4Reel Cow Palace DVD

[Scott Schrade]

I received my 4Reel Cow Palace DVD the other day.
This is the infamous 1973 show where Keith passes out
towards the end of the show & an audience member (Scott
Halpin) gets to finish the set on drums.

Compared to my old VHS copy, this DVD is a huge 
upgrade.  Still, it's B&W, & not the greatest quality.
Somewhat fuzzy.  The camera work is rather stiff but
there are plenty of shots of each member.  OX has a
skeleton top on!

The audio has been replaced with a better-sounding
audience boot.  The sync-up is very good.  The sound
is bass-heavy but the vocals are strong.  Moon's drums
are pretty buried.

There's a continuous time-counter near the bottom of
the screen along with a "BGP Archives" graphic.  (Bill
Graham Productions.)

The show itself is fair.  Some of the QUAD songs just
didn't translate well to the stage in '73 ("The Real Me,"
"Bell Boy"....)

Knowing Moon is going to pass out, one expects to find
him barely hanging on.  And, at times, he does seem to
have a tentative, worried look on his face.  But at other
times he seems just fine.  He's especially perky during
"Bell Boy."  But he's no where near the Moon we see in 
the Houston '75 DVD.

Curiously, Pete goes over to Moon after LROM & 
seems to have some kind of serious discussion with him.
Then, Roger announces WGFA....

This is where Moon loses it.  It's a shame the drums aren't
louder because you can't really tell how off he's playing.
But the look on his face isn't good & there seems to be
a scurrying of people behind his kit.  

And then, all of a sudden, he's gone.  Not there.  The rest
of the band plays on.  At one point Pete bangs on Moon's
gong!

WGFA without the drum part after the synth break is
just plain weird.  Pete motions to the empty kit during the
point where the drums are supposed to come in.

"We're just gonna go revive our drummer....by punching
him in the stomach," Pete says after WGFA.  "You'll have
to fucking wait."

Moon gets "revived" & there are hijinks as he & Pete 
wrestle on stage when the band comes back.

"Magic Bus."  Moon looks frail.  Out of it.  No smiles.  
No silliness.  Just a struggle to....keep it together.  It's pain-
ful to watch.  And then, at the end of the song, Moon's 
flat on his face, on top of his tom-toms, & the roadies
drag him away.  Daltrey looks pissed.  The band keeps
playing. (!)

"See Me, Feel Me."  Sans drummer.  Daltrey starts throw-
ing tambourines out to the audience!  The song ends &
the band applauds the audience. (!)

Then, Pete asks, "Can anybody play the drums?"  And we
all know what happens next.

This DVD is for hardcore fans only.  A document of a Who
show gone horribly wrong.  The packaging is nice, as usual
from the folks at 4Reel.

Grade:  C.  (C+ for its historical value.)


- SCHRADE in Akron