The Who Get Old
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Saw Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend's band about six years ago and they were still high energy, punchy, and loud, but last night's show at the Moda Center proves that time waits for no band, even the Who. They had a full orchestra and it sounded like Lawrence Welk meets the Who. It worked for some songs, like the Tommy Overture and some of the Quadrophenia stuff, but many others simply did not need full horns and strings accompaniment. But after resigning myself to the Who on Ice, I went with it and it was a fun show. We were way up in the back where we could dance. Roger can still sing, but there were some uncharacteristic missed cues and he even stopped and restarted two songs. Ouch. But in the end, there were a lot worse things I could have been doing on a Thursday night and hoping I will have half of Pete's energy when I am 77.
Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs opened. Good stuff, but funny how Mike talks and sings just like TP with the same drawl and tenor, except without the projection and often out of tune. Guy plays a raunchy guitar.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Rasputin O'Leary
Good review. They're only
Good review man. I'm walkin into a room not knowing wtf for an awful lot lately myself. They're only still doing it cuz the Stones still are. As soon as the Stones hang it up the Who will too, but they'll be damned if mick n keith are gonna outlast em. Zak Starkey has been their life support system for decades now.
Love that band forever
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
The Who lost respectability
The Who lost respectability 40 years ago. Saw them once on the last show of the disastrous 1979 tour at the Cap Centre.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
The only time I ever saw the
The only time I ever saw the Who was in 1999 at the MGM. Tickets were either $10 or free (I can't remember which), mainly because they wanted to ensure the place would be sold out. I was stoked just to get in the house for the Who, and also what would be the first ever concert live stream on the internet.
This concert was an extension of the Pixelon ibash, a computer tech trade show that was in town.
This show was 10/10 and the band pulled out all the stops. Windmills, fireworks, all the hits; they fully delivered.
The only people who saw it were the folks in attendance. The servers crashed and the first ever live internet broadcast was a bust. Go figure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1i_KWesgbg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoUwHKlezFY
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
The Who's Super Bowl Halftime
The Who's Super Bowl Halftime show was one of the cringyest wrinkle rock performances ever.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Their show in my neighborhood
Their show in my neighborhood this upcoming Monday is bombing in a big way, lots of cheap tix available, so I have been considering it.
I didn't know about the orchestra deal, is that on every tour stop or is it something unique to one/a few shows?
The only reason I have any interest at all is the chance to hear Pete Townshend play electric guitar. IMO he's one of the Mt. Rushmore's of electric guitar, and this is the only way to see him doing that.
I've seen various incarnations of what they call The Who, and really the only one that's ever worked was the 1989 tour with Simon Phillips on drums, who's brilliant and played with the proper Who power & bombast. Starkey is decent pro, but he's not anything special and he plays too by-the-numbers for my expectations of The Who.
Ultimately, for me they stopped being The Who when Moon died, and their sound was completely gone when Entwistle passed. Ever since they've been The Who's Left, and all these tours should really be called The Townshend/Daltrey band.
Anyway, there was about a 20% chance I'll go on Monday because it's cheap, close & easy, but if there's an orchestra with them that's a total deal-breaker for me.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
Hope I die before I get old.
Hope I die before I get old.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
>>>but if there's an
>>>but if there's an orchestra with them that's a total deal-breaker for me.
You should double check, but think the whole tour is with the orchestra. They have about four or five classical musicians traveling with them acting as musical directors to coordinate with rank and file local musicians who they recruit and make up the orchestra as they move from town to town (apparently so they don't have to travel with a full orchestra sort of like what Chuck Berry used to do). I had no idea they were going to do that and if I knew it would be like that, might have skipped it. Was on the fence to begin with (seeing shows tonight and tomorrow too) but Mike Campbell being on the bill sealed the deal for me.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 19.5 Degrees
but if there's an orchestra
but if there's an orchestra with them that's a total deal-breaker for me<<<
I don't know, I'd also be chomping at the bit to hear the same general "sound" I associate with The Who in their prime, but not sure I'd go so far as to say an orchestra would be a "deal breaker". It'd almost be akin to saying: "No grandpa, I'm not going to go for a walk with you if you bring your walker ... you need to keep up with me just the way you did 20 years ago."
Is there still not a possibility that a meaningful "conversation" that can take place? Was Joni Mitchell's recent appearance rated by critics based on her ability to replicate her past abilities? Perhaps we just need to do a better job of listening.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
Joni is headlining at the
Joni is actually getting top billing at the gorge; June 10, 2023.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Cam
Interesting. I saw them
Interesting. I saw them during the Summer, and it was phenominal!
I was in disbelief of how good Roger sounded.
The orchestral director for the band is Katie Jacoby, who is Scott Metzger's wife.
She did a great job, and nailed all the first-violin parts, like the Baba O'Reily jam.
I went to the show prepared to be underwhelmed. I managed to score $35 tix for 10th row floor, so I gave it a chance.
It was definitely one of the better shows I've seen this year, glad I went.
That said, they have been on the road for a few months since, maybe they were fresher earlier in the game?