Columbus Thoughts

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, my last Who show for 2002 is now slowly decaying
in my memory banks.  Columbus, OH, last Wednesday, was
special for two reasons - one, because I got to go to
the show with six good friends & two, because my friend
Jeff & I had front row, center seats.

The show itself seemed somewhat subdued yet still very
enjoyable.  It wasn't as exciting as the Hershey show - 
Pete seemed a little more restrained - but it certainly
wasn't the disappointment that Boston was, either.

Yes, they played "Love, Reign O'er Me" & it sounded just
fine while I listened to it standing in front of a urinal.
That's my "piss song," you see.  And no, "Relay" was not
played (which really didn't bother me).

Pino's bass was (again) excruciatingly low in the mix. 
Pete's guitar was nice & loud.  Roger was brilliant.  Rab-
bit was Rabbit.  Simon was Simon.  

Zak, however, for the first time, seemed to be less bom-
bastic than I remember from other shows.  On some of the
lighter songs he was barely tapping his set.  On the heavier
songs he didn't seem as loud & forceful as times past.  He
looked rather gaunt & pale, too.  I hope he's not partying
too much.

No real surprises at this show.  Pete & Roger hardly spoke
between songs.  At one point, they did joke about the stage
being suited more for a Broadway play than a rock show.  To
which Pete sang, "I am the phantom of the opera!"  Amazing-
ly Daltrey then asked Pete what song that was!

Really, what made this show outstanding was the fact that I 
was literally eight feet away from Townshend & Daltrey.  
Best seats in the house.  I yelled "Thank you!" a bunch of
times because I felt like I should.  They were right there
in front of me & all my years of Who fanaticism seemed to
focus & converge to this particular point in time.  Like it
was all leading up to these two hours.  "Thank you" was how
I felt & "thank you" is what I yelled.

Pete wasn't giving up much eye contact.  He seemed a tad re-
served.  However, after Daltrey swung his mic into his mon-
itor, creating a nice "clunk" sound, Pete looked at me & I
gave the thumbs up & yelled, "That wasn't *too* bad!" - to 
which he shook his head & rolled his eyes.  That was my little
Pete moment.

Before the show, I was all ready to give Pete the majority 
of my attention but I have to admit - Daltrey stole it.  It
was difficult not to watch him.  His stomps, his smiles, his
clenched teeth, his hypnotic power stares, his raised fist,
his sweat, his spit, his twirls.....  All things I've seen
countless times, yet, here he was, eight feet away!  Boy, did
I feel thankful & lucky.

Daltrey threw a pick at me - but I dropped it.  Aaaarrrgh!
"There went my chance," I thought.  Missed a tambourine in '89
& now this!  Fuck.

However, the Who gods (Moon & OX?) were smiling on me because
when Daltrey came out before the encore, he was wiping his face
with two towels.  And guess who ended up going home with one?
Yep, it was me.  He threw one right to me.  A simple white towel
with a bit of his sweat on it - yet I clutched on to that thing
like Linus clutching his security blanket.  That's all I needed.
The connection was complete.  I was whole.

I also got some smashed tambourine debris, too!  What an ex-
perience!  Obviously, if that is the last time I attend a Who
concert, I can die peacefully.

My friends complained that the sound on the lawn was way too
low.  And my friend Dave said Pete looked *much* older than he
did in 2000.  I couldn't argue.  I actually saw Pete sit down
for a bit during the "Baba O'Riley" intro.  He seemed a little 
tired.

Still, his playing was (again) frantic & cathartic.  The Birdman
made an appearance & all was well.

Call them what you will - I still call 'em The Who.  There's no
lack of Who energy in Daltrey.  He's still the heart of the band.

I noticed Pete smiling tenderly at him while he (Daltrey) sang
his little autobiographical part in "The Kids Are Alright."  Pete
almost seemed like an audience member at that point.  There's
something between those two that no book, CD, or video can cap-
ture.  They're forever linked to each other - two people with
little in commom except their profession.  They, those two, are
The Who of today.  The fire still burns.  Take it or leave it, my
son.  Take it or leave it.

Me?  I'll take it.  Gladly.


- SCHRADE in Akron