The Who: Pillars Of Rock 'N' Roll Solid As Ever
- Samantha Blovits
- Jun 1, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 2, 2019
On May, 28th, 2019, The Who rolled into Detroit for one of their last shows of the "Moving On" tour. Along with them came opening band Arkells, hailing from Canada, and an orchestra ensemble made up musicians from the Detroit area.
I have been very lucky to have caught The Who, in some form, live three times prior; once in 2012 for their Quadrophenia tour and again in 2016 for their 50th Anniversary tour. To be quite honest, I was not confident that they would ever return to the road again, but Roger Daltrey surprised many by touring solo in the summer of 2017 to play the album Tommy in its entirety, backed by various orchestras across the country.
Reunited with Who guitarist and mastermind songwriter, Pete Townshend, the two remaining members of The Who set out on their "Moving On" tour to prove they could still stand toe to toe with upcoming bands who have their sights on achieving rock royalty. Townshend (age 74) and Daltrey (age 75) are very aware of the physical limits of growing old on stage, but have managed to gracefully adapt into elder rock statesmen. "Hope I die before I get old" really didn't pan out for them, which I for one am very thankful for.
Arkells kicked off the gig with an energetic half an hour set, jam packed full of anthem ready singles and charismatic dancing from frontman Max Kerman, who was sporting a leather jacket with rainbow colored fringe. I have actually been a fan of the band for years and previously hadn't found the opportunity to catch them live, so I was ecstatic when I discovered they were opening. Now a seasoned touring band, Arkells managed to win over the resistant older Who crowd, or at least those who actually arrived at their seats on time.
By the time The Who entered the stage, most of the seats had been filled and the crowd was rowdy with anticipation. Little Caesar's Arena was the biggest venue the band had played in Detroit for a decent amount of time, usually frequenting Joe Louis Arena, which was recently retired as a venue. Although The Who didn't sell out the show, from what I could see, it was pretty close.
No fancy introduction. No gimmicks. Out walked the band with the stage lights on. The band's Keith Moon replacement drummer for the last nineteen years, Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), ran on stage to a roar of approval. It takes about one minute of watching this guy play to realize that he is maybe one of the only drummers out there with the chops to keep up with Moon's drumming style. This makes obvious sense once you learn that Starkey is the godson of the late Who drummer and caught on to his drumming expertise at a very young age.
Last on stage walked out Daltrey followed by Townshend and the audience rose to their feet in a chorus of cheers. A couple of waves and a quick "thank you" from Pete and the band launched into a relatively long set of uninterrupted songs, playing the first five songs off of Tommy without stopping to give the band, or the audience, a second to catch their breath. During the album's overture, the orchestra soared through the familiar melodies and brought a new warmth and richness to the rock opera. I'm pretty positive that this is how Townshend would have preferred these songs to be performed from the very second he composed them.
Six songs into the set, Townshend strummed the famous opening riff of "Pinball Wizard" and the crowd jumped to their feet once again. This was the first song the band played that everyone should know the words to, and fans were ready to lend their voices. "We're Not Gonna Take It", the album closer, followed next to complete the SparksNotes version of Tommy. Daltrey belted out the iconic end chorus: "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me", harking back to their legendary performance of the song at Woodstock in 1969.
After the Tommy section of the show, the band segued into an assortment of hits ranging from "Substitute" off the band's 1965 debut album, to the radio hit "Eminence Front", which first shot to popularity in 1982. This portion of the concert truly showcased the depth of The Who's catalogue and the growth in their core sound from the early days as a wannabe R&B group to classic rock icons.
Daltrey was in authentic microphone swinging form and Townshend satisfied the crowd with consistent windmills, also still managing to leap into the air to finish most songs. The two of them, Daltrey especially, have managed to stay in impressive shape over the years. I am not aware of any other guitarists in their mid-70's who still have as much energy as Townshend displays on stage, and it is truthful to say that he is technically a more skilled guitarist now than when he was when he was creating some of the most iconic riffs in history.
Possibly my favorite moment of the show came when Townshend transitioned from his signature Stratocaster to an acoustic guitar. Accompanied by just a cellist and violinist for the first song, The Who performed acoustic versions of "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"; arguably their two biggest releases. The stark difference between the acoustic version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" in comparison to the original composition hinted at how much the Englishmen performing the tune had changed as well. It was far less aggressive and poignant than the studio version, but more refined and tinged with the bittersweet feeling of a goodbye.
The last chunk of the concert was devoted to the band's 1973 release, Quadrophenia, (which in my opinion is the real masterpiece amongst their discography). Similarly to how they opened the show with Tommy, the band roared through seven songs from the concept album, including two songs with Townshend singing lead to rest Daltrey's voice for the extremely strenuous vocal finale.
"I really fucking hate this, y'know..." Townshend joked when he was left alone on stage with only an acoustic guitar, "I'm just really good at it."
With about 15 minutes of vocal rest, Daltrey appeared back on stage, standing stoically front and center as the piano chimed in to commence Quadrophenia's dramatic finish: "Love Reign O'er Me". There is no question that the vocal performance given during this song is Daltrey's shining moment every evening. He growls and belts out the chorus with a primal passion that is difficult to replicate. As the song approached its climactic end, you could hear the sound of 15,000 people holding their breath as the last iconic scream drew near.
Could he still do it? Is he going to hit the note?
Daltrey took a moment to take a large sip of water, tilted his head up to spit it out into the air in a mist, then let out the most messianic, goosebump inducing, and definitive sounding rock and roll scream there ever was. One can assume, the water was to lubricate his throat momentarily, as one can definitely shred their vocal cords singing at that level of uninhibitedness. Daltrey's voice has clearly aged over the years, developing a deeper, rougher tone, but if you had closed your eyes in that moment there was no telling if you were in the year 1975 or 2019. The crowd, half in a state of stunned awe, roared in approval.
The Who ended the evening as only they know how. The synth intro of "Baba O'Riley" filled the arena, surrounding and enveloping listeners. Dun da dun dun. Dun da dun dun. Here come the drums. Starkey banged on the cymbals triumphantly as Daltrey swung his microphone in a large arc beside him one more time. Townshend held his pick in his hand far above his head, standing erect, before quickly swinging his arm down in a windmill motion to strike the guitar with a snarl on his face.
"Don't cry/Don't raise your eye/It's only teenage wasteland," howled Townshend, during the bridge.
Violinist Katie Jacoby walked out to center stage to lend her skills to the songs outro, jumping around with Townshend while playing, as the tempo continuously quickened. The song came to an abrupt, but triumphant end and the band took their bows. Humble thank you's were said, and then the band was gone, maybe to never return to the stage in Detroit again.
Yes, there are other classic rock musicians still touring, ie. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, and others. I will say this, none of them seem to hold a candle to the poignancy and relevancy The Who still manage to carry themselves with in a world where their songs are nearing 50 years old. The passion and physicality Daltrey and Townshend pour into their performances should be an inspiration to musicians of any age.
The very first rockstars are beginning to hit an unprecedented age, and I feel very lucky to be living in a world were Pete Townshend is still making music. Often, we idolize artists who died far too young, or sadly ended their own lives. Many of my heroes are the ones who didn't give up, who survived struggles, and learned from them. Nothing is more punk than beating your demons and growing old out of spite. I try not to think too hard about how much I will miss their presence when they are no longer here, but I look forward to handing down my records to the generations below me; to offer them solace in Townshend's writing, just as it was gifted to me.
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