The Who at The Royal Albert Hall

The Who last night wrapped up this year's series of Teenage Cancer Trust charity shows at London's Royal Albert Hall with a performance of the album, Quadrophenia. Here is a link to all of the songs which were posted on YouTube. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was a surprise guest at the show, as was Kasabian singer Tom Meighan. Additionally, there was a brass and string section.

This is the 1oth anniversary of the benefit, which is headed up by Roger Daltrey, and so there were 10 shows. The Who did the final show, but the other concerts featured some good performers as well, such as Noel Gallagher and Them Crooked Vultures, among others.

So far the Quadrophenia concert has received favorable reviews. The U.K.'s Times Online had this to say:

"Daltrey sang with his emphatic touch, while Townshend played acoustic and electric guitar with a combination of finesse and aggression."

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone raved about Townshend in their review:

"His playing was virtuosic, moving, on “5:15″ between bluesy licks, shredding solos and savage power chords, but also, more crucially, fueled by an enduring rage. The climactic one-two punch of “The Rock” and “Love Reign O’er Me” was drama worthy of this storied, 19th century venue."

Going into last night there was talk of the band touring Quadrophenia this fall. We'll see. The main issue is Pete's hearing. As you can see from the photo below, drummer Zak Starkey's set is enclosed by plexiglass, however, that was done during Roger's solo tour, as well. Incidentally, Starkey isn't using the cool bullseye cymbals he used at the Super Bowl, perhaps the N.F.L. trademarked them? Anyway, Pete was reportedly going to test out a new device last night for his hearing. Hopefully, things worked out fine. But I think Townshend had an idea ahead of time that it was not going to be an issue. I suspect the band will be announcing a tour similar to what they did in 2002; 20-25 dates in the U.S. in late summer and early fall. I don't think Pete wants to do a long tour like they did in 2006-2007.

Pete Townshend Interview in Premier Guitar Magazine

Always a great interview, Pete Townshend doesn't disappoint in Premier Guitar Magazine here, or does he? When asked about the future Townshend states that there are no plans for a tour at the moment and also discusses his latest project:

"Floss is not a new Who album. It is a musical play. Some of the music might work for Roger and me; I am still working on it. I reckon I have another year to go writing."

Townshend also talks about his hearing:

"I don’t use in-ears on stage. Not yet. I have just been introduced to a new microprocessor- controlled system with three transducers in each ear. They sound amazing. But the Chinese might hack into my gig… I have started wearing hearing aids in the past months. The new ones are incredible. Tiny. The only way to protect my hearing would be to stop playing music. I get the most problems from long periods of studio work, which is how I compose. So I am nervous about the future right now."

For me, Pete has given more than enough already and anything he does going forward is gravy. What's most important is that he takes care of his hearing, which he appears to be doing.

Pete Townshend and The Grateful Dead

I came across this video recently of Pete Townshend jamming in 1981 on a couple of songs with the Grateful Dead.

This reminds me of a story Roger Daltrey told once of a jam session that broke out under the stage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Daltrey claims that Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Mama Cass, George Harrison, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and Janis Joplin - he mentioned a few others but I can't remember who at the moment - were jamming away to an extended version of "Sgt. Pepper."

Pete denied the session ever took place. Perhaps he really doesn’t remember due to some drugs taken that weekend or maybe it’s because Townshend loves to needle Roger. If such a session did take place, what a shame that there is no film of it.

The Who Live In Boston DVD

I recently used a gift card that I got for Christmas to pick up The Who Live in Boston DVD. This was the final show of their 2002 summer tour in which the band played about 20 or so concerts. On the eve of the tour, bassist John Entwistle died at the age of 57. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey made the difficult decision to go on with the tour. The DVD includes interviews with both Pete and Roger.

Daltrey explains that one of the main reasons they decided to go on with the tour was because it was completely sold out and when they began thinking about all of the people that were working on the tour, it numbered in the hundreds.

Townshend talked about his relationship with Entwistle which dated back to when they were 11 years old. He also compared and contrasted Keith Moon and Zak Starkey.

The DVD also includes some of Entwistle’s drawings of Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Elton John and others. Now onto the concert...

Pino Palladino (picture far left) was tapped to play bass. Pino had played with Townshend on many of his solo shows and also is part of the John Mayer Trio. His bass playing is good, but very different from the great Entwistle. Zak Starkey manned the drums; Pete's kid brother Simon (pictured next to Pino) played extra guitar and sung backing vocals; while John "Rabbit" Bundrick (pictured to the left of Pete) was on keyboard.

