The band pulled off a stunning performance, but it was clear to me from the start that this show was not simply another stop on the tour for them, but a wake of sorts. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were clearly haunted by thoughts of their lost friend throughout the show. While the whole band worked themselves into a frenzy, the furious performance that night, in retrospect, was a sort of exorcism. Roger pushed his voice to its limits and Pete's trademark windmilling at his guitar was just a little bit more intense. Pete improvised upon the new middle section of "The Kids Are Alright," and it was clear as he approached the section that his emotions were very nearly getting the best of him. "I met this guy . . . he had a horn . . . he became a bassist . . . I tell you that man he was a face . . . he was dressed like a clean fine fellow man. He gave me his hand, I joined his band. We were just eleven years old." Roger, clearly choked up, took his segment, and Pete followed this up by an equally emotional, but simple, solo. As the song drew to a close, it was almost as if the band was confronting his ghost in that very room. During "Amazing Journey," Daltrey improvised, tossing in a reference from Tommy clearly in memory of John - "Captain Walker never came home - and we never expect to see him again." Amazing jouney it was, and with this show The Who seemed to cast off the shadow of Entwistle's passing, but not as if to ignore his presence in the band. No, the Las Vegas show served as the moment when Pete and Roger could come back and tie up the loose ends, and bid farewell - summed up with a quick, away-from-microphone yell from Pete of "See ya, John!"
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
1 - Temple A. Stark
OK That's just scary. It'sa been a year !!!!!!!!
I saw The Who about a week later at the Gorge at George in Washington state.
The good pics and commentary are here.
2 - Tom Johnson
Those early shows must have been very emotional for the band and fans. I can't imagine having seen them literally just days after John's death. Pino Palladino's one of the absolute best bassists in the world, but having someone else stage-right must have been very difficult for those long-time fans, the ones who were there for the Keith Moon days, to handle.
I don't know whether you're interested or not, but you can order a copy of the show you saw. A bit pricey, but a great keep-sake. I actually forked out the cash for FOUR of these shows (for the few "rarities" they played at various shows.)
3 - Eric Olsen
Therer is nothing wrong with carrying on, but I think they should call it something else to acknowledge the importance of the missing half of the band, and they were a real band where the sum was far greater than the parts.
I am also still really pissed at John for being such a dumbass at such an advanced age.
4 - Temple A. Stark
$16 isn't pricey. No way. And I am a little disappointed - I thought you were talking about the Gorge show. :)
Oops - nevermind 16 pounds sterling IS "a bit pricey"
5 - Temple A. Stark
I didn't even scroll down - I didn't even think they wold bother - but, yep, The Gorge concert is there.
Thanks for getting me there.
6 - Tom Johnson
Eric: I too would probably rather see the future works be issued under something else, maybe just under their own names. In fact, that might be a better suggestion, since they wouldn't have the weight of The Who's legacy on them. They'd be free to perform whatever they wanted live - it wouldn't have to be a greatest hits show like any Who show is likely to be now. Given Pete's stubborn personality, I doubt it's likely anything they do will be called anything but The Who. But, like I said, I think that what they come up with might just live up to the moniker. Pete's got a lot of demons to work through after the past year . . .