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Re: Mediocrity and Accuracy
> Scott was at Atlanta, so he can give his take on this...when
> they did BBE, Baba, and especially Pinball Wizard they were
> going through the motions. Clearly. But I wonder if Scott picked
> up on that, or just enjoyed the music. Scott?
We have to be careful with our semantics here. "Going through the
motions" to me implies very obvious lack of interest & effort. And
I have *never* seen any Who member play in such a manner.
One might argue that Pete was just going through the motions on the
'82 tour but I would disagree. Sure, he was moody & seemed "stand-
offish" but there were some great moments on that tour & Pete played
some outstanding guitar.
One might also argue that the '89 reunion tour saw Pete going through
the motions but again I would have to disagree. As bland as that tour
was, there was too much effort put into the arrangements & presentation
to say that they were mailing their performances in.
So, to answer your question, Mark, no, I didn't see any evidence of the
band "going through the motions" in Atlanta in 2000.
And remember, Pete can't do split leaps & windmills in every song! So,
if for example "Pinball Wizard" is played without Pete moving around
too much, I would *not* consider that "going through the motions." Now
if Pete were skipping solos, not doing his backing vocals, & generally
fucking up on guitar, *then* I would get worried. But, apart from his
occasional drug-induced stage meanderings in 1979, Pete's always looked
hard at work to me.
And IMO, Daltrey hasn't gone through the motions in *anything* he's at-
tempted during his life. He wouldn't know the meaning of the phrase.
- SCHRADE in Akron