Interesting, when Keith Moon died, The Who brought in a new drummer and added a keyboardist. When "The Ox" passed, the band had to not only bring in a bass player but an extra guitar. No doubt a testament to the greatness of Moon and 'Wistle.

The band played a setlist that touched all of their albums and put on a blistering performance of "Amazing Journey/Sparks" which has to rival anything they did during their halcyon years. Daltrey also delivered an incredibly potent and emotional rendition of "Love Reign O’er Me."

This DVD reminded me of when I saw the band on that tour in August 2002 at Madison Square Garden, where incidentally I ran into Lenny Kravitz in the audience (I never realized how tall he was). I still have the t-shirt from that tour.

Anyway, I heard about this DVD on The Who’s message board and I’m glad I did. Definitely two thumbs up.

Here is the setlist:
•I Can't Explain
•Substitute
•Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
•Who Are You
•Another Tricky Day
•Relay
•Bargain
•Baba O'Riley
•Sea and Sand
•5:15
•Love Reign O'er Me
•Eminence Front
•Behind Blue Eyes
•You Better You Bet
•The Kids Are Alright
•My Generation
•Won't Get Fooled Again
•Pinball Wizard
•Amazing Journey/Sparks
•See Me Feel Me
•Listening to You

Daltrey Touring With Clapton

A few other Who items....

Roger Daltrey and Eric Clapton hit the road starting tonight in Pittsburgh for a bunch of shows. From what I gather it will be a similar format to the one used by Clapton and Jeff Beck at their recent shows. A solo set by each performer and then the two team up to close out the concert.

Daltrey told a radio station that he was interested in getting Liam Gallagher for this year's set of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at the Royal Albert Hall but that Liam had another engagement that night. This led to a couple of media outlets to report that Gallagher snubbed The Who. So much for responsible reporting.

The annual benefit celebrates it's 10th anniversary this year and Daltrey has lined up some pretty good performers. Depeche Mode, Them Crooked Vultures, Noel Gallagher and others are slated to perform at the series of concerts which take place next month.

The Who News

Plenty going on in the world of The Who lately. First, Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone that his tinnitus has been bother him quite a bit lately and that if it keeps up they are done with touring. At the same time Roger Daltrey was asked by an interviewer what is left for him to do and Roger said he would like to revisit his blues roots and make an album with Jimmy Page. So take the two stories and the press has gone wild with speculation. Whatever. Pete Townshend clarified what the status is with his hearing on his blog:

“I am writing some more songs, testing out some studio and stage in-ear monitor systems, and wearing a Phonak hearing aid almost all the rest of the time. I feel as though I've been reborn in some ways. Not everything I hear is worth hearing, but at least I don't have to turn the TV down in order to tell everyone in the room that what they are watching is rubbish.”

Apparently Neil Young’s guitarist recommended a hearing device that Pete will test out at The Who’s Teenage Cancer Trust show on March 30. On that occasion the band will be performing Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall.

Pete had more to say:

“Thanks everyone who stood by me during the Super Bowl (especially Roger as always), and to everyone who has emailed to say how much they enjoyed the half-time stint. The hat I wore, that was popular with some-but not all-of our fans, contains some ancient technology that helps me hear myself better on stage. It's called, the BRIM.”

As far as a Daltrey-Page CD, I took it as Roger just thinking out loud. But we'll see. By the way, Daltrey and Page both share the same management.

The Who Rock The Super Bowl

The Who delivered a very enjoyable performance at this past Sunday's Super Bowl. I've looked at several reviews such as Rolling Stone and MTV.com which were favorable. But the reviews that matter the most are those of the fans. TheWho.com's message board was favorable and the folks over at the Pete Townshend message board, The Shout, liked it as well. Who fans are the harshest critics of the band, but the majority of comments that I have read found the show enjoyable.

What’s different about this year is that The Who aren’t promoting anything. Past Super Bowl performers have had a new album or tour. The Who may have a tour later in the year and Pete Townshend is writing music which may or may not end up as a Who album, but that also will not be until later in the year or 2011.

I was glad to see drummer Zak Starkey get quite a bit of recognition. Incidentally, his father Ringo Starr got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday.

Roger Daltrey was not in love with doing the Super Bowl and said it was weird to play a quick 12 minute set. Pete Townshend on the other hand said he liked it and got an appreciation for how big the Super Bowl is.

So far sales have spiked for The Who on iTunes and the like, which has been the case for past Super Bowl performers, who don't get paid to play at the event.