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re: partisan rock fan



Mark L:

For instance, I had a Stones fan tell me: The Who were almost as good as 
Jagger 
> and Richards at that NYC tribute show." Which a non-partian Rock fan would 
> disagree with.
> 
> 

Well, I agree with you here.  Only the most rabid Stones fan could make this 
statement.  EVERYONE who was there saw that the Who stole the show, and all 
the reviews said as much.  It wasn't really even close.  Actually, I would 
say Bon Jovi had a better set than jagger and richards, and I don't like Bon 
Jovi and DO like the stones.  I think Bowie was better than J&R, also.

<It doesn't matter how good they have been, they've always been the best live 
band <from day one. But it was only after Tommy they were (reluctantly) 
granted this. <After Who's Next, almost every review of their current album 
was negative. Quad, <for instance, was trashed.

<So I'm going by how The Who have been treated in the past. And what people 
tell <me when they come in my store, "Oh, they went on for the MONEY huh?" <
followed by a snide look. Explain it to them, and they don't believe it.

<But that's the opinion of a Who fan. Few Who fans are going to trash the 
band, <especially at this point. Realistically, your reviews have to be taken 
with a grain of <salt. Yours especially since you'd only seen them once, for 
four songs, before <this tour. 

I'm not sure I completely understand the rest of your argument, about the 
good reviews of Tommy, but bad after Who's next (such as quad) and how it 
relates to this tour.  Your original post made statements to the effect that 
the press has been unfair to the band this tour, and the opposite is the 
case.  Yes, the Who have always been the greatest live band, but MANY people 
I have talked to this tour (not critics) have stated, unsolicited, that the 
show(s) they have seen this summer are better than the one(s) they saw on Y2K 
tour.  Sound is sharper, roger's voice better, Pete's guitar work more 
passionate.  If this is indeed the last tour, most people will remember them 
for inspired performances.  Some will remark at how quick they started 
playing after John's death and will be critical, but so what.  They've been 
criticized before and the great thing about them is that they care more about 
the fans than the critics.  This is one of the reasons we love them.  It is 
true that I don't have the perspective others do, but I definitely tell when 
the fire is there and when it is not.  You don't have to have seen them 50 
times to be able to judge that.  I've seen the vintage videos: Woodstock, 
IOW, Mont Pop, R&R circus, Cleveland 75, Shepperton 78, and the same fire I 
observed on these is present in these shows.  It can't have the same dynamic 
w/o Keith and John, but the fire is there nonetheless.

mc

"Just fucking listen and shut up!"- Pete Townshend live in Long Beach 1971