SEE THEM! FEEL THEM!
There was a moment last night during The Who's performance at Madison Square Garden where Pete Townshend seemed lost. I don't mean "Hey, where am I?" lost. I mean, "Don't bother me, I'm in a zone," lost. It was during the guitar break in the classic "Won't Get Fooled Again." There he was, jabbing at his guitar, windmilling like it was Leeds, 1969. The band rocking louder, harder, and faster than I can remember. The crowd is out of control. And there's Pete, all 60 plus years of him, playing like it was his first gig. He was in such a zone, he missed the bridge.
Roger Daltrey was all ready to sing, "I'll move myself and my family aside..." but Townshend and the rest of the band kept playing. They were...well...jamming. Then, the ultimate dis! Daltrey looked back at drummer, Ringo's son Zak Starkey with a disgusted look while pointing at Townshend, as if to say, "It's him! Not me f**king up!" That middle 8 didn't quite get heard. But it didn't matter. The Who were on fire.
Ya know Rog, maybe they run a tighter ship on the set of "A Christmas Carol," but this is rock 'n' roll. Long live it! How dare you show up your longtime friend and bandmate? Pete was having fun. Pete was inspired. Pete writes all the songs that you sing. NO POINTING!
There are many out there who gave up on The Who when Keith Moon died. I was one of them. I did see them again in 1989. I don't remember the show, just that fantastic "Maximum R&B" t-shirt, that I bought and still have. Saw them again in the early 90's perform "Quadrophenia," with then newcomer Starkey on drums. I was not impressed. My friend and I walked out, citing Starkey as the reason. "He ain't Keith Moon." Well, who is?
It is now almost 15 years later, and Zak Starkey drives this band. It is hard to take your eyes off of him. For the love of rock 'n' roll, and because you never know, this really could be the last Who tour, GO SEE THEM! This is no nostalgia act. This is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and this performance will never let you forget that.
posted by NYCD Online @ 5:26 AM
6 Comments:
Good on you for namechecking A Christmas Carol. No one who stars in that can point fingers at someone during a rock concert. Were your seats good?
They were on that ridiculous border that goes from $250 to $130. The poor shlub sitting to my right, paid $120 more than I did. Section 87. Pretty damn good.
sal you never fail to crack me up!
in "A Christmas Carol" -- is roger daltrey "scrooge"?
I assume it was Sal too, but we never know do we, thanks to the anonymous group postings of NYCD.... Of course, the Don Ho postings really are Tony.
i coulda sworn it was tony posting, he's such a fan of dinorock
We stopped mentioning who writes each post because we figured all you die-hard NYCD fans would be able to tell by now, but just in case... most of the outraged posts concerning rock legends of the '70s are by Sal, and most of the posts concerning artists who wear either tuxedos or Hawaiian shirts onstage are by Tony.
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