What happened at Jones Beach?

[L. Bird]

>Was anybody on this list at Jones Beach who can describe what happened?

>Thanks in advance.

I think this review below is what's provoked the snide comments from Pete.  
I sent Aquilante a nasty note (as did others, I'm sure), and he followed up 
with a better review of MSG.


keets


>BABA O'NASTY

By DAN AQUILANTE

September 18, 2006 -- THE WHO The Who play tonight and tomorrow night
at Madison Square Garden.

AT The Who's Jones Beach warm-up concert last week for tonight and
tomorrow's highly anticipated Madison Square Garden gigs, Pete
Townshend was his own worst enemy.

At Wednesday's show, the second performance on the band's first world
tour in more than 20 years, Townshend came off as a grumpy old man
who doesn't like the fans who adore him. The sourpuss guitarist
unhappily and unnecessarily pouted his way through the 21/2-hour gig
with sarcastic between-song patter that attacked his bandmate Roger
Daltrey, the fans and even his own new music.

After a seemingly flawless rendition of "Baba O'Riley" that concluded
with Daltrey blowing a mean blues harp, Townshend judged the
rendition worthy of a "Jewish wedding." Whatever that meant, it drew
a burning glare from Daltrey, and the tension in the air made drummer
Zak Starkey go rigid behind his drum kit.

Later, Townshend diluted his acid with just a hint of humor, calling
Daltrey "a rock 'n' roll casualty" just before the band launched the
Elvis homage called "Real Good Looking Boy" that references the
King's "Can't Help Falling in Love."

Then there was the introduction to "Who Are You?" in which Townshend
mused about what it means to be a rock star and, in the final breaths
before launching the tune, spat unexpectedly at the crowd, "Who the f
- - - are you?"

He didn't have to be that way with the sold-out Long Island house. He
was playing and singing well, as evident in the charging opening
quartet of "I Can't Explain," "The Seeker," "Anyway, Anyhow,
Anywhere" and "Baba O'Riley," during which the house turned choir for
Daltrey singing the famous lyric: "It's only teenage wasteland."

Behind wraparound shades and slightly slurred elocution, the real
problem with Townshend was the weight of the giant chip on the
shoulder that made him defensive and timid about the new song from
the band's upcoming "Endless Wire" album, their first since 1982.

No doubt songs such as "My Generation," "Won't Get Fooled Again,"
"Substitute" and "Behind Blue Eyes" got a hotter reception than the
fresh "Black Widow," "Fragments" (said to be composed on computer)
and the pope-bashing ode "Man in the Purple Dress," but any rocker
who has been around for a second album, let alone 40 years,
understands fans' devotion to the hits.

As for the quality of those new tunes, Townshend shouldn't have had a
concern. They were pretty good, and given a tour's worth of live
performance, the gems will certainly emerge from the set.

Both Daltrey and Starkey were very instrumental in making "Purple
Dress" - a folky, barroom ballad - one of the more welcome of the
newcomers. On that one, Starkey was outstanding, giving the piece an
unusual military tattoo where the beats provided a melodic quality
much like African talking-drums.

Hopefully, at the Garden shows Townshend will be just as savage when
he winds up the windmill and strikes the strings, but maybe he'll
also be kinder with the fans and will return some love rather than
scowl his way through these shows, too.

dan.aquilante at nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/
baba_onasty_entertainment_dan_aquilante.htm