Boston Globe Review

[whosnext@juno.com (S A M)]

Here is the Gloge Review of the show on 7/31/97, enjoy.



                  MUSIC REVIEW
                  'Quadrophenia' reigns over Who fans 

                  By Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff, 08/01/97 

                  MANSFIELD - One of The Who T-shirts sold at Great Woods
                  Center for the Performing Arts last night sported the
phrase:
                  ``Quadrophenia - A Way of Life.''

                  Well, yes, isn't it? Or, hasn't it become that? 

                  The Who's 1973 conceptual double-album ``Quadrophenia''
took
                  on a live-in-concert life for a ``one-off'' show in
London in the spring
                  of '96; it turned into a week of shows at Madison
Square Garden
                  last summer; it swelled into an arena tour last fall,
which stopped at
                  the Worcester Centrum, and is back for one last (?)
go-round this
                  summer on the shed circuit. The Great Woods show was a
                  near-sellout, at 17,759. 

                  Part of the kick, initially, was the rarity and the
improbability of it all:
                  That songwriter-guitarist-avatar Pete Townshend would
decide to
                  a) tour at all, and b) resurrect an ambitious, stunning
but somewhat
                  forgotten work that spawned not one hit single. (As
opposed to the
                  hit-fest that was ``Tommy.'') So, how does it fare as a
moving cash
                  cow, a roadshow that is the focus of whatever we can
call The
                  Who? (A dozen other players joined them last night.) 

                  Bloody well great. As proven again, ``Quadrophenia'' is
no dead
                  horse of an opus, and The Who is no exhumed corpse of a
band,
                  even if founding drummer Keith Moon remains dead. Lithe
and
                  leonine singer Roger Daltrey, 52, looks much the way he
did a
                  quarter-century ago; bassist John Entwistle is just as
immobile
                  (and creative) as he was a quarter-century ago. And
Ringo Starr's
                  son, Zak Starkey, proved himself again, as, at least,
the equal of
                  Moon's (and probably surer on the downbeat). 

                  The Who played ``Quadrophenia'' as one piece, about two
hours of
                  it, before breaking for an encore and a semi-acoustic
embrace of
                  hits like ``Magic Bus,'' ``Won't Get Fooled Again,''
``Behind Blue
                  Eyes,'' (moving electric now) ``Can't Explain'' and
``Substitute.''
                  Especially moving: A ``lend me your coat''
co-vocal/shoulder lean
                  from the oft-sparring Daltrey/Townshend team; a public
declaration
                  of love for us, the audience, from Townshend; and an
impassioned,
                  clamorous further bonding close of ``Who Are You.''

                  For the main show, Jimmy, Townshend's archetype of the
mid-'60s
                  pill-crazed, pop-crazed mod, lived again. Breathed
fire. Spat
                  cockeyed wisdom and nonsense. The piece retained its
punky
                  punch and epic sweep, its quick-hits and larger
statement about
                  youthful alienation, escape, and possible maturity. The
Who has
                  tightened up some of the narrative and the video
segments since
                  earlier shows. 

                  Jimmy battles all sorts of dragons, both real and
imagined:
                  quadrophenia (schizophrenia doubled), a Who fixation, a
growing
                  sense of the world's hypocrisy, a sense of the ups and
downs of
                  drugs and drink. He fights with his folks, flirts with
the girls, has a
                  brush with suicide, finds (temporary?) redemption down
by the sea.

                  The Who took us through the slashing ``The Punk Vs. the
                  Godfather,' with old UK pop star P.J. Proby taking over
Gary
                  Glitter's leather-clad braggart role. ( Another chap
filled in Billy
                  Idol's Bell Boy/Ace Face role.) Entwistle unleashed a
brutal bass
                  lead during ``5:15.'' Townshend played far more
electric guitar than
                  he did last time, augmented capably, again, by his
younger brother
                  Simon. In ``Sea and Sand,'' Daltrey danced with
unintentional irony
                  during the ``I'm wet and I'm cold/But thank God I ain't
old'' line. ``The
                  Rock'' and ``Love Reign O'er Me'' combined to be the
ultimate
                  cathartic, cleansing tower of rock power. After the
degradation and
                  disintegration comes ... something more pure. 

                  Which was what The Who gave us with the encores.
Relatively
                  pared-down faves, cut to the emotional bone. This was
classic
                  Who: music about youth, made as youths, made as adults,
played
                  now for us as adults who haven't totally grown up. 

                  Drivin' N Cryin' Kevin Kinney's roots 'n' hard rocking
trio, opened
                  with a short (25-minute), but bracing set of
hammer-down rock.

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