"Amazing Journey" - Tribute To The Who

[Brian Cady]

http://knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=4710

"Amazing Journey" - Tribute To The Who 

By Junkman, On-Air Personality
Monday, June 19, 2006 @ 3:42 PM 

Cherone, Gilbert, Sheehan and Portnoy 

Tribute bands, it seems, have become commonplace in
the world of music these days especially in Southern
California. No wonder. A musician has a hard enough
time trying to please a fickle audience who these days
seem to want a "greatest hits" compilation at every
show. Why not give the audience EXACTLY what they
want, and at the same time maybe play some songs that
you have always loved.

That was the case this past week, but with a few

ahem
 MINOR exceptions. For one, this particular
tribute band would only be performing a few shows in
select cities (I think, maybe 3). And second, this was
no ordinary tribute band. Billed as "Amazing
Journey"-A Tribute to the Who, the band featured
former Extreme/Van Halen/Tribe of Judah vocalist Gary
Cherone, former Mr. Big/Racer X guitarist Paul
Gilbert, and the incredible rhythm section of
Talas/DLR band/Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan, and on
drums, none other than Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy!
The setting for this extravaganza, sponsored by
CalProg (www.calprog.com) was the intimate theater at
Whittier Community College, in Whittier California,
just outside Los Angeles. Such a small venue, (maybe a
few hundred seats, tops) really gave it a "community"
feel to the evening, as it was filled with mostly
musicians and fans of "musicians musicians" type of
music. Progressive rock fans to you and me, many
sporting Dream Theater t-shirts.

The purpose for this concert was simply an evening of
music by The Who, performed by a great group of
musicians who truly respected this legendary band and
had the chops to pull off an incredible evening
indeed. As I settled into my seat in row L (12th row
center-woo-hoo!) the excitement was building as the
crowd anticipated what they were going to be
experiencing.

The lights dimmed, and as the curtain raised, the
synthesized intro to "Baba O'Riley" blared over the
P.A. system and out came the band to a huge applause.
Cherone, decked out in flared jeans and button down
shirt, was so spot-on in his vocal delivery, that he
could have been mistaken for a late70's version of
Roger Daltrey, exactly the point. By the time he
screamed "They're all WASTED", the crowd was at one
with him.

Guitarist Paul Gilbert went one step further, even
sporting a beard and headphones and a sunburst Gibson
Les Paul with the #2 on it (just like the Who's Pete
Townsend did back in the day) as the band tore through
"Sister Disco" and "Substitute", before launching into
one of may favorite early Who tunes, "Pictures Of
Lily", which featured Billy Sheehan not only doing an
incredible job of channeling original Who bassist, the
late John Entwistle's bass lines, but also playing
Entwisle's French horn solo's, on the bass at the same
time!!!

As fabulous as the rest of the band was, to me, and
many others in the audience, the true star was drummer
Mike Portnoy, just like with the original Who. All
evening he emulated Keith Moon's drumming style, right
down to not using a hi-hat, and his unorthodox stick
gripping technique, as well as setting up his drum kit
(even the drum heads looked like Moons did) in a
similar style as the late Who drummer once did. He
really shined during the later era Who songs that
closed the first set, "Bargain", and "Behind Blue
Eyes" from 1971's "Who's Next?" release, and "The Real
Me", and "Love, Reign O'er Me" from Quadrophenia, the
later of which, Cherone nailed every note.

The band then took an intermission break and the crowd
was buzzing! High fives were exchanged, lots of "did
you see the way he played that", and plenty of "I
can't believe I'm seeing this" were overheard
throughout the auditorium, as well as "I wonder what
they will come back out with?" I had my suspicions,
and after debating with a few members of the crowd I
was pleased to find out I would be right.

