Wh

No, those aren't typos in the header -- since half of The Who have gone to their reward, I now refer to them as "Th Wh." Nevertheless, the concert was wonderful. Our seats were side of stage, maybe two-thirds up the wall, and they were great. I had a pair of binoculars, but they were only needed to zone in on things. We could see all the band members quite nicely, and we had the added benefit of a large screen nearby.

They had a small power trio of young guys from Colorado open the show. I don't recall their band's name, but they were heavily influenced by Led Zep. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that these unknown pups were opening for TH WH! What an honor -- probably the highlight of their musical careers thus far. They played for about a half hour and then, 20 minutes later, the main event began.

"I Can't Explain," followed by "Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere." Classic. "Who Are You." Fabulous. Then a couple of songs off the new album (not so exciting), followed by "Behind Blue Eyes." Yay. After a six-song mini-opera off the new album, the band rewarded us with "Baba O'Riley." Screams ensued. Some more classics, then the first big finish: "Won't Get Fooled Again." A brief exit, then they returned, triumphant, as Pete Townshend hit the opening chords of "Pinball Wizard," which turned into an extended medley from "Tommy." Fantastic. One more exit, then the original band members returned to perform an acoustic tune about being survivors or something along those lines.

Both Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were stellar. Daltry was a little hoarse here and there, but that's not unusual. He still swings a mean microphone and looks great. Townshend jumps, windmills, and sings as well as ever. Drummer Zak Starkey is one of the greatest musicians ever to command a drum set, and bassist Pino Palladino is also excellent. Keyboards played by Rabbit, background vocals and rhythm guitar by Simon Townshend, Pete's younger brother.

They played for about two hours. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday night and I was due at work the next day, which I managed to attend, despite staying awake until 2am on a concert-induced high (no, nothing illicit -- Nassau Coliseum, like many arenas, is smoke-free, so no contact highs available). You'd stay up late too if you'd just seen Th Wh. And yes, I'd still walk over you to see Th Wh!

posted by Hopster @ 9:09 AM