Last edited Sun Jan 3, 2021, 12:45 AM - Edit history (2)
Living in NYC w a great FM rock station at the time and some fun pop/rock AM stations previous meant if you wanted to (w some money needed) be in the thick of things!
The Who was the one band my suburban cousin told me about - '67 Who Sells Out. My parents wouldn't let me go seem them that year. But next year my dad drove me and a friend down to the bad ol' East Village to see he Filmore East so we could see them play Tommy. He sat in the car a block away.
The stage of was lit in purplish light with a elongated honey comb grid in front of a screen, the equipment silently glittering. One they came and started up with the older material which was cool. I'd already seen them 3xs in '68.
([I[In fact with all the political sorrow and strife of '68 I lost track of them. It was only - you'll like this - when I as a Volunteer for the re-election of John V Lindsey as Mayor of NYC a Liberal Republican,
I was up on a rubbish heap that we were cleaning so a church could build a playground for the poor neighborhood they served I found out about "Tommy"!
They launched into Tommy and it was glorious! Between the melodies, their playing, Roger's powerful singing with a touch of a plaintive voice when needed for the character, and their harmonizing, Pete's occasional lead - what more could you ask for!
We got with dramatic stage lights, and The Joshua Light Show throwing images into those honeycombed areas.
After that amazing experience they soon launched into their own extended version of My Generation- a burn of a song in general but added the instrumental break was this haunting, slightly ominous melody wafted, and powered through before returning to the MG vocals.
This a few years later would reveal itself to be Naked Eye!
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Who's Next Forrest Hills Tennis Stadium
Of course, it was incredible to hear the WN songs live! Especially the relatively shorter synthesizer tracks of Baba'Reily, and WGFA meeping against the regular instruments- wow! Between ?69 - 73 they were (imho) untouchable as a Live act.
There were two things that caught me (besides another incredible instrumental break in MG) - later in the show hearing the full Naked Eye (!!!) which would still take time to land on vinyl at the time with Odds n Sods, later to be included in the Double CD of WN.
But most haunting and beautiful came right after the opening "Love Ain't For Keeping" to me was the opening drum florish, and already familiar with many listenings were a set of simple chords that... lead into wait... could it be that plaintive vocal - the one that was sort of a coda that came after the last refrain of "the song is over..." : that now emerged as '... there once was a note pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling by...".
omg - it's a whole frikkin' full song!
See there was this modest little interview that was done with Peter in early 1970 in the NY Times titled: From Tommy to Bobby" a where we get the first inclination of the ambitious, but came apart vision/theme/future show of the "Lifehouse".
As someone who was/is Spiritual and loves Science Fiction this just blew me away. I've followed as much of it's story from which WN came out if it's (LH) collapse, plus Townshend's efforts to bring it forth in various forms later on.
To hear that live (twice, both FH shows) is still one of the Highlights of my R&R life.
There's a great little video synopsis of LH on You Tube called "The Greatest Album Never Made" I stumbled on a few weeks ago.
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MSG '79 (or it might have '76?)
(I only skip Quadrophrenia bc the time they arrived at MSG they'd had so much trouble with the longer backing tapes they only did a few numbers.)
In '79 I (I was almost always with my sis and various friends who were also Who fans) got to hear ""Let's See Action" live. Nearly fell out if my chair! Maybe The Relay, too.
Then at some point Pete went into the most amazing instrumental that literally ended up in stratospheric note, ever. I actually have (if not degraded into inaudibility) a cassette of it (yes, I was a master of sneaking my ?6" x 10" inch cassette recorder into shows!) If I find it someday, and it's audible I have to have it digitally converted!
(I also actually a very short recording of Hendrix from the 1stvNYC Anti Vietnam Peace Concert Fund raiser that I taped)
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(A quick note about '81 final Who tour)
The Clash were the 2nd Act (!)
At one point a piano softly started playing... just after a few notes I gasped and grabbed my sister's hand "It's ....IT'S (!!!)...
Then she realizes what it is and grabs my hand back.
It was our first time hearing "Love Reign O'er Me'.
1989 Giants Stadium
A bunch of Who fans really weren't happy with the horns and chorus they added for this tour. Ok, yeah, it was different but the core was almost all there.
The only time I was separated from my R&R compañeros for The Who. I couldn't afford to go but a few days before I was called in by one of my old jobs to fill in and I made enough money to get a Tix - they released extras I was partly behind a girder - I didn't care!
They played ? most of Tommy which was cool to hear again!
During a break (this was also when Pete played more acoustic bc of his hearing - but not always) my friends and sis came to get me! The seats next to them never filled in! So I got to be with them after all!
Emenince Front soared over the stadium! The best surprise was first time hearing "Too Much Of Anything" (possibly from LH) and on Odds & Sods, and the double WN CD.
The only downside of going to Giants Stadium is my friend always wants to leave before the show is over to get to his car in the parking lot. Ah, well, we the non- drivers don't get to choose. As we headed away from the venue we heard "Shaking All Over" blasting away!
(more tomorrow)
It's tomorrow 😁
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2015 Forest Hills
I never expected to be back at FH to see The Who again!
Well, this time I didn't see them ($$$) but I suuuure did
hear them!
I took this bus from one part of Queens to a whole other part of Queens. It was very warm but dry. After schelping several blocks I began to hear them. Part of Queens is more suburban but this area is still full of big apartment buildings.
So over this chock 'o block of buildings wafts (Stadium hidden from sight) the glorious sound of The Who. Sort of magically surreal! 💖 While I was expecting to stand the whole time I rounded a corner, and there was a small urban park - extra trees, shrubs, and... Benches!
I heard part of Tommy, Baba O'Riely, and to my astonishment Love Reign O'er Me. Powerful, and melodic Roger nailed it - 36 years after I first heard it live. V
It was quite a schelp back because the bus I'd taken that route was cut off bc of the show It was worth it all!
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MSG 2019
Last Sept 2020 my jaw nearly dropped to the ground
when I remembered or I got a fb 1 year memory prompt on my news feed that I'd seen The Who -only? - a year earlier - well time came to a crawl between drumph and cv19.
I figured this was probably the last time I'd ever see them, and my sis decided to join me.
I was thrilled. They did a great job A while bunch of Tommy. Before they came on there was a good opening act. Then in between they had all manner or photos through the decades, and I seen them through most, and my sis much so we rocked out together.
The song Grenfeld about that horrific apt building fire was powerfully intense. One of Pete's best, and fantastic to have it so late into his career and The Who playing and singing it.
They ended (I think) w Baba 'O and the extra joy besides th power was having a live violinist! A thrilling ending to a great show!
The powerful excellence of this band is what all other bands I fell in love with - while different, ended up being measured again.
💖Thanks to The Who! 💖
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