Buck in Boston

["Jeff House" <whocasa@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a duplicate of a posting on TheShout.net:

Thursday (Sept 26) was the day of the Simon T show in Cambridge. I went to
work and spent even more time than usual surfing the net for Who chat. I was
excited and distracted. It was great to feel the excitement building because
I had been unexpectedly calm earlier in the week.

Then WZLX (THE classic rock station in Boston) had an interview with Simon
around 3pm. After hearing that, I could NOT hang around the office any more.
I headed over to Cambridge and got there so early that there was no one at
the bar to hang with. I killed an hour haning out with some homeless people,
but when it started raining I figured I would go inside the HOB for a beer
and some eats.

As I finish up my meal, the ever-perky and nervous Mike tapped me on the
shoulder. THANK GOD he came when he did! I soooo needed some Whohead
interaction at that point!

A few other choice Whoheads arrived and recounted the highlights of the HOB
Chicago gig.

The Simon show was quite different than the show he had done a month prior
in the same club. His "band in a box" worked tonight and he premiered a few
very new tunes for us. He played electric for a good bit of the show, and
the crowd (less than 100 people) were really into it.

It was a thrill to hear a Who associate try out new music on us with great
talent and passion. Additionally, the music is quite enjoyable. Maybe I'm a
bit of a Who slut, but just the idea of new Who-like music is very exciting
to me

We had an enjoyable after-show gathering as Simon stayed outside the club to
shake hands, kiss the ladies, and sign autographs in the light rain. Off to
a great brew pub for some drinks and chat. Again, Mike being the perfect
companion.


Day Two - Mansfield pre-show

It rained all morning. I was trying to get a little rest at home and
coordinate some of the travels and logistics required for the pre-show
Georgestock party. It turns out I was just annoying the hell out of the
Misses. A few errands and I'm on my way to Mansfield. My cell phone will not
stop ringing (this is a good thing).

I arrive around 3pm. The parking lot was nearly empty. I head for the box
office, and run into another familiar on my way there. There are a few
hardcores hanging around waiting for the primo seats to be put on sale.

A well-known DJ (Chuck Nowlin) cruises up in a golf cart. I introduce myself
and thank him for interviewing Simon on the radio the day before. I tell him
that we Whoheads want big things for Simon. He says that the station (the
biggest classic rock station in Boston) would have liked to do more
promotion, but that they didn't know about Simon's gig until the last
minute. He also says that Simon had just gotten out of bed before the
interview and was pretty groggy and disappointed in his performance of "The
Way It Is".

I look over the DJ's shoulder and see that George has arrived. It is great
to see him. He is the wind beneath my wings, the Martha Stewart of
tailgaters, Mr. Enthusiasm. We hang out a bit, set up a few things. Kevin
arrives with Magik (aka Mr. Logistics), things get a little blurry after
that as we accelerate toward the last US Who perfomance of the year.

People are arriving at our little site in droves. It seems that the word
about George's truck and pole has gone out over O&S, TheShout, IGTC and
pt.com. What a great mix of people. Some of them know each other from the
net, some are meeting for the first time, some have met at previous gigs. I
am not a very social animal, but this is just too much fun!

Magik is getting excited. He has landed a pair of seats dead center front
row for himself and George. He asks me if I would like to join them. I am
interested

Young Andy (of O&S) pulls out his guitar and leads us in a sing-along of
half a dozen or so tunes. We are getting lubricated at this point, so
singing is a great idea. Andy is a decent player, who knows the Who catalog
well enough to take requests.

Mr. Logistics instructs us that we should make our way to our seats after
relieving ourselves. We follow his lead. We are his sheep. He gives me his
plan for getting me down front. I'm a bit drunk, but I try to follow him.

Somewhere between the gate and the beer tent, I lost sight of Mr Logistics
and Geroge. I mill about with some others, waiting for them to reappear and
lead me to the promised land of the front row. Where the hell did they go?

As I'm looking frantically (outside the theater) for my Master (Mr
Logistics), the crowd breaks into applause. We dash for our seats and as I
enter the theater I hear Pete say "We'll be back!"

I make my way to my 25th row seat and frantically ask my neighbors what Pete
just said. They do not know. They are not Whoheads. They are just here for a
fun friday night.

Oh well. Let's rock!

Other show reviews have been written with all the factual stuff, so I stick
with my emotions.

I was in front of Pino, about 25 rows back for the first half of the show.
Dancing, singing and just having a great time. Some nice folks in front of
me were very generous with their doobage - a very nice communal vibe in that
section. Just before LROM, I made my way down to the front row center. I've
never been in this position before. It is almost too much pleasure to bear.

