Quad 7/18--review

        "NOW THAT'S POWER FOR YA!!"--Phil Daniels
        For those of you keeping score at home, when I went to the first
show, I was dissatisfied with the sound and volume (not loud enough.)  On
the 18th, however, I was sitting in the same section as I did during the
first show, and I was very pleased with the sound and volume.  It was an
incredible difference.
        This was the best show so far.  All the musicians and performers
were very much on top of things, and the audience's response was the most
exuberant yet.  As I wrote in my review of the 7/16 show, I previously felt
sad during certain guitar solos, which Pete of course did.  Last night I
looked at it from a different perspective, however.  Sure, there's nothing
I would like more than to see Townshend play electric guitar, but last
night I tried to take everything in at face value.  I saw the lead
guitarist (whatever his name is) as more of an extension of Townshend, and
his playing was more of a celebration of Townshend than the guy trying to
make it his spotlight.  I thought he had a real appreciation for Pete's
guitar playing, and interpreted his solos very tastefully.  Although
Townshend couldn't (or wouldn't) play electric, he was just as incredible
on the acoustic.  This is not surprising to us, but watching him play last
night was magnificent.
        I long for the past perhaps as much as many people on the list, but
since I missed the 60's, and I was 8 years old when Keith Moon died, the
past is always going to be the same for me--only a stack of video tapes and
CDs I enjoy immensely.  I would enjoy them whether I liked these concerts
or not, but since the concerts were fantastic, I don't wish as much that
things would be like how they used to be.  I've read people on the list
express how they feel, before the news of the MSG shows surfaced, about how
The Who shouldn't tour again.  I used to agree somewhat with that, but
after going to these three concerts, I've changed my opinion;  I'm glad
they did it, and I think it was important that they did.
        Last night's encores were BBE, WGFA, NE, and "Substitute."  They
did "Naked Eye" on the 16th, but last night's performance was so much
better.  The audience, which was going nuts during the entire concert,
became very quiet during NE in complete awe (or maybe they just didn't know
the damned song.)  It was so emotional and powerful, that it made my first
Who concert experience (this time around) more than I ever would have
expected.
        After the concert, my friend and I went to Le Bar Bat to see the
John Entwistle Band (thanks Fang for telling us about it.)  I'm not just
saying this because he's JOHN ENTWISTLE, but what a great human being he
is.  I saw him in '87 at a "charity" (we had to give blood to get a ticket)
concert in NYC, which I think he did for free (who knows?)  When I met him
last January 21st, he was very nice, and generous with his time and
patience.  Last night, he went to this tiny club to play a few songs for
about 100 fans, after playing a long concert at the Garden.  God bless you
John.  I didn't stay for very long, but the JE Band played:
        Had Enough
        The Real Me
        Pride and Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughn)
        Summertime Blues
They might have returned to the stage after a break, I'm not sure.  It was
FANTASTIC.  Steve Luongo was great.
        I have one more concert to go to on the 22nd.  It has been great
meeting everyone on the list at the Molly Wee.  I wish we could do this
more often.

                                                                        Stacey.