The Who rocks on, honoring Entwistle

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From: Jim in Colo Springs

Sorry, couldn't get complete confirmation, but I think it's legit...:-)

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The Who rocks on, honoring Entwistle 
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By Richard Cromelin. Special to the Tribune. Richard Cromelin is a staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune newspaper

July 3, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- If ever catharsis were in the cards, it was Monday at the Hollywood Bowl, where one of rock's most emotion-driven bands was due to perform the most emotional show of its four-decade career.

And indeed, there was the extra charge in the show-opening power-chord riff of "I Can't Explain," as if guitarist Pete Townshend were trying to blast a path through the decades to the days when he and John Entwistle met as London teenagers and began playing together.

Less than a week ago, the Who was set to embark on another in its series of periodic reunion tours, a classic-rock blip on the summer concert radar.

But when bassist and founding member Entwistle was found dead in Las Vegas, apparently of a heart attack, on Thursday, the day before the tour was to open, purpose and meaning were dropped into the band's lap, at the greatest price imaginable.

They rushed in a new bassist, Pino Palladino, and postponed two weekend dates. That made Monday's tour opener probably one of the most oddly anticipated shows in rock history.

The snap and energy of the opening 20-minute salvo of "I Can't Explain," "Substitute" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" suggested a determination to rediscover the sources of the Who's power. Much later, "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" regained the epic scale they had in the '70s.

Over the course of more than two hours, though, it appeared that the Who's idea of paying tribute was to hunker down and plunge in and see what happened. There were no shrines at stage left, no performances of any of Entwistle's compositions, but the capacity crowd got its share of mood swings and openhearted acknowledgments. The night ended with a montage of Entwistle photos on the video screens.

"Tonight we play for John Entwistle," Daltrey said early in the show. "He was the true spirit of rock 'n' roll, and he lives on in all the music we play." A little later, Townshend, perhaps sensing that the show had taken on a business-as-usual tone, stepped forward and said: "This is gonna be very difficult. We understand. We're not pretending that nothing's happened."

Palladino negotiated the Who's often complex structures with a determined steadiness. He avoided Entwistle's ornate designs for the most part, and he seemed to have the audience on his side from the start, earning a cheer for his stab at the famous bass solo in "My Generation."

At the end, it all amounted to an intersection of real life, art, entertainment and big business that's rare these days. Those were the elements that swirled around the Who in its turbulent origins, and it's strangely appropriate that Entwistle's loss brought them back again, even if only for a night.


Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune


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