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Sacramento review from Sacramento Bee



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Concert Review -- Still rocking hard: The Who loud, fast and good in concert
By Chris Macias
Bee Pop Music Writer
(Published Aug. 24, 2000)

Windmill strums and twirling microphone cords were in full effect Tuesday
night, but the evening was hardly the Who by numbers. The classic British
band rocked for more than 2 1/2 hours at the Sacramento Valley Amphitheatre,
kicking out the jams with echoes of the group's legendary concerts. The show
may not have been "Live at Leeds," but there was no mistake: The Who is
still alive and kicking behinds.

Many music fans aren't convinced the Who can still burn, which may explain
the moderate turnout of 9,600 fans Tuesday. After all, the band's 1989
reunion tour was a bloated beast of a show, with backup singers and
musicians cramming the stage. Worse, Pete Townshend had to focus on acoustic
guitar and perform behind a Plexiglas wall to cushion his thrashed eardrums.

But tinnitus be damned, Townshend's electric guitar roared with stunning
ferocity Tuesday. An extended solo on "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" may have
lacked the drenched feedback from days of yore, but it burst with wild
tremolo picking, whammy-bar yanks and howling bends. A blistering version of
"Who Are You" featured machine-gun riffage and lickety-split runs over the
fretboard.

Townshend's trademark windmill guitar strums were also in full force, but
beyond guitar heroics perhaps it was a strategy to shoo away the bugs that
swarmed the stage. His humor was good-natured, whether kvetching about his
sex life or making reference to the amphitheater's rural surroundings being
"out here in the fields." Still, Townshend seemed a bit grumpy from
equipment problems throughout the set, though any frustrations were
channeled into blissful guitar workouts.

But Townshend's introspective side was equally powerful. His solo rendition
of the "Quadrophenia" staple "I'm One" was accompanied with just his
electric-acoustic guitar, but soared with both dulcet finger-picking and
strong-armed strumming.

Another key ingredient to the Who's newfound vitality is drummer Zak Starkey
(Ringo Starr's son). Starkey's shag haircut made him look slightly like
deceased drummer Keith Moon in the mod days, and there were also sonic
similarities. The story goes that Moon gave Starkey some of his first drum
lessons, and Starkey's wily fills in "Won't Get Fooled Again" were straight
from Moon's school of hard drum knocks. Starkey's thwacks were solid, though
there was never a sense that his kit would crash over in a frenzy a la Moon.

Still, Starkey provided the best bang of all the Who's drummers since Moon's
death in 1978. Starkey's playing is more boisterous than the straight-laced
Kenney Jones and less clinical than session-man Simon Phillips.

Also in a powerful pocket was bassist John Entwistle, who gave Eddie Van
Halen a run for fretboard-tapping acrobatics. Entwistle spent the evening
standing in place with little more than a poker face, but his fingers
jitterbugged over his strings. Unfortunately, his chugging runs were mostly
buried in the mix, but a nimble-fingered solo during "5:15" well-showcased
one of rock 'n' roll's greatest bassists.

Unlike Entwistle -- he of full gray hair and beard -- singer Roger Daltrey
strutted about the stage with his shirt-sleeves rolled up and chest exposed.
Daltrey looked trim, and his singing on "Baba O'Riley" rang powerful, but
his vocal chords sometimes sounded a tinge burnt. His voice was slightly
raspy on "The Real Me" and he took the low road and skipped the signature
"Ahhhhhh!" at the climax of "Who Are You." Daltrey's blessed with one of
rock's most muscular voices, though after singing for some 35 years there's
little surprise if he sounds a bit leathery these days.

Overall, the band sounded loose but explosive when it jammed through such
favorites as "Pinball Wizard," "Won't Get Fooled Again" and a reference to
the Mose Allison standard "Young Man Blues" during an encore. Most of the
group's extended improvisations caught fire, though the band seemed to run
out of gas during the lackluster show-closer, "My Generation." "The Kids Are
Alright," which was watered down by excessive keyboard tinklings from John
"Rabbit" Bundrick, provided some of the night's few wimpy moments.

Still, the Who rocked hard, especially considering that its founding members
are in their mid-50s and singing songs of days-gone adolescent angst. After
blazing through "The Real Me," Townshend even joked, "I'm 55. Do you think I
care if I can see the real me?"

But with Townshend's guitar firepower and sizzling band chemistry, it's safe
to say that these forever-young kids are still alright.

By Chris Macias
copyright © 2000 The Sacramento Bee

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