Grand Rapids Press on Grand Rapids

[Brian Cady]

http://tinyurl.com/y3ya9w 

Illness cannot rob The Who of greatness 
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 
By John Sinkevics 
The Grand Rapids Press 

As rock operas go, it's hard to beat "Tommy." 

The Who's swaggering, over-the-top musical tale of a deaf, dumb and blind kid made a splash in 1969, and its signature songs "Pinball Wizard" and "See Me, Feel Me" still made a splash Tuesday night when the legendary band unleashed them during its encore at Van Andel Arena. 

Amid guitarist Pete Townshend's trademark windmill strums and singer Roger Daltrey's trademark windmill microphone twirls, the dynamic nature of the 37-year-old musical drama energized the crowd, enhanced by a snazzy multiscreen backdrop that flashed colorful images behind the band. 

Maybe that's why Townshend has never abandoned his fixation with rock music as an operatic device, as a dramatic story-telling spectacle. When it connects with an audience, it's downright powerful. 

The problem is, most folks haven't bonded with The Who's latest mini-opera, "Wire & Glass," from its new album, "Endless Wire." So, when the group launched into several straight tunes from that less-than-familiar production about a half-hour into the concert, many started chatting and others dashed for the restrooms and concession stands, despite Townshend's insistence the new material would "pass pretty quickly." 
The songs earned polite acceptance and head nods, but trotting out 11 tunes (out of the 26 in Tuesday's set list) from a brand new album may have qualified as a few too many for an audience geared toward The Who's greatest hits. 

Of course, this flight for "Fire & Glass" (a smoke and a beer) probably seemed more troubling than usual because the arena was a tad emptier than usual: The show drew just under 8,000 people. Legendary band or not, some fans may have been turned off by tickets priced as high as $204 with Christmas approaching, though promoters did make $25 tickets available at the 11th hour and that definitely spurred sales. 

Fortunately for those that made the trip and the investment, The Who's two-hour show dispensed plenty of band classics -- "I Can't Explain," "Who Are You," "Behind Blue Eyes," "My Generation," "You Better You Bet" and "Baba O'Riley," which erupted immediately after the "Wire & Glass" segment to the audience's delight. 

As Who staples, "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" (which closed out the main set), have become truly transcendent pieces of music in a live setting, even if they get overplayed on classic-rock radio. They clearly invigorated Townshend, who tossed in a few extra guitar histrionics, drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Simon Townshend, Pete's brother, who pitched in admirably on backing vocals. Keyboardist Brian Kehew replaced John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who left the tour after his wife fell ill. 

What they couldn't do, however, is cure Daltrey's throat problems. 

Stricken with "a really bad cold," Daltrey struggled through several songs, his rattley voice straining at times (even forcing the band to restart "Mike Post Theme"). But after sucking down water and tea whenever he got the chance, he still powered through his immortal scream on "Won't Get Fooled Again" and managed a fine, concert-closing rendition of "Tea & Theatre" while, yes, holding a mug of tea. 

"Whatever I've got, you'll get," Daltrey had vowed, and I have to give him credit for gamely trying to tackle the vocally challenging new material Townshend wrote for "Endless Wire." 

Vocal challenges weren't an issue for opening act Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. Hynde's voice, at 55, was strong and pure throughout the band's mostly uptempo 52-minute set, which included "Back on the Chain Gang," "My City Was Gone," "Don't Get Me Wrong," "Message of Love" and a particularly compelling rendition of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young." 

Despite some glitches, 60-somethings Townshend and Daltrey made their case for eternal youth, too, even if Townshend looks ever more like a professor of antiquities who just strapped on a cherry-red Fender Stratocaster. There's no rock star quite like him and no one thrashes, pounds, slaps and cajoles an electric guitar quite like him either as solos on "Eminence Front," "Cry If You Want" and "Amazing Journey/Sparks" showed. 

And while his voice and energy level may have been sapped by illness, Daltrey still appears as fit as ever and shares an undeniable musical bond with Townshend on stage, even after years of spats and marital-like ups and downs. 

"In the end, any compromises either of us have to make are far outweighed by the incredible power that seems to rise between us -- almost in the air," Townshend related to me in an interview last month. 
That alone made Tuesday's show worthwhile, the notion that this might be the last chance to see this special rock 'n' roll camaraderie. Because even when The Who's not at its best, the "incredible power" of this pair's music still shines through. 

INFO BOX 
Three out of four stars 

Highlights: "Who Are You," buoyed by that familiar Who panache and a train racing down the tracks as a video backdrop, plus animated endings to "Cry If You Want" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." 

Low point: Roger Daltrey's cold, which clearly diminished his roar. 

Time on stage: 2 hours, 2 minutes (The Who); 52 minutes (The Pretenders) 

Click "Photo Galleries" link at mlive.com/grpress for pictures from concert. 


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


 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
http://new.mail.yahoo.com