The Who rock, the fans roar

At our Coliseum: Violence was onstage By Craig Hitchcock

First, let’s put it to rest: the only violence at the Who concert at the Coliseum was onstage — the good, musical kind.

But the deaths of 11 youths, trampled by a mob of 7,000 fans who stampeded Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum to see the Who on Monday, at first cast a pall over last night’s event.

To avoid a similar tragedy here, the Coliseum and Belkin Productions beefed up security by adding 20 men, including Summit County sheriff’s deputies. And, fans were permitted to enter the Coliseum fully two hours before the concert began.

Most concertgoers said they had little fear of mob violence at the Coliseum.

“It’s a different setup here, there are no general admission tickets, only reserved seating,” said Terry Torok, 23, of Painesville.

The pushing and shoving in Cincinnati were done by general admission ticketholders who stormed the doors to try to get the best seats.

Torok, who saw the Who Tuesday in Buffalo, said he has previously attended concerts in Cincinnati.

“At Riverfront, you have to go straight up a wall of stairs to get in — it’s hard and there’s no turning back,” he said.

Other fans said that the many wide banks of doors on all sides of the Coliseum make it an unlikely place for a mob shoving match.

While there was no violence here, there was “killer” music coming from the stage — hard, crisp, clean rock ’n’ roll from one of the oldest and purest rock groups around.

Ironically, prefacing the group’s entrance was leader Pete Townshend’s movie, “Quadrophenia,” a graphic chronicle of the bloody beach resort battles in the 1960s between Britain’s Mods and Rockers.

Now the screen goes white again, Coliseum President Stuart Giller appears onstage, asking for a “moment of respect” for those who died in Cincinnati. Pledging that the tragedy can never happen here, he introduces the Who.

* * *

With spotlights blasting like ray guns through the smoke, the Who bounds onstage and into “Substitute” to wild cheers and applause.

In quick succession, the musicians play a mix of their old and new hits: the old — “Can’t Explain,” “Baba O’Reilly,” “Boris the Spider,” “Blue Eyes,” and the new — “Sister Disco” and “Who Are You.”

Fifteen years after their first hit, a year after losing drummer Keith Moon to an overdose of drugs, and even with the addition of two members — their sound remains pure Who, pure rock.

Drummer Kenny Jones picks up the beat as John “Rabbit” Bundrick punches the keyboards and John Entwistle lays down rock-solid bass.

Lead singer Roger Daltrey reels backward, pinwheeling the microphone, seemingly ready to fall — only to reverse himself and catch the mike in midair in perfect synchronization with the beat.

As he does, guitarist Townshend moves across the stage in loose-limbed, jumping bean fashion, flailing his right arm in a murderous high-speed circle which brings his pick hard across the strings.

The group makes no attempt at banter, no wooing the crowd with Mick Jagger scarf-taunting or disco-slick body teases — just hard-driven, unceasing rock ’n’ roll piercing your senses.

The fans roar their approval and applaud and love it — but they remain seated, they do not stand. Because of Cincinnati’s pall?

Daltrey runs in place, as new drummer Kenny Jones plays march-beat and Townshend, leaping in his patented herky-jerky fashion, reels off sweet, high flowing guitar riffs in “5-15.”

Now Townshend dabs off a guitar solo, an obscure sounding bit, mesmerizing the crowd with the technical wizardry of his fingers — then bursts into the strains of “Pinball Wizard,” from the group’s classic rock opera “Tommy.”

And now the fans stand, and they cheer, and their hands are high over their heads!

Daltrey, simply dressed in jeans and a black sleeveless T-shirt, shadowboxes an invisible opponent across the stage as he belts it out in his gruff-sweet tenor.

Then, the lights drop and tenderly he sings, “See me, feel me — touch me, feel me …”

The group whips through “My Generation,” “I Can See for Miles” and into “Sparks.” A brief lull, then an explosion of fire and light, and into a finale of “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and it’s over — almost.

Ten solid minutes of wild, continuous applause and cheers of “Wwwhhhoooo” draw the group back for an encore.

With a final burst of energy, the Who whips into “Summertime Blues” and “Real Me,” and then is gone.

And finally, despite the black night in Cincy, it’s apparent that “The Kids Are All Right” and so is rock ’n’ roll.

“It’s a different setup here, there are no general admission tickets, only reserved seating,” said Terry Torok, 23, of Painesville.

While there was no violence here, there was “killer” music coming from the stage — hard, crisp, clean rock ’n’ roll from one of the oldest and purest rock groups around.

THE WHO ARE HERE — The British rock group The Who performed at the Coliseum last night. (Press photos by Tony Tomsic)

NO PROBLEMS — While their parents were a bit anxious, North Royalton High School seniors Dawn Riffle, 17, (left) and Karen Peters, 18, said they experienced no problem getting safely into last night’s ‘Who’ concert at the Coliseum. “This place is ‘cool,’ said Dawn. “It’s safe and there are no problems out here.” Following the death of 11 youths at the Who’s Cincinnati concert on Monday, many had expressed concern that a similar incident could occur at the Coliseum. However, last night’s show went off without incident.

THE KID’S ALL RIGHT — Displaying his “The Kids Are All Right” T-shirt advertising the Who’s autobiographical movie, Terry Torok of Painesville tells of seeing a trouble-free Who concert in Buffalo Tuesday night. Last night he saw another at the Coliseum.

GOOD TOWN — Laurie Behnke of Painesville, said she wasn’t worried about coming to the Who concert because “Cleveland’s a good town for concerts.”