The Who- North American Tour announced

Who Princess- I am disappointed we didn't get to meet! Where were you last night?

I posted this review from The Who's Denver show last night on the "Relayers" Who list. I thought I share on my other message boards:

Quadrophenia has always been my favorite piece of music, so this was a real treat. I thought it was generally performed quite well over 90 minutes. Five mainstream hits after Quad rounded out the evening, leaving Pete and Roger alone on the stage to do Tea & Theater. The near capacity crowd went home happy. We were in the third row.

For me a Who show always centered around Pete Townshend. I missed his usual amusing banter, but they had to keep charging forward during Quad. He didn't get a chance to "cut loose" on his guitar until the extended version of 5:15. Brother Simon helped with some of lead licks. Pete remains a powerful presence, and naturally the lighting and cameras followed Roger and Pete the most, but Pete didn't *dominate the stage* like I have become used to over the past 42 years. I understand he can't do the leaps like in the old days (plenty of windmills though!), but I missed the soloing. Both Who Are You and the end of Won't Get Fooled Again were opportunities to let it rip that he passed up. I would have traded Pinball Wizard for My Generation with Pete killing it. The music stand in front of Pete during Quad was annoying, I'm glad he got rid of it for the hits at the end.

Roger is war horse, generally strong in voice. He takes good care of it. He has been pissed during earlier shows about smoking, so the audience was repeatedly told by PA and on video screens to refrain from lighting up. He struggled with a few high notes, appearing visibly frustrated at one point. But compared to Bob Dylan whose croak is awful and embarrassing, he's a miracle. Attention Eddie Vedder: Stop with the smoking or you will be like Dylan before you are 55! The iconic mic twirling is still around. Roger still likes to show off the six pack abs doesn't he?

We were directly in front of Pino Palladino on bass, and I was underwhelmed. He wasn't high on the mix and his playing was constrained. I have watched Pino play in a power trio with John Meyer, so I know he is capable of more. Zak Starkey has an injured ligament in his forearm, so he's been absent the last few shows. His replacement is from Roger's touring band. He did quite well, but I missed Zak, whom I consider to be the best drummer in rock. Simon Townshend is pretty much a fixture and added a good performance. They had three people on keyboards but they added little substance. I anticipated wrongly that the synth parts would be live, but I don't think they were. A white-haired dude played the opening piano tinkles on Love Reign O'er Me, but he did his own thing- I didn't like it so much. You are lucky to be on the stage with these guys, play it right.

I was less impressed with the videos served on the six screens arrayed behind the band. My Wife and I were in the 3rd row, so the focus for us was directly on the band, but I don't think the videos helped the narrative of the Quad story much. Some of "Who Glory Days" stuff on the screen was a bit overly self-indulgent. The heavy tone and content of the videos during the Rock was a total Non Sequitur, was very distracting, and arguably ruined one of my favorite Quad segments. Recorded videos of John Entwhistle and Keith Moon were incorporated into Quad. It's a nice tribute, but borders on cheesy. I had a laugh thinking about Furthur similarly playing along to a Jerry Garcia video. Hah! Otherwise, if you weren't in the front, the screens showing band close-ups probably were a blessing.

Reading this over, it appears I am complaining too much. Let it be said, this is a worthwhile show.

Also don't miss the openers, Vintage Trouble. They are a 60's retro style band, very high energy. I felt sorry for the late arrivals.

Charles