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Re: Quad on Broadway?



Brian in Atlanta wrote:
>Although i doubt if we've heard the end of this, I think Roger got so heavily
>involved in the "Quadrophenia" revival in order to keep it off Broadway
>(and I  don't mean Off-Broadway).  Roger hated "The Who's Tommy" and if
>he can keep Pete from doing the same to Quad, he will.

If that's true, then God Bless You Mr. Daltrey!  I saw the Quad concert
last year and it was awesome.  More importantly, it rocked.  It was
exactly what I thought Quadrophenia should sound like in concert; all
the synthesizer parts kept, a decent horn section (as opposed to the
cheesy electric keyboard horns of the '82 tour), the wind, storm, sea
and sand sound effects, plus a raging performance by the boys
themselves.  I could have skipped the guest star stuff, which always
leaves me cold, but over all it was a dream come true.  Pete!  Please
don't ruin it by turning it into a glitzy Broadway "spectacular".  When
Tommy hit Broadway and I caught the Tony Award's special clip of the
performance on TV I couldn't help remembering what Pete said in The
Kid's Are Alright flick.  (Paraphrasing due to lack of reliable memory),
"Do we want to keep doing this forever, end up like some cabaret act
playing in Vegas."  To which Keith responded with "That's ridiculous"
and then stood on his head.  Okay, so Broadway ain't Vegas, but in Rock
and Roll terms it's always been a little closer to Vegas than to
Cleveland if you know what I mean.  Remember the other "Rock Musicals"
that played Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair.  Do we really want
Tommy and Quadrophenia (or God forbid, The Lifehouse!!) to become part
of that dubious legacy.  At the same time, I know what a lot of us are
screaming (especially those unfortunate enough to never have seen
anything live by The Who), "Hey, it's SOMETHING by The Who, I don't care
if Andrew Lloyd Webber himself plays Dr. Jimmy!  I want to see
SOMETHING, ANYTHING by my heroes!"  Fair enough, I suppose.  I probably
worry too much.  But if Quadrophenia (or The Lifehouse?!?!) ever comes
to Broadway we may hear Keith roll over in his grave.  Or at the very
least stand on his head.

P.S.: Found my long lost audio tape of the live broadcast of the boys
"Final Concert" in 1982.  Ahh yes!  "Rock is dead they say?  Long Live
Rock!"
- --Leo