The Who 50th Anniversary Tour: 2014-2017 and more! *

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by reb, May 30, 2014.

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  1. John Rhett Thomas

    John Rhett Thomas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Macon, GA, USA
    D'oh! Why can't they go to bed early like respectable old people? I don't think I'd make it from Staples to LAX for my departing flight at 12:59 am. Sounds a little too tight for me.
     
  2. babyblue

    babyblue Patches Pal!

    Location:
    Pacific NW
    catch the first two anyway
    Eh, that's actually on the early side for concerts these days. I was surprised I made it home before midnight. After Springsteen, I didn't get home until after 1 am
     
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  3. babyblue

    babyblue Patches Pal!

    Location:
    Pacific NW
    The Seattle show was only the second time I’ve seen the Who. Now I know why, thanks to the Seattle Who Facts displayed on the screen before the concert. In their 1960s-70s prime, the Who opened for the Herman’s hermits in 1967, and came through town again in 1971 and 1976 (which was Keith’s last US show). Since I was far too young to catch their first two appearances, my one chance was in ’76 and I missed it. I finally saw them at the Kingdome in 1982. A good show, but the Clash somehow made the enormous venue feel like a club and nearly blew the headliners away.

    The opening act last night was surprisingly good too. The Slydigs have charisma to burn with a hard-hitting, melodic Small Faces vibe, complete with vintage gear and mod clothes. They seemed to go down well with the packed arena crowd and were an excellent match for the Who,

    I had a feeling the Who were in good form when Pete started windmilling even before the first song began. Both Pete and roger seemed loose and friendly all evening. Roger rarely faltered and sounded much better than on some of the earlier shows I’ve heard. Pete was quite talkative and related that his mate Ronnie Lane once told him to quit the Who and write a song on the banjo. He ignored the first advice, but ended up writing “Squeeze Box” instead. I’d forgotten a few of the deep cuts included in this tour’s setlists. “Join Together,” “Eminence Front” (which Pete introduced as being about “money, gold, grandiosity and cocaine”) “The Seeker” and “Acid Queen” all actually surprised me. “The Rock” was a great dramatic addition to the Quadrophenia mini-set too.

    There was nothing embarrassing about this evening’s performance. The band was tight and seemed genuinely happy and grateful to be there (despite Pete’s professed hatred of touring). My probable final farewell to the Who turned out to be a thrilling and grand one.
     
  4. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    accordion, ronnie lane told him to write a song on the accordion. before this pete as telling a little story about when he saw jimi once, and jimi started playing for him:


    "Happy Jack wasn't old, but he was a man
    He lived in the sand at the Isle of Man"


    I WAS COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT
     
  5. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    it was way louder than vancouver in my estimation, and (not that is has anything to do w/ the who) but way more air conditioned.....
     
  6. babyblue

    babyblue Patches Pal!

    Location:
    Pacific NW
    You're right, of course. That's what I get for writing a review first thing in the morning after a concert. And yes, it was very loud, but clear.
     
  7. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    lol, yo read all these ppl poo-poo-ing who 2016: look, me and babyblue were there. **** got crazy. all these ppl saying ooo i cant hear pino---- omg, u can totally hear pino hes just a completely different type of bass player
     
  8. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA

    yes you can...do it dawg!
     
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  9. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    why didnt they mention the 69 seattle pop fest, it was in woodinville, but i was suprised they didnt, i dont think


     
  10. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    this band is so strong, i cannot believe it has to end forever soon. i really hope they stretch this out even more or once again reconsider
     
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  11. screechmartin

    screechmartin Senior Member

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Well, I hate to be the grumpy old Who fan, but I'm afraid I must. Regardless of what you thought about "The Endless Wire" material in 2006---I loved it---there was absolutely no comparison between the Vancouver show in 2006 and one I saw on Friday night, and I say that as somebody who has loved this band since 1966, and think that most of my greatest in concert experiences have involved watching Pete Townshend play the electric guitar. In 2006 the band was tight, well rehearsed and ferocious. Townshend played his ass off that night, and while Roger's voice was strained at times, he managed, and he was not drenched in sweat and puffing with exertion. In 2006 the band didn't have two completely unnecessary keyboard players, and Simon Townshend was performing the useful function of back up vocalist, and not cluttering up the joint with his very ordinary guitar playing. Plus, in 2006 Zak Starkey's formidable skills could be easily heard by everybody on stage because he was not ring fenced with plexiglass.

    I'm not sorry I went to see them on Friday night. I can't imagine a better way to spend an evening than watching Pete play guitar, even if a lot of the time he was playing at half speed. At 72 Roger is visibly an old man (Pete is not), and although it is true that his vocals are fantastic for a 72 year old that is not necessarily a recommendation. The sort of power vocals that were Daltrey's trademark are behind him. When I saw the Quadrophenia Tour in 2012 I thought that Roger was right on the edge of being unable to convincingly deliver the catalogue, and 4 years later it is clear that he can't. I love him, he's a trooper, but I spent more time on Friday night worrying that the whole business might be too much for him (as it was at times) than appreciating the quality of his singing. As for Pete, I think he made a strategic decision for this tour to hand off a lot of work to his brother. It means that he doesn't have to work as hard and it means that he doesn't entirely have to sacrifice what is left of his hearing. Pete Townshend really only plays LOUD, or LOUDER than anything else on stage, and now he chooses his spots rather driving the band as his full time occupation. The trouble with this is---apart from the fact that Pete plays less---that The Who are just not a genuine 2 guitar band and some times the left hand side of the stage was not in sync with Pete on the right. I think Pete just does what he wants and expects everybody else to keep up and they didn't. The end of "Bargain" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" were shambolic, and the middle section of "The Rock" a complete mess. Pete and Simon were supposed to be both playing the same riff but were so out of sync that Simon burst out laughing. And I can't imagine that having your drummer encircled in plastic does much for the tightness of the band. There were a couple of times that the band missed musical cues from Zak, and I suspect that was because the audience could hear him better than the musicians.

