The Who: Still Taking Chances Onstage

By Dino Tortu

Special to The Herald-News

Who fans are a dedicated lot. Deadheads may claim "there is nothing like a Grateful Dead Concert," and Stones aficionados may feel Mick and company are "the greatest rock and roll band in the world," but we know better.

As this summer's film "The Kids Are Alright" so clearly demonstrated, the Who were the best live act in the history of rock and roll. But the question on the minds of many who saw them at the Capitol Theater this past week: Are they still able to raise the temperature, quicken the pulse and astound the eye?

If Tuesday's show was any indication of what the '80s hold for the Who, the answer is indeed encouraging.

Highlighting material from last year's "Who Are You" and featuring songs from "Quadrophenia" for the first time since 1973, the Who showed they're still willing to take chances onstage, and most of them paid off.

THEIR SHOW STILL contained standards like "Substitute" (their blistering opener), "I Can't Explain" (with a new arrangement), "Boris the Spider," "Summertime Blues," "Pinball Wizard" and of course, "My Generation."

The Music Scene

But some surprises were in store for longtime Who watchers. They did "Long Live Rock," a song originally recorded in 1972, that has gained new popularity as the theme of "The Kids Are Alright."

Most songs included John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, although he played rather sparingly, and several songs (from "Quadrophenia" and "Who Are You") featured a horn section, which gave them a far richer sound. (Guitarist/leader Pete Townshend has often lamented the limitations of their guitar/bass/drums lineup and has finally seen fit to do something about it.)

TOWNSHEND HAS always said there's no place he'd rather be than onstage, where he feels "invincible," and his playing Tuesday night showed him to be a man of his word. Obviously delighted to be starting their series of U.S. shows in such an intimate locale, he played with more power and self-assurance than we've seen in quite a while.

New drummer Kenney Jones wisely chose not to echo the reckless abandon of his predecessor Keith Moon, but stuck to the beat, simply yet effectively. Lead singer Roger Daltrey sounded as good as we've ever heard him, and bassist John Entwhistle, dressed in black from head to toe, was his usual subdued self.

An encore that featured Townshend on six-string bass for "Trick of the Light" and the inclusion of Free's "All Right Now" assured everyone in the Capitol (most of whom had stood for the entire show) that the Who have survived not only the death of one of their founding members, the doubts of their leader and constant tension within the band. They have survived the '70s, and should help us through the '80s as well.

The Who, vintage 1969. This photo was recently released by MCA records in connection with the film, "The Kids Are Alright." The band has undergone changes, but the spark should remain well into the '80s.