Mercury News on HP Pavilion

[Brian Cady]

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/11/the_who_at_hp_p.html

The Who at HP Pavilion
Shay Quillen, 02:06 AM in Music, Shay Quillen

The Who walked on stage with no fanfare. "So you're still here," said Pete Townshend by way of greeting, and the musical dialogue between a band and its fans that began in 1964 resumed once again.

The band's two-hour set at HP Pavilion on Wednesday didn't aspire to the adventurous heights of the band's late '60s and early '70s heyday. This show consisted of familiar hits from 30 or 40 years ago, sung and played ably, interspersed with new songs from the just-released "Endless Wire" that couldn't measure up but generally kept the crowd's interest. On just two occasions did the band stretch out a bit: toward the end of the set on an extended "My Generation" and during the encore for a terrific medley from "Tommy" that was the show's best moment.

Only guitarist Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey remain from the most combustible quartet rock has known. These days, the parts of drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle are played by Zak Starkey and Pino Palladino, respectively. Starkey, the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, was fabulous. He's been the Who's drummer of choice for more than a decade, with a style that is nearly as busy as Moon's but without the same sense of danger; there's never any doubt that he is going to end up back on the beat. Palladino was fine, but he doesn't play the prominent role Entwistle did, and the details of his playing were obscured by a muddy low end.

The quartet was helped significantly by the support of Townshend's brother Simon, who played guitar and mandolin and did the bulk of the backup singing. Longtime keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick was away by the side of his critically ill wife; a last-minute substitute played the essential parts on "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" and otherwise kept a low profile.

The Who showed courage by devoting so much time to its ambitious, idiosyncratic new album, even closing the show with the acoustic "Tea & Theater." The set included six individual songs from the album, scattered throughout the show, plus a condensed version of the "Wire and Glass" mini-opera. The "Wire and Glass" material came across best, with the whole thing consistently interesting and the "We Got a Hit" snippet sounding like classic Who.

The older material stuck close to the original arrangements. The evening opened with a trio of early singles -- "I Can't Explain," "The Seeker" and "Substitute" -- before introducing the first "Endless Wire" tune, "Fragments." "Who Are You" was a crowd-pleaser, but Entwistle's bass heroics were sorely missed. On "Eminence Front," which features Townshend on lead vocals, he sang the lyrics laconically while letting his fiery guitar playing do most of the talking.

The 62-year-old Daltrey looked fit and trim in a T-shirt and jeans, and though he strained to hit some of the top notes in "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Baba O'Riley," hit them he did.  And he completely nailed the climactic scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again," which served its traditional role as the set closer before the encores. Townshend, clad in a black suit with a black T-shirt, was sharp, too. The man who used to perform behind plexiglass to protect his deteriorating hearing showed little reluctance to expose his ears to the bash of the drums. He did, however, don headphones for a set of acoustic-based tunes from the new album.

A varied assortment of visuals on large screens behind the band kept things interesting and occasionally added a new dimension to the music. For "My Generation," clips of skateboarders, Goths, hippies and hip-hoppers helped to universalize the classic mod anthem. For the medley from "Tommy" -- a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard -- disembodied hands relayed some of the lyrics in sign language.

Fans of the band's visual trademarks will be happy to know that Townshend is still windmilling energetically, if not quite as furiously as in days of old. Daltrey, however, seemed reluctant to fully commit to his microphone twirling, which felt a bit tentative.

Here's the set list:
I Can't Explain
The Seeker
Substitute
Fragments
Who Are You?
Behind Blue Eyes
Wire and Glass
Baba O'Riley
Eminence Front
Man in a Purple Dress
Black Widow's Eyes
Mike Post Theme
You Better You Bet
(They played "Mirror Door" somewhere around here)
My Generation
Won't Get Fooled Again
Encore:
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey/Sparks
See Me, Feel Me
Tea & Theater
 
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com


 
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