    However, despite all I have said above, the entire evening was redeemed for me by "Eminence Front." When this song was first released in 1980 I thought it was an odd and very uncharacteristic Who song, but over the years it has become an in concert tour de force. And Friday night in Vancouver was no exception. Pete played hard and brilliantly from start to finish, and sang his heart out. I will take that away as a tremendous memory of the last time that I will see Mr. Townshend play guitar (what a terrible thing to have to contemplate---Townshend's retirement as an electric player).
     
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  12. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    The Two put on a good show... But **** does not get crazy at any point.
     
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  13. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I quite enjoyed the Endless Wire material... My comment was about other people I heard complaining about it after the show. This time around they're playing a more crowd pleasing set and the crowd was more pleased. It's hard for Mike Post Theme or Black Widow's Eyes to compete with Bargain or I Can See for Miles.

    I think I would agree they sounded tighter and livelier (though not "ferocious") ten years ago although honestly I don't remember it exactly enough to accurately compare the two. But I really don't think Roger sounded better then -- he sounded like he was gargling glass a lot of the time. That I remember.

    I wasn't all that impressed with Zak this time around actually... Seemed closer to Kenney Jones than Keith Moon.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2016
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  14. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island
    19th of May

    Happy 71st Birthday Pete Townshend


    :
    [​IMG]
     
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  15. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    And he's kindly agreed to spend his birthday with me!
     
  16. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Great review.

    I saw them last night in Portland, and I would simply request that you allow me to use your review for mine.

    Outstanding performance! Roger sounded incredibly good to me. I thought he sounded good on the 2012 Quad tour...good when I saw them in Atlantic City a year and a half or so ago, at the start of this tour....but he was superb last night.
     
  17. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I'm out of my brain on the train back from the Oakland show. I loved it. And I'm not someone who views Rog and Pete through fanboy colored glasses--I saw them on the last Quadrophenia tour and wasn't impressed.

    But Quad has always been an iffy stage vehicle for them, even when they trotted it out as younger men in the mid-90s. The "hits" show is always better, in my opinion. And the last part of this show features the longest Tommy sequence I've ever seen them do (I've seen them 7 times on six different tours starting in '89). And Pete and Roger saved their best for it. Pete turned his guitar way up and Rog did his best singing. And Zak was at his most Moon.

    The show ended with the best "Baba O'Riley" and WGFA they could muster, and I couldn't ask for more. I'm so glad I went. Of course finding a ticket for 66 bucks on StubHub helped make it a bargain, one of the best I ever had. :D
     
  18. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island
    :)-:edthumbs:-:)

    Excellent to hear folks are having a good time. I know the show I attended on this leg was one of the best I've seen as well.


    Let's hear the boys sing Baba

    Happy Birthday Pete Townshend....................!


    5-19-16-----------------------------Oakland


     
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  19. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul Thread Starter

    Location:
    Long Island
    You may have noticed less / restricted windmill action from Townshend. About a month ago, when Pete had that bad cold. He seemed to have been uncomfortable during a specific show positioning the guitar strap as if his back was hurting him. Since then, the windmills have been limited in quantity and in full range motion. I think Pete is trying not wear his rotator cuff out before the tour ends.......:)

    Anyway, the old goat caught in action last night leaping at the end of Baba. Which you can see in the clip above.


    :
    [​IMG]
     
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  20. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    No leaping at the Edmonton show, but Pete did his fair share of windmill moves. Only a couple of full on windmills, though.
     
  21. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yeah, it was a super positive experience for me, I'm still with the happy side effects of seeing the show.

    Earlier in this thread, or maybe in another thread about the Hits 50 tour, I probably bitched about the super early pre-sale for these tickets (they're not holding on to my money for that long!), I bitched they're not what they used to be, I was thinking they should hang it up, etc.

    But then you go, and despite the band deaths, the age, the wear and tear, you see them doing the best they can now, and you totally reconnect with whatever it was that got you into The Who in the first place.

    Not to sound too ridiculous, but I've been into these guys since sixth grade, and I'm in my late 40s now, so this show--it was almost like going home.
     
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  22. chewy

    chewy Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Coast USA
    maybe he didnt wanna do birthday windmills but he was windmilling the **** out of it vancouver & seattle. hella windmills.
     
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  23. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    He did some birthday windmills. Not tons. He did Birdman during Tommy. Roger spun his mic a few times and marched around in circles. Gotta love that act. :D

    At some point Roger says something like "50 hits? Well, I don't think we had 50 hits, a few hits. 50 great songs." And then Pete corrects him: "Roger, it's not 50 hits, it's 50 years, four hits."
     
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  24. mr._mojo_filter

    mr._mojo_filter Forum Resident

    I'm going to tonight's show in Anaheim. Looking forward to seeing these guys in concert again!
     
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  25. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Have fun. The Honda Center is a nice venue.
     
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