A teacher remembers...

[Brian Cady]

(it'd be really nice if someone could arrange to get this guy a ticket)From the Edmonton Journal
http://tinyurl.com/fp6kd

Talkin' 'bout a generation's musical memories
City fans awaiting a Who concert look back at shows past

Sandra Sperounes, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Saturday, September 30, 2006

EDMONTON - A photo of the Who's fiery guitarist Pete Townshend usually keeps a watchful eye over the shelves of Kent Richardson's CD collection.

The 52-year-old teacher snapped the picture during the British rock band's last gig in Edmonton.

Richardson, who managed to snag front-row seats, was one of more than 16,000 fans who packed the Coliseum on Oct. 16, 1976. He was also one of many local fans who e-mailed or called The Journal with their concert memories.

"I was a brash, cocky, 22-year-old," he writes. "And much like the Who at that time, I had adopted their popular refrain of 'I hope I die before I get old' as my own personal creed.

"Now that I am on the 'old' side of 50, I'm glad that I didn't. That can't be said for two of the original members of the Who, Keith Moon and John Entwistle, both of whom went much too early for their time."

Moon, one of the most legendary drummers in rock, died in 1978, while the group's bassist, Entwistle, also known as The Ox, passed away in 2002.

Richardson describes the Who's 1976 show as a musical odyssey.
"We were treated to the show of our lives -- Keith Moon thrashing his cymbals and pounding his drums kamikaze-style. The stoic, never-moving, feet-firmly-on-the-ground bassist, John Entwistle, providing the much-needed anchor to keep the rest of the group grounded," he writes.

"Roger Daltrey, vocalist extraordinaire, prancing and gyrating across the stage, swinging his mike high in the air and catching it, without ever missing a beat. And of course, there was guitarist Pete Townshend, leaping in the air with arms churning in his windmill fashion, striking down hard on each power chord."

Richardson, who teaches at Bisset School, isn't sure he'll be going to the Who's show next Friday at Rexall. His family recently built a new house and one of his daughters was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which means his wife no longer can work on a full-time basis. So he doesn't think tickets are a necessity.

The best seats cost $127.25 and $202.25 plus service charges. That's a stark difference from 1976 when tickets went for $7 to $8.50.

"Thirty years later, I'm still an avid Who fan. I still get those same, familiar shivers that run down my spine whenever I listen to Live at Leeds or play Tommy from start to finish....

"I would love to go and see the Who for what would probably be their last visit to Edmonton. It would be just like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen for years. You pick up just like it was yesterday. Long live rock!"

The Who's new album, Endless Wire, is due in stores Oct. 31.
For more memories from fans who saw the Who in Edmonton in 1967, 1968 or 1976, see today's Culture section. And send your memories and pictures to pix at thejournal.canwest.com.

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