Vegas Lounge Act

["BW Radley" <bwradley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Last night, I saw the preverbal final stop on The Magic Bus--The Who Vegas
Lounge Act.

I am not saying this as someone who thinks that Pete and Roger should have
cancelled the tour after John's death, because of some sacred ideal that The
Who would not exist without John Entwistle.  What a bunch of sewage.  If
Mike Love and a bunch of hack musicians can call themselves The Beach Boys,
or albums could be released under the name The Doors without Jim Morrison,
why can't Pete and Roger do likewise?  If one goes back further, think about
all of the R&B acts from the 50's like The Platters who toured for years
without even an original member.  For crying out loud, the Glenn Miller
Orchestra still tours nearly 60 years after Miller died.

While I doubt that anyone would ever accuse anyone involved with The Who as
being astute businessmen, even they could understand the financial
ramifications of canceling a tour at the last minute.  They did what they
needed to do, in order to fulfill their contractual obligations.  For that,
they deserve no applause, no cheers.  In their late 50's, they acted like
responsible adults.

Thinking about this on the flight back to LA this morning, I realized that I
should not have been surprised with my reaction to this performance.  During
the 2000 tour, I had front row tickets to the Irvine show, and I had left
that show feeling bored with flaccid versions of the same songs they had
played for decades.   At the time, I chalked my opinion up to my going
through a mental breakdown and the end of my 14-year marriage.  When I saw
the Hollywood Bowl show in July, I felt that it was entirely unfair to judge
the performance or my feelings, given what had occurred over the previous
few days.

When I purchased my ticket for this show in March, I was looking forward to
the unusual opportunity to see The Who in a club settling.  Perhaps my
feelings about what I witnessed last night would have been different had
John not died, but I doubt it.

When Pino, Rabbit, and Simon were buried in the dark for most of the show,
it became quickly apparent that this was "The Who Revue, with Special Guest
Starr Zak ("Son of Ringo") Starkey."  Oh the notes were played so expertly,
so politely.  The bass was kept nice and low, because having the feeling
that your eardrum pierced as if by a 16d nail would not do.  It might drive
the customers away from the casino.  The songs sounded sort of like they do
on those old LP's and 8-Tracks that they had back in "the day."  But without
any passion.  Just a pro forma attempt.

Oh Pete made some ad lib comments during The Kids Are Alright, they way he
has for the last four years since he dug that one up.  Today was some
comments about John and his fondness for red wine.  Wow, that tugged at my
heartstrings! 

The only thing missing was Roger singing Danke Schoen, and Townshend making
a white Siberian Tiger appear on stage, and then windmill and windmill until
the tiger turns into a pool of butter and Pete pours it on his stack of "All
You Can Eat Pancakes," available 24 Hours in the Casino Coffee Shop for
$6.99.