After a very short break, the band reappeared onstage.
Portnoy, sporting a Keith Moon 70's era white gas
station jump suit, counted off and the band proceeded
to perform the 1969 rock opera "Tommy"-in its
entirety!(well almost the whole thing, anyway)
Standouts included "Amazing Journey" (the song that
gave the tribute its name) "Sparks", and a crowd sing
along "Tommy Can You Hear Me?".

Finishing up the set with "We're Not Gonna Take It",
the band members convened front stage, and thanked the
crowd for coming. The place was literally shaking with
applause as they returned for an encore. Portnoy was
given a hi-hat from a stage hand, and as he set it up
behind his kit, he spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen- the
hi-hat". And he used it for just one song, the Who's
swan song "Who Are You?" from the 1978 release of the
same name.

Next the familiar keyboard intro to "Wont Get Fooled
Again" set the band off on a very energetic version of
that number. Paul Gilbert was obviously amped up, as
he leaped about onstage (although he didn't do any of
Pete Townshends trademark "windmills") busting out the
chunky chords that made this song a true classic. The
crowd awaited Cherone's take on the famous
"YEEEAAAHHHH" toward the end of the song, and he did a
pretty good job, although nothing like the recorded
version, but still a great try at one of the most
impressive screams in recorded music.

For their last number, Sheehan changed basses and Paul
Gilbert changed guitars, and a wooden platform was put
in front of the stage. This was the grand finale
indeed. The performance of "My Generation", the Who's
first hit, and for many of us, the song that first
brought our attention to the band, and showed us how
to wreck your equiptment.

Cherone, Gilbert, Sheehan, and Portnoy blazed through
"My Generation' like they couldn't wait to get to the
end, and when they did, all hell broke loose. Gilbert
repeatedly attempted to break his guitar on the wooden
platform and finally succeeded after about 10 tries.
Portnoy kicked over his drum kit, holding the hi-hat
stand up like a trophy, and then used a mic stand to
break a hole in his kick drum head. 

Billy Sheehan, watching and still playing an ever
slowing bass line from the song, finally gave in and
tossed his bass on the pile. Gary Cherone, not to be
out done, then took a flying leap across the stage and
jumped on the pile of broken instruments, hitting his
head on a stand. Dazed and bloodied, he arose, after a
pause, holding the back of his head, as Portnoy led
him off stage. True rock and roll madness!

Watch the mayhem I just described here.

And that was what a lot of the charm of The Who was
all about. Madness, raw energy and especially amazing
musicianship. Although Pete Townshend and Roger
Daltrey are still touring as The Who, the fact that
the rhythm section of Moon and Entwistle are both
passed on, makes it not legit in my opinion. My
sincere thanks to Gary Cherone, Paul Gilbert, Billy
Sheehan, and Mike Portnoy for creating such a loving
tribute, and doing such a great job, not only with the
musicianship, but also recreating the energy, and fun
that the Who brought to rock and roll. Thanks again to
www.calprog.com for producing the show. It truly was
an "Amazing Journey".

SETLIST: (thanks Robb
)


BABA O'RILEY 
SISTER DISCO 
SUBSTITUTE 
PICTURES OF LILY 
I CAN SEE FOR MILES 
YOUNG MAN BLUES 
A QUICK ONE, WHILE HE'S AWAY 
BARGAIN 
BEHIND BLUE EYES 
THE REAL ME 
LOVE, REIGN O'ER ME 
(INTERMISSION)
TOMMY: 

OVERTURE 
IT'S A BOY 
1921 
AMAZING JOURNEY 
SPARKS 
EYESIGHT TO THE BLIND 
CHRISTMAS 
THE ACID QUEEN 
PINBALL WIZARD 
TOMMY CAN YOU HEAR ME? 
THERES A DOCTOR 
GO TO THE MIRROR! 
SMASH THE MIRROR 
I'M FREE 
WELCOME 
TOMMY'S HOLIDAY CAMP 
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT 
(ENCORE) 
WHO ARE YOU 
WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN 
MY GENERATION


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

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