Roger came to the front of the stage (about 10 feet from me) and belted this
tune. Sweat poured from his entire body. He lifted up on the balls of his
feet for the high notes. The muscles rippled around his diaphragm and he
strained his neck to pull every bit of noise that would come across his
vocal chords. Pete stepped up to do the tumbling leads and I could turn my
head slightly from Roger to see Pete's joy of his own playing and his
admiration for his partner. Simply too much pleasure for me.

They bounce into "Eminence Front." I've got a real special spot for this
tune because it was 20 years ago this week that I went to my first Who show.
EF was the highlight of that show. I had never heard it before. Anywho, I
just love the groove of this but always adored the way John jazzed it up. I
watched Pino for much of this tune. He is one groovy dude. I was bopping my
head along with him and caught his eye. He looked right in my eye, smiled
and went back to bopping his head just a little harder. Pino rules.

Into BBE. Again, Roger comes to the front of the stage directly in front of
me. He acts his way through this song. His facial expressions are priceless
from my vantage point. A raised eyebrow here and there is a tool to twist a
note. Into the electric part of BBE, he throws the mic stand down and Zak
does those fantastic fills that hit me in my thorax. I notice Simon for the
first time. He is a sorely needed part of this ensemble. His backing vocals
are essential to the sound IMHO.

YBYB included some extra interaction as Roger held out his mic over my head.
I screamed the lyrics as loud as I could because he demanded it.

Now we get to the dicey portion of the evening, the TKAA intro. Pete wants
to talk to us about John and what he meant to them. The show is being
filmed, so this is a chance for him to get his thoughts on permanent record.
My best buddy (Magik) is standing at the rail at Roger's feet and has the
ability to speak very loudly. He decides to insert himself into this Who
moment. "Play some Rolling Stones!" he yells repeatedly. Roger glares down
at him while Pete tries to talk through it. Roger saunters up to the front
of the stage and orders Magik to "shut the fuck up". Roger is visibly angry.
I know this because he glares through Magik to me and I can feel his anger.
It is very intense. Pete tries to continue his intro, Magik interjects
again. Pete glares over at Magik, points at him and says "Do you ever shut
the fuck up?" The crowd boos, Magik yells back "I love you guys, you know I
do!" Pete finishes the intro.

The clarity of sound from the PA is not great from this vantage point, so I
can't really make out the words that Pete and Roger are using tonight. It is
apparent that they are moved. They look at each other with great tenderness
and respect as the other sings their thoughts. It's another beautiful
moment.

They go into an unbelievably furious MG+. I believe that Magik's "heckling"
has something to do with spurring this perfomance out of them. Pete machine
guns Magik twice, looking right into his eyes. I am in the crossfire! Pete
does a machine gun to the crowd as he spits and shuffles all the way across
the stage to Pino's side. Those of us who are in the front sections give him
the finger as he mows us down.

WGFA has me following Pino again. I LOVE the bass line in this and usually
enjoy the studio recording most by humming the bass line. Pino has this
down. I make eye contact with him again. He knows he's passed the audition.
I look behind me for the first time during the synth break. I see incredible
beauty. I also see the Starcke brothers for the first time, just a few rows
behind me and several other familiar faces. The 20,000 fans are bouncing up
and down in rhythm. Roger comes out to the front of the stage again. He's
blocking my view of Zak's best break of the evening. Somehow I don't mind.
Roger fills his mouth with water and stands stock still at the front the
stage, waiting for the scream moment. He spits the water over our heads and
we raise our hands to touch the spray as he lets out that scream. I don't
need the PA to hear it. Again, Pino rides this wave of noise perfectly. The
others are playing it by the book and letting the energy of the music and
the crowd drive them. This moment does not suck.

The house lights are up. I am close enough to the stage that I delude myself
into thinking that I can now say what I've always wanted them to hear and
they will be able to hear me. I scream "thank you" as loud as I can, over
and over again. Even as the noise dies down and Pete does his band intros, I
continue to yell "thank you". I am grateful. I hug and kiss some fans around
me. I am grateful.

The encore was a blur. All beauty and joy. I scream along the lyrics to
SMFM/Listening To You. I don't have much voice left.

The house lights come up again. The show is over. Fans are congregating in
the first few rows. More hugs and kisses are shared. Tears are shed. This is
the afterglow of a multiple Whogasm orgy. I love everyone at this moment.

Buck