Q magazine review of Wembley

["Brian Cady" <cadyb@home.com>]

Thanks to Edward William Paton over at alt.music.who for pointing this out.
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The Who Rock Wembley

"It's Good To Be Back"

Elder rock statesmen The Who played the first of three Wembley Arena shows last
night - and over a set that lasted 150 minutes and spanned 25 years, they proved
that age need not be a barrier to excitement, volume, intensity, or any of the
other qualities that have long defined them.

Guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend intimated that the gig was a
keenly-anticipated homecoming, describing how he had spent the afternoon driving
around streets close to the family home of the late Keith Moon, and reminiscing
about early Who performances in nearby Harrow and Sudbury. "It's good to be back
in London," was his opening gambit - and the crowd received it feverishly.

Though billed as a 'Greatest Hits Live' event, the band's set list was a little
more inventive than that implied. I Can't Explain, Substitute and Anyway,
Anyhow, Anywhere made up the show's opening segment, but they soon went
off-piste, delivering readings of I Don't Even Know Myself (an off-cut from the
Who's Next sessions), the long-lost singles Relay and Let's See Action and the
Jon Entwistle song My Wife. Most unexpected of all - and, it's own way, one of
the night's highlights - was Townshend's solo delivery, with acoustic guitar, of
Drowned From Quadrophenia.

What was most refreshing was the gig's air of relaxed earthiness - indeed, this
was the same kind of show to the almost impromptu gigs they played at Shepherd's
Bush Empire last Christmas. There were no back-projections, inflatable props or
expensive pyrotechnics. In that sense, the show was as dignified as could be
imagined; so far from the travelling circus that was The Who's last World Tour,
in 1989, that you could scarcely believe this was the same group.

Actually, it wasn't: where once there were backing singers, horn sections and
the like, the new model Who simply comprises singer Roger Daltrey, Townshend,
Entwistle, drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) and Texan keyboard player
John 'Rabbit' Bundrick. Their bond is sufficiently telepathic that they alter
songs at will, and even see fit to amend the odd composition drastically.

So it was that The Kids Are Alright, first released in 1965, turned into a
touching meditation on middle age. "When I wrote this song, I was only a kid,"
sang Townshend, "I didn't give a fuck about anything I did." There followed a
proud declaration that, despite predictions of his generation laying the world
to ruin, their kids had turned out alright.
Best of all, these three dads appear to be at the peak of their musical powers.
Who'd have thought it?

Reviewed by John Harris
© Copyright EMAP Digital Limited 2000

        -Brian in Atlanta
         The Who This Month!
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