Lancaster Intelligencer Journal on Hershey

[Brian Cady]

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/28277

The Who: Through my generation and beyond
By Jon Ferguson
Intelligencer Journal
Published: Dec 01, 2006 12:57 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Flush with excitement, I remember gushing about the greatness of the Who as my older brother patiently listened.

It was 1971, and I had seen the Who perform the night before at the Chicago Auditorium. I told him how the band had the entire theater go dark during the climatic minutes of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and then brought the crowd roaring to its feet as the stage exploded in light, Roger Daltrey screamed and Pete Townshend windmilled into a chord. I told him how Townshend, who had been having trouble with his microphone the entire concert, knocked it to the floor with the neck of his guitar at the end of the final song and then smashed the instrument to pieces. Keith Moon watched from behind his cymbals and kicked his drum kit to the floor before walking off the stage.

Exciting stuff for a 17-year-old.

My brother nodded, smiled and said, “You should have seen them in 1969. The amps were stacked floor to ceiling and they did all of ‘Tommy.’ That was a great concert.”

I couldn’t help but remember that conversation Monday night as my 15-year-old daughter and I walked into the Giant Center to hear the 2006 edition of the Who. I’m sure she’ll remember the show with the same fondness I hold for that concert 35 years ago but her experience was vastly different from mine.

I saw a band that was still pushing the boundaries of its talent, testing its limits and trying to realize the fathomless ambition of Townshend’s artistic vision. The Who was touring behind “Who’s Next,” perhaps its finest album and certainly one of the best rock albums ever made.

Live, the band was a powerhouse, playing with a fury that its members fought to control as they muscled their way through one great song after another. The band mates were still getting acquainted with three songs that would become the pillars of their lives shows — “Baba O’Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

My daughter saw a different band. Decimated by death, the Who now consists of Townshend, Daltrey and four touring musicians. Townshend remains a powerful guitarist, playing with imagination and passion. Daltrey’s voice now creaks as he tries to summon the bravado of old, and he should stop swinging the microphone before he hurts himself.

And there aren’t any musicians on Earth who can replace Moon and bassist John Entwistle, a rhythm section unlike any other. Both were virtuoso musicians who helped define their instruments as they and Townshend shaped the sound of the Who.

Happily, Daltrey and Townshend didn’t forget their dead band mates as the video screens that framed the stage flashed images of the band in its youth during the concert’s opening salvo of “I Can’t Explain,” “The Seeker” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” three of the Who’s earliest singles.

The band played well, summoning the spirit of the Who if not its greatness. Where the band was once all about risk, it’s now all about ritual. The audience knows exactly what’s coming every step of the way, and there are few surprises.

That was especially evident when they trotted out that trio of songs from “Who’s Next.” The crowd couldn’t wait to hear them, but Daltrey and Townshend sounded bored as they played them. Though the Who can’t perform without playing those songs, Townshend and Daltrey should consider revisiting other parts of their vast catalog — perhaps dusting off “I Can See for Miles,” “Join Together” or anything from “Who by Numbers” or “Quadrophenia,” albums that were ignored completely Monday night.

Like I did in 1971, my daughter did get to hear the band try out new material.

With great fanfare from the music press, the Who recently released “Endless Wire,” its first full album of new songs in 24 years. Really, it’s a Who album in name only as it would have been a Townshend solo album had he not recruited Daltrey to do the vocals. Townshend plays most of the instruments himself and often uses drum programs instead of the real thing.

Though some of the songs are strong and recall that classic Who sound, it’s a spotty album, veering from soft, acoustic-driven ballads to riff-happy rockers without any kind of unifying structure. It concludes with yet another Townshend miniopera, a dreary affair called “Wire & Glass.”

The Who played a healthy chunk of the album Monday, and the songs benefited mightily from the live treatment. The best of the lot was “Mike Post Theme,” a surging rocker played with unstoppable momentum that resonated long after the final chord sounded. It featured Daltrey’s best vocal of the night and was one of the highlights of the entire concert.

Not faring as well was “Wire & Glass,” which the band turned into a miniscule opera by inexplicably playing just six of its 10 songs.

The Who’s encore consisted of a medley from “Tommy,” its first full-length rock opera. The band caught fire as it roared through thrilling versions of “Pinball Wizard,” “Amazing Journey,” “It’s a Boy,” “Underture” and “See Me, Touch M, Feel Me.”

Townshend played like a man possessed as he pounded on his guitar during the explosive “Underture.” Drummer Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr’s son, came along for the ride, playing with Moon-like frenzy as he made thunderous trips around his drum kit, hitting everything as fast and hard as possible.

It was enough to make me think that perhaps my brother was right: Maybe the Who was a better band in 1969 than 1971.

For my daughter’s part, her favorite song of the night was “Who Are You.” In retrospect, that’s a fitting question for band and audience alike.

 
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com


 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Want to start your own business?
Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index