POPULAR MUSIC

Daltrey Cuts Short Fine Set After His Voice Gives Out

John Soeder Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic

Roger Daltrey brought his Use It or Lose It Tour to Cleveland for a sold-out concert Tuesday night at House of Blues.

He used it all right. Unfortunately, he lost it, too.

The Who’s frontman — a shoo-in on any list of the greatest rock ’n’ roll singers — had to cut short his set after 90 minutes when his voice gave out.

At least the evening got off to a robust start, with Daltrey up to the challenge of three classic Who songs: “Who Are You,” “Pictures of Lily” and “Behind Blue Eyes.”

It was a rare pleasure catching this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in a relatively intimate setting. Usually Daltrey, 65, can be found belting out classic-rock anthems on the arena circuit.

Early on, he told fans that his solo tour was an excuse to have some fun. Mission accomplished, to the tune of a handful of worthy selections from his oft-overlooked solo career and an intriguing cross section of personal favorites by other artists. In the latter category, Daltrey salvaged a couple of songs — “Freedom Ride” and “Gimme a Stone” — from “Largo,” an obscure song cycle by members of the Hooters, based on Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony.

Daltrey didn’t downplay the Who, either. Alongside crowd-stoking renditions of “Squeeze Box” and “I Can See for Miles,” he revisited “Tattoo,” an obscurity off 1967’s “The Who Sell Out” album.

He also fired off a few bars of “My Generation,” recast with a swinging blues arrangement. It segued into a partial take on the Muddy Waters standard “Mannish Boy.”

REVIEW

Roger Daltrey Check out photos from the show and the set list: cleveland.com/popmusic

Daltrey often strummed a guitar while he sang. His proficient five-piece backing band included Simon Townshend on guitar and occasional vocals. He sounded enough like his older brother, the Who’s Pete Townshend, to pull off a fun “Goin’ Mobile.”

Daltrey embellished the latter song with colorful bursts of harmonica. Ditto a rough-around-the-edges “Baba O’Riley.” By then, his storied voice had been reduced to a frustrating rasp.

Signs posted around the venue stated that at Daltrey’s request, the air conditioning had been turned off. Despite such measures, as well as a steady stream of warm beverages in mugs for our hoarse hero, Daltrey morphed into Tom Waits before our ears.

The frayed edges actually worked to Daltrey’s advantage during a ferocious “Young Man Blues.” Other numbers weren’t as successful. A Johnny Cash medley and the Who’s “Blue, Red and Grey” were abandoned because Daltrey’s pipes weren’t up to snuff, although he managed to get through Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born on the Bayou” before calling it quits.

Daltrey was his own harshest critic, if not entirely apologetic.

“I sound terrible,” he said toward the end of the show.

“I had a very bad night’s sleep last night,” he added. “This is what I woke up with. So tough [expletive] [expletive].”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jsoeder@plaind.com, 216-999-456[unclear]