St. Paul Pioneer Press on Xcel Energy Center

[Brian Cady <brianinatlanta2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

On line at:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/music/4145099.htm

CONCERT REVIEW: Despite lineup changes, The Who still
the real thing
BY BRIAN LAMBERT
Pioneer Press

Go ahead, make your jokes. "Who's Left?" "Last Whos in
Who-ville."

The Who may be depleted in terms of original members,
but if another band comes through town playing as
large a catalog of hits with as much ferocity and
pride as they did last night, I know about 16,000
people who will eat it.

The Who have always enjoyed a cultish  near religious
 bond with their fans, many of whom, judging by the
crowd at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night
likely remember the band from the '60s, when drummer,
Keith Moon, deceased, laid down a wall of percussion
so volatile and wonderful every night's performance
evoked visions of danger and hilarity, twin essences
of seminal rock and roll.

The Who's status as a band on the cutting edge of pop
fashion faded some time ago. But Roger Daltrey and
Pete Townshend, the remaining pillars of the group,
clearly have enormous respect for their body of work.

This latest tour  their first time through the Twin
Cities in six years  bears no resemblance whatsoever
to self-parody. This is no sad, bloated,
Elvis-in-Vegas act, living off the fumes of faded
fame. The Who remain the real thing, vibrantly in
touch with the passions that have carried them through
the years.