You bet, The Who better

Timeless wizardry
helps band floor
tour-opening crowd

By Lawrence A. Johnson
Sl’l'lt ‘I.|. 'I‘H ’I‘HI'; 'I‘mmwt:

series ofetmeerts last fall-—
including gm acclaimed
pair of .(‘hicago benefit
dates for Maryville Acade-
ny-—cenvineed The Who
that it’s better not to just fade away.

”What happened." said Pete
Townshend, “was we played togeth-
er live and suddenly decided we
liked it. This may lead to a new life
for us old gits."

New life indeed. With a just-re-
leased. downloadable 2-CD live set.
“The Blues to the BushV-ntaped in
part at November‘s House of Blues
dates -The Who kicked eff their
first American tour in four years.
with a take-no-prisoners stand Sun-
day night at the New World Music
Theatre in Tinley Park.

Few bands reflect the conflicted
emotions of youth in the latter half
of the 20th Century more scrupu-
lously than The Who. from the in-
youtxface anthem of “My Genera-
. tien" t0 the. hard~won wisdom of
“After the Fire." (which Towns-
hend wrote for a Roger Daltrey sole
album.) Yet apart from the violent
energy of their anarchic early con-
cert 3 «eh ighlighted by 'I‘ownshend’s
much-imitated primal anger ther-
apy on his guitars----what set The
Who apart was the complementary
pairing of Daltrey‘s brawny. expres-
sive vocals and Townshend’s songs.

Youthful rage and British class
antagonism are counterpoised by a
wistful sadness and startlingly ma-
ture insight in the best songs, deep-
er waters than the primary emo-
tions and unsubtle teenage waste-
lands of lesser reek contemporar-
ies. 'I‘ownshend's restless creative
impetus pushed the limits of the
rock album to the breaking point
with quirky arrangements and
grandly conceived efforts like
“Quadmphenizt” and the fabled, if
uneven, t'uCk-npet'zi “Tommy."
which continue to cast a long shad~
0W.

Granted there‘s less variety and

Rock review
little nuance in The Who‘s shuws.
which in the best rock ‘n‘ roll tt‘ntli»
tion emphasize sheer energy. ml-
ume and rhythmic heft. Even en, for
three “old gits." annshend. Iml-
trey and John Entwmtle. hzieketi hy
drummer Zak Starkey and key-
boardist John “Rabbit“ Bumh'it'k.
showed they ezm still tear the met
off— or what there is of it Hi the
World with the heat nt’them

Live viden feeds (m two large
screens provided pictures to the
masses «m the lawn. but the Visual
component proved llIlllt_‘(Tt‘SSi.tl'_'
from the seismie three and intensi-
ty of the npening set. featuring "I
Can‘t Explain." “Substitute" and
"Anyway. Anyhmx; Anywhere."
Entwistle zmil Starkey pt'nverl int
posing I‘hythmlt‘ hztlhist in 'l‘ewm
hend‘s massive |)()\t'l' (‘httl'tlS and
80105 i'ntit}')ieti- with the gliitzt»
t‘ist‘s patented wimi-tttm :mti ex-
tended rinset‘s

The t'tmtfet‘t lezmeil inward the

Orig.
ppbfitz

Photo fur the tribune by Warren Skalskt
Roger Daltrey (left) and Pete Townshend open The Who's U.S. tour
in a sonic blitz at the New World Music Theatre on Sunday.

tried and true, hut with classics like
“linhzt ()‘Riley." “(letting in Tune."
“Pinball Wizard" :md “Who 21,1"e
Yeti?" delivered with the kind of
high-m-tzme three and propulsion
the ()(t-smnething musicians still
t,tnmmzind. who‘s emnplaining‘.’ _

’i‘uwnshend‘s single guitar pro-
vided amazing range and sonic
weight. hut. as usual (It the World;
there wag an imerw pmpet‘titmef
whime tn clarity. Maybe the hand
prefers the strongly guitar- and
t‘hythm-let’i mix. hut ihtnih‘it‘k‘s

l v

94"

keylmzu‘iis were et'ten inaudible

(Hitl .spni-Lett illil‘lhiilcilttlls inde-
i‘iphet £1blt‘. { '

Despite the smite. dei'teietii‘ie.3..
Daltrey was in nmgnit‘ieent voice,
with mtteeuhtt' and remarkably
ynuthful. titllimdietl vocals (m “The
Real Me." “5:15," “Yeti Better You
Bet." :mti the eleset‘. “Won‘t Get
Fueled Again."

itintwistle‘s ntagieiingers huée
him) en “5:15“ was stunning and
'i‘mx'nahenu (HM lhtltt‘ey also mined

:i mee hit ut‘stumtzitimus meal emit

instrumental SUitt interplay in the

extended break ut ”Magic Bus."