Re: Pete Townshend at Saddlers Wells, 25 Feb 2000

["L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>]

Thank you for the great review!  Wish we could all have been there.

keets


>Last night Pete performed the complete Lifehouse set, live for the first
>time.  I was there.  It was the first time I've ever seen Pete/The Who 
>live,
>despite being a big fan for 15 years.  Simply put, it was great.  No one
>went home disappointed.
>
>I'd had a great day - leaving work at lunchtime, taking the train from
>Brighton to London (reverse-Jimmy style).  I also walked past Carnaby
>Street; bought 2 Who Import CDs (Daltrey's Celebration and Townsend's Deep
>End); rode the tube through White City and Acton.  (Later, Pete talked 
>about
>growing up in Acton and being in a gang, aged 4.)
>
>We arrived late, due to an extensive drinking session beforehand on the
>wrong side of London.  We walked into the theatre 10 minutes into the set,
>across the front of the stage, and took our seats in the 2nd row (I hate
>people like me).  Luckily, Pete hadn't yet come on stage, it was only the
>London Chamber Orchestra playing B'OR.  The seats were great - it was a
>large(ish) theatre, and we were one row from the front - just off centre.
>Pete came on a few minutes after, with the stage in darkness; I was the 
>only
>one who noticed - I started screaming & clapping wildly, and it was a while
>before anyone else knew what I was clapping at.
>
>Highlights of the night:-
>
>	- the vast majority of LifeHouse was played, from Teenage Wasteland to the
>Song Is Over.  It took around 3 hours (including a 20 minute interval after
>Act 1).  All of the arrangements have been updated and improved upon.  For
>example, good use was made of the 3 backing singers (including Billy 
>Nichols
>and Chyna).
>	- Mary was performed with just Pete and another (electric) guitarist. This
>song was transformed into a great guitarist's dual.
>	- Baba O'Riley: the best song of the night.  About half way through the
>song, I noticed a female violinist standing on the stage, waiting.  Sure
>enough, she played the violin part of the finale beautifully.  The Who
>playing this song live with the harmonica is great, but having a live
>violinist on stage is infinitely better!  I had tears in my eyes.  It was
>the first song of the night to get a standing ovation.
>	- Behind Blues Eyes came straight after BO'R: I was still in such a state
>of shock that I barely noticed the first half of the song
>	- Bargain: Pete explained at the start of this song that he was going to 
>be
>playing over a tape of the guitar part from the demo, as this rendition had
>never been bettered.  In order to start playing at the same time as the
>tape, he had to get on the floor and stick his head in the monitor to hear
>the cue!
>	- Join Together - Pete played harmonica on the start of this
>	- Lets See Action - lots of clapping along to the beat
>	- Who Are You - rocked.
>	- Goin' Mobile: just played by Pete and the Crazy Dancing Harmonica Player
>Guy
>	- WGFA: Pete continued to softly play his guitar throughout the 
>synthesiser
>break (kinda like on the Who's Next version, but all the way through).  At
>the time when Keith used to come in with the drums, Pete started playing
>harsher, louder chords.  The whole song has been transformed yet again into
>a new arrangement - different even to that played on last year's Live 
>album.
>	- during Teenage Wasteland, Pete pulled a pained, embarrassed (but amused)
>face when having to sing about turnips.  He pulled a similar face when he
>later had to sing "come on all of you elves."
>	- Chyna, dressed in black PVC, raunchily singing "Laying on my back, on
>newly mown grass..."
>	- at the end of the 'last song' (The Song Is Over), the orchestra played
>one long, single note.  Pete just stood there, holding up a single finger.
>	- for an encore, Pete did a solo rendition of Can You Help the One You
>Love?
>	- Crazy Percussionist Lady (just in front of me on the stage) hitting
>numerous percussion instruments with other percussion instruments.  To get
>the 'One Note' effect, she started vibrating huge glass bowls on the stage.
>	- After Pete came in a bit early on one the lines, Rabbit explained that
>it'll be better tomorrow night.  Pete later also commented on the lack of
>rehearsal time they'd had, explaining that a song was "not so much 
>performed
>as busked".
>	- Pete asked for a tissue, and, after being offered a handful of tissues,
>he explained that he only had the one nose - to much amusement from the
>audience
>	- just before starting a song, Pete looked blankly at his guitar and asked
>"What's This?" "It's a guitar!" came the audience response.  "Yes I know
>it's a f***in guitar..." he trailed off.  He came back with a different
>guitar, and started doing a weird impression.  "I do nasty things to
>guitars.  I'm very dangerous.  Do you want to know what I do to guitars?"
>The whole audience stifled the words "smash your guitar, Pete" and refused
>to play his game.
>
>What didn't happen:-
>
>	- the only LifeHouse songs that weren't played were Slip Kid (groan) and
>Music Must Change (no great loss).
>	- no rapping during WAY or any other song
>	- Pete used many guitars, none of which were electric.
>	- No guitars were harmed during the performance of this concert.
>
>During the evening Pete and the band would occasionally take a break, and
>let the orchestra play such tracks as Hinterland Rag, Tragedy and Tragedy
>Explained.  This was OK, but it didn't really fit in with the evening - the
>audience just wanted to rock!  But the orchestra sound did work well on 
>many
>of the other songs, and made a worthwhile contribution overall.
>
>I believe there were four songs that had never been performed live before:
>Mary, Greyhound Girl, Teenage Wasteland and Can You Help the One You Love?
>
>The performance was all filmed, in a non-intrusive manner.  I understand
>that it's planned to eventually be released on DVD; I certainly won't
>hesitate in buying it.
>
>-MB
>
>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com