[no subject]

Who knows how to rock 'n' roll 
by Dean Johnson 
Saturday, July 27, 2002

The Who, with Robert Plant, at the Tweeter Center,
last night.

It was the right call.

When The Who's bassist John Entwistle died of a heart
attack late last month on the brink of the band's
tour, many people questioned the group's decision to
continue on without him.

There was no second guessing that choice last night at
a long sold-out Tweeter Center. The band is expected
back in Mansfield at the end of September.

The two-hour set that included nearly two dozen songs
wasn't an over-the-top success. 

Singer Roger Daltrey's vocals weren't always on
target, and sometimes he was bellowing more than
singing.

The middle segment of the show suffered from an odd
song selection and a listless ``I Can See For Miles.''

But the start and the finish were strictly prime
stuff, and there were plenty of moments in the concert
that can stand with anything that will come off the
Tweeter Center stage this season or future ones.

Peter Townshend remains the most physical guitarist in
rock. He assaulted the instrument from the start,
violating it in almost every song in an effort to get
every last skronk, squeal, and scream out of it.
Sometimes he literally just pounded repeatedly on it
with the bottom of his fist.

The opening salvo of ``I Can't Explain,''
``Substitute,'' and a ferocious ``Anyway, Anyhow,
Anywhere'' with a sonic assault disguised as the
song's bridge, set a torrid standard for the rest of
the night.

Other highlights included a regal ``Love, Reign O'er
Me,'' an explosive ``The Kids Are Alright''
highlighted by some inspired jamming, a lengthy ``My
Generation,'' ``Won't Get Fooled Again,'' and portions
of the rock opera ``Tommy'' during the encores.

Townshend dedicated ``Kids'' to Entwistle, and made
reference to recent reports cocaine contributed to the
bass player's death. ``Some of us are still here,'' he
said. ``Some of us are still careful about what we eat
and what we drink . . . We might not be having as good
a time as John was in Las Vegas . . . We're pretty
sure he was enjoying himself,'' he said before
screaming, ``AND IT'S NOT TO BE RECOMMENDED!''

Pino Palladino has the bass chores now and was a
sturdy, unobtrusive player. Simon Townshend on
guitars, a stellar Zak Stakey on drums, and John
``Rabbit'' Bundrick on keyboards completed the
line-up.

But at the end of the regular set, only Daltrey and
Townshend stayed on stage and embraced. Only two are
left.

Last night, two were enough.

Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant opened the night
looking good and sounding even better.

His set likely made some old Zep Heads shake their
heads, though, because the music was mostly folk and
'60s driven sounds featuring layered arangements and
exotic stringed instruments.

He even had several incense sticks smolderng onstage
Plant's version of the classic ``Hey Joe'' was dark
and deconstructed, the '60s dream become nightmare.

He did some serious rocking, though, and tossed in the
odd Zep tune such as ``Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.'' But
even ``Going to California'' had a hippie twist. Plant
told the audience during its intro, ``You are the
children of the sun.''


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com