Phoenix 10/23 review

Phoenix, October 23rd, 1996.

The Who took the stage at approximately 9:00 pm, from the opening bell
Roger's voice was flawless and for the most part stole the show from the
rest of the performers. I wasn't very comfortable with Pete playing acoustic
for the majority of the show but his pure musical talent made up for
anything that I might not have liked. John was a rock his playing was
perfect and his solo during 5:15 was, for lack of a better word, incredible.
Pete's voice cracked only a couple of times during the night as the 3 days
off since the San Jose obviously payed off. They used a giant screen that
was about the width of the stage for close ups for the people in the rear of
America West Arena. 

After seeing the Who 2 other times in my life (1979 and 1982), I will admit
that last night's show was...different. I like the raw Rock n' Roll that
they used to perform in the past. It was live, loud and mean. However, the
Quadrophenia performance was very organized, extremely rehearsed and pure
music. I was very impressed at how "clean" the performance was. At times
Pete was actually reading music for his playing. It is possible that the
atmosphere was different than the past. The croud was older and much more
refined than in the past. Also this time I was perched in a Luxury Suite
rather than 1st and 3rd row as I have seen them in the past. The audience
stood for the whole show and it looked as if they really appreciated the
effort that the performers put into the production. I feel that something
was missing though and it could be that I was in a suite rather than down in
front actually becoming part of the band. 

Back to the performance, the album was played for the most part in order and
the visuals of Jimmy were very entertaining. The story was very
understandable for the rookies and first timers. Pete did a solo acoustic
version of Drowned and it was phenominal, he is so extremely talented. Roger
is in excellent physical condition, he is 52 and I am 32, I have never
looked as good at any point in my life as he looks now. He must be
incredibly discipline to stay in the condition that he is in. John is always
the same, the hair is greyer but nothing else has changed. Zak Starkey, son
of Ringo Starr, was excellent and is a close physical resemblance of a young
Keith Moon. He performed flawlessly and is probably a big contributor to
John's excellent play. Rabbitt Bundrick was also flawless on piano. Simon
Townshend performed above and beyond the standards that I set prior to
ariving to the arena. He played the riffs that his brother wrote 23 years
ago to exact perfection. At most times it seemed that I was listening to
Quadrophenia on my headphones. The music was excellent, pure and easy. 

After the performance of Quad the band came back out and played Won't Get
Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes and Who Are You. All were done acoustically
and I was impressed. Before WFGA Roger told the croud that "Now it's just
us, whats left of us that is." and the three played WFGA with no drummer.
Behind Blue Eyes was the same until the break and the rest of the performers
kicked in for the electrifying finale to the song. Who are you was acoustic
and Roger's guitar wasn't miked so he spoke to the crew over the mike and
walked into an excellent joke from Pete. It went something like this;

Roger: "Is this thing working tonight?"
Roger: "I can't hear a thing!" {strumming the strings}
Roger: "You got it? It still isn't working!"
Pete (loudly interupting): "It's not like it matters!"

Roger: (speechless)

Pete literally rolled onto the floor in laughter and John couldn't keep his
stone composure either. The croud laughed and Roger even thought that it was
funny and had to smile.

I have grown up with the Who's music, I have followed the band since I was
12 years old and like most real fans of anything they have become part of my
life. I use certain songs of the Who to relate to moments from my past. Both
good and bad. I have grown with them as they have me, the only difference is
that I know them and they don't know me. I will always appreciate them and
the work that they do to make me happy. I love The Who.