The Who show it still has it
By John D. Gonzalez
Journal staff writer
PONTIAC – Those who remember the early Who, rock ‘n’ roll’s first legitimate pop metal band, may find it amazing that a trio of middle-aged men are still trampling about on stage.
But it’s true. Roger Daltrey, 45, Pete Townshend, 44, and John Entwistle, 44, are enjoying a successful 25th anniversary tour, which included an energetic stop to a packed house at the Pontiac Silverdome Tuesday night.
(Simon Phillips completed the foursome; he is a recent replacement for Kenney Jones, who filled the void of original Who member Keith Moon, who died of an overdose of pills in 1978.)
ALMOST as if the band had been buried in a musical time capsule, the Who belted out all the classics with the same excitement and vigor their fans have been accustomed to over the years.
Daitrey, clad in jeans and a vest, stuck with the same theatrics and lasso routines with his microphone that was part of an act the group made extremely popular in the late ’60s and through the ’70s.
For about three hours, the near-sellout crowd was treated to a potpourri of hits ranging from the band’s first album in 1965 to some current material by guitarist Townshend.
Some of the better numbers came out in the Who’s second set, which began after 10 p.m.
Beginning with the crowd-pleasing “Magic Bus” and ending with the encores, the who played all the biggies, including “Baba O’Reilly,” “My Generation,” “Goodbye Sister Disco,” “Rough Boys,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
During the first set, which opened with the theme from “Bonanza,” the Who stuck with lesser known material and mixed in some popular songs like “Face to Face,” “Can’t Explain,” “I Can See For Miles” and “Pinball Wizard.”
On “Wizard,” the roadies decided to have a little fun and tossed out a giant silver ball that looked like a huge pinball. The crowd had a lot of fun hitting that around.
ON MOST of the songs, Daltrey’s and Townshend’s vocal delivery seemed strong, but there were times when it sounded like Daltrey was having difficulty with the higher notes.
And as far as sound quality, the Silverdome is not the ideal place to hear a band because of poor acoustics. With the Who, some songs sounded better than others, which had a lot to do with the instruments used on a song.
And by the way, the answer is yes – the Silverdome was unbearably hot and humid. But the Who fans were all right throughout the night, most seemingly unbothered by the conditions.
WITH THE 25TH anniversary
“Kids Are Alright Tour,” you might think a typical Who crowd would consist of a large group of
30-to-40-year-old men. Not the case.
Some pre-teens, plenty of teen-agers and a plethora of peo ple in their 20s made up a good chunk of the audience.
Many of them were women, too. Sure there were many who were older, but the diversified audience showed why the Who has become one of the legendary bands in rock history.
“A lot of younger people don”
like today’s music,”
said a 19-
year-old woman from St. Clair Shores. “I grew up with an older brother and he listened to the Who all the time. All my friends listen to the Who.” A 41-year-old woman from
Grand Rapids said she wasn’t surprised that more 40-year-olds didn’t make it to the show.
“They don’t like to stand in line and get tickets,” she said.
Regardless of age, those at the show witnessed a group past 10 prime generate the same kind ol eactions and responses that Ma lonna or Michael Jackson migh receive at a live show today.