DVD Talk reviews Vegas Job

Wed Nov 1 10:04:05 CST 2006

 Another cock-up...

 "The Who hadn't played together in three years"

 Two. They toured in summer, 1997, with their QUAD show.

 -----Original Message-----
 From: brianinatlanta2001 at yahoo.com
 To: oddsandsods at thewho.net; Relayers at yahoogroups.com; thewho at igtc.com; thewho at igtc.com
 Sent: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 9:38 PM
 Subject: DVD Talk reviews Vegas Job

  http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review.php?ID=24747

The Who - The Vegas Job  
Passport Video // Unrated // $24.99 // November 7, 2006 

The Who: The Vegas Job has the best backstory to not be featured on a DVD. 
According to the back cover copy, this concert was part of a large event in 
October 1999. An internet technology company organized a day-long concert under 
the claim that they'd be broadcasting the entire thing to the computers of a 
billion people around the world. The Who hadn't played together in three years, 
and so it was going to be a triumphant kick-off to a whole new, five-piece 
incarnation of the band. (Fans of Pete Townshend who have followed his Lifehouse 
concept over the years will instantly see how this world-wide, 
direct-to-your-homes broadcast would have appealed to him.) Little did anyone 
know that the company running the show was ahead of the "What happens in Vegas 
stays in Vegas" curve. Their technology was a scam, and the show was neither 
seen nor heard anywhere beyond the concert venue. It makes that performance of 
"Won't Get Fooled Again" seem kind of ironic.

The summary reads like there is a great story to be told, but sadly, one that is 
never even broached on the DVD itself. None of the features on the disc mention 
the post-concert fallout. Thankfully, even with the intriguing set-up dropped 
from the main attraction, The Who: The Vegas Job is well worth watching for Who 
fans. Their fourteen-song set is incredible.

The version of the Who that takes the stage was to be their definitive concert 
line-up for the next several years. Having dropped the ornate brass section and 
the interactive backdrops once and for all, they went back to the essentials: 
Roger Daltrey on vocals, Pete Townshend on guitar, and John Entwistle on bass 
are joined by Zak Starkey on drums and John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards. For 
this short set, the band chose to only perform hits, mostly in chronological 
order, starting with "I Can't Explain" and going up to "Who Are You" before 
capping the show with a loose-fit, bluesy "Magic Bus" and the aforementioned 
"Won't Get Fooled Again." The encore was a sweetly sentimental "The Kids are 
Alright" and a blistering "My Generation."

The band is in fine form. Townshend is playing an electric guitar, something he 
hadn't been doing much of on the previous Quadrophenia tour, and Starkey 
continues to prove he is the only drummer who can even come close to following 
the late Keith Moon. Sometimes Daltrey falls a little behind, his voice isn't in 
fighting shape just yet, but he warms up as the concert progresses. The sweet 
spot is in the middle, the one-two of a muscular "5:15" and the emotionally 
ragged "Behind Blue Eyes." We are even treated to some of Roger and Pete's 
snarky on-stage bickering.

For a show that turned out to be a rip-off, the sponsors didn't skimp on the 
production. The Vegas Job is a surprisingly well-shot video production. There is 
a ton of coverage, including overhead crane shots that sweep in over the 
audience. The final product is just as good as any of the recent releases of Who 
concerts from the last ten years that were filmed exclusively for home video 
release, and given the power of the no-frills setlist, maybe one of the better. 
It's also one of the last to have Entwistle, and it's great to see the Ox in 
fine form.

The full setlist:
1) I Can't Explain
2) Substitute
3) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
4) Pinball Wizard
5) See Me, Feel Me
6) Baba O'Riley
7) My Wife
8) 5:15
9) Behind Blue Eyes
10) Who Are You
11) Magic Bus
12) Won't Get Fooled Again
13) The Kids Are Alright
14) My Generation

THE DVD 
Video:

This was shot in full frame on video, and thus the picture has a nice clarity. 
It's comparable to a good television production of a concert. 

Sound:

Two mixes: stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1. From the sound of it, this is mainly 
the live mix with very little, if any, overdubs. Mistakes are there, and every 
once in a while the levels are a little off, with maybe the vocals being too 
loud in front of the music, or vice versa. When this does happen, it just adds 
to the concert experience. Too many times concert videos are slicked up for 
release. The Who: The Vegas Job DVD is raw rock 'n' roll. 

Extras:

Three separate interviews round out the release. Short pre-concert talks with 
Daltrey and Entwistle shed some light on their state of mind leading up to the 
show, and there is a very tiny snippet of John checking the sound on his bass. 
To be avoided is the fifteen-minutes of interviews out in the audience. This is 
essentially the kind of filler we often see on live cable broadcasts where the 
network is killing time waiting for the show to start. The audience is either 
full of knuckleheads or the plastic host only talked to knuckleheads, because 
what he comes up with is mostly incoherent ramblings leading into TRL-style 
whooping and hollering. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Highly Recommended. I'm a big Who fan, and for all the jokes that can be made 
about old rock bands going out on the road and performing a greatest hits 
cabaret act, these guys always do it up right. They don't shy from their hits, 
but they also aren't afraid to bring something fresh to the arrangement. This 
1999 concert showcases a leaner band that was stretching closer to its original 
glory than it had in years. Simply put, The Who: The Vegas Job rocks.

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

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