Las Vegas Review Journal - Concert Review

[Ballou1@aol.com]

THIS IS FROM SUNDAY'S LV PAPER:

The Who show muscle in marvelous return
By Mike Weatherford 

      The singer's microphone did a lasso twirl and the guitarist's arm 
windmill-whirled, all before the end of the first song. The Who were back, 
all right. 
      They've been back now and then, but Friday night they were back the way 
most people have wanted to see them. No horns, no background singers, no 
concept albums. Just hunkering down to play the hits, loudly. 
      The legendary rockers presumably accepted a big paycheck (though the 
live gate was donated to charity) to be the focal point for a new Internet 
company, Pixelon.com. The company hired them to headline its promotional 
iBash Friday at the MGM Grand Garden, and will post the concert on its new 
full-screen video site. 
      As the first of the last five U.S. shows of the century, the Internet 
archive will preserve the legendary rockers as fine specimens; perhaps the 
first commercial sponsor to pursue for the site is Viagra. 
      Still vigorous in their 50s, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John 
Entwistle recaptured the macho rock side of The Who that's been missing since 
at least 1989. Past get-togethers have emphasized the concept albums "Tommy" 
and "Quadrophenia," and thereby focused on the grand, theatrical side of the 
band. 
      But there are many facets of Who history, and it was nice to see the 
power trio flex its muscles again. Friday's show was more like the "Live at 
Leeds" album, though longtime keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick played on 
every song, filling them in without getting in the way. (You wouldn't want to 
hear "Baba O'Riley" without a synthesizer, would you?) 
      No one bothered to explain what happened to that hearing problem that 
had Townshend swearing off the electric guitar and/or playing behind 
Plexiglass in the recent past. But he was plugged in and wailing away, 
reminding the sold-out crowd he's a phenomenal guitarist as well as a 
songwriter. He supplied both the power chords and intricate melodies on 
big-finish tunes such as "Pinball Wizard" and "Listening To You" without the 
help of a rhythm guitarist. 
      The 90-minute set kick-started with "Can't Explain" and finished with 
"My Generation," sticking to the standard FM playlist and ignoring everything 
from its post-Keith Moon catalogue. Ringo's son Zak Starkey stuck faithfully 
to the Moon drum sound for honest versions of "Who Are You?" and "5:15." 
      Daltrey sounded great too, though the only thing that came close to a 
ballad was the first half of "Behind Blue Eyes." Along with a little more 
breathing space, the set could have used some more surprises. But die-hard 
fans had to settle for only one dusted-off rarity -- "Anyway, Anyhow, 
Anywhere" -- and a rhythmic reworking of "Magic Bus" that sounded like it 
might have been a nod to the funk-metal wave of the mid-'90s. 
      A few slip-ups, such as a hesitant version of Entwistle's raggedly sung 
"My Wife," were easy to forgive from a band that hasn't played together in a 
few years. They made the show seem, shall we say, more human than a Kiss set 
earlier in the evening that many observers suspect was lip-synched. 
      Townshend has resisted doing a hits tour for years now, perhaps fearing 
The Who would come off like a washed-up oldies revue. But after a playful 
night onstage Friday, he hopefully will look at recent shows by the Rolling 
Stones -- longtime rivals for the "World's Best Rock Band" title -- to see 
what can happen when veteran rockers get back to work on a regular schedule. 
      With any luck, Friday's show will not be seen as a last hurrah 
preserved as a digital museum piece, but as a new beginning. 
      
     Who: The Who 
     When: Friday 
     Where: MGM Grand Garden 
     Attendance: 12,000 (sold out) 
     Rating: A