Fool me twice - won't get fooled again

The Who - Monday, November 3rd - Verizon Center $120

I never thought I would see The Who in concert. When I first embraced their music as a youngster, the three surviving members had officially disbanded and were well on their way to middle agedom with all of their influential work behind them.

I was a sophomore in high school during The Kids Are Alright tour in 1989 - neither savvy enough nor in possesion of a credit card to score a ticket. I likewise missed their Quadrophenia tour in the mid 90s, and was unwilling to deal with last year's Virgin Festival.

With one foot in my own middle agedom, but with decent credit, I finally came to my senses in July of this year, vowing to see The Who before anyone else died (myself included).

I was trying to keep my expectations low for Monday night. This isn't your father's Who. Half of them are gone, so is Townshend's hair, and after watching the abysmal Rolling Stones live film, Shine a Light, the thought of a mediocre show was looming large in my mind. Jimbromski wasn't helping either. Here's a bit from an email he sent hours before the show, suggesting that Daltrey was going to choke, literally.

yeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh we don't get fooolllleeeddd agaaaaaaiiiiinnn-COUGH-COUGH-COUGH-HACK-shoobie-doo-waa, doobie doo

Daltrey can't hit the high notes anymore. But that's not what I wanted to hear anyhow. Here's how it actually went down.

Obviously the video isn't high quality, but The Who were. I think Jimbromski was just bitter that he didn't have a ticket for the show. sacklunch and I were close enough to see Townshend's windmills, and Daltrey reeling in his microphone, and it didn't cost us $200/ticket. It was a little odd (though not surprising) to find ourselves adrift in a sea of 60-year-old dudes. I half-expected my ticket would read, "Flomax presents: The Who - Nov. 3rd @ Verizon Center."
And going from smaller shows at the Black Cat to a large arena show takes some adjusting, but I was comforted to see a familiar figure occupying the same spot he takes up at the 9:30 club.

Rob Corddry loves to dance

A bunch of us got together on Saturday night to watch Quadrophenia, in preparation for this show. The film was so moving, Jimbromski jumped on eBay and secured himself one of those green rain coats the Mods wore while riding their scooters.

Duh-cut took in a bit of the film with us and reminded me of his ingenius plan for the ultimate nostalgia super group. His idea: take Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and Ringo Starr, put them together on tour (you have a bassist, a guitarist, a singer, and a drummer - a complete band), and they just happen to be the remaining members of the Beatles and The Who. They can play songs from both catalogs, or even combine the two in some cases (Won't Get Fooled on The Hill Again; Who Do You Love Me Do; Getting Better, You Better, You Bet; etc). It really is genius.

I was particularly excited to hear The Who play The Seeker. And they played it second. Yeah! Alright! ... Okay.... That was quick. No matter, they kept the hits coming, and I couldn't have been more excited.

Here's the set list as far as I could decipher:

• Can't Explain
• The Seeker
• Relay - (both sacklunch and I were expecting this to morph into Eminence Front. it didn't)
• Fragments
• Who Are You
• Behind Blue Eyes
• Real Good Looking Boy
• Sister Disco
• Baba O'Riley
• Getting In Tune
• Eminence Front
• 5:15 (I thought I smelled pot during this one. Noteworthy for the crowd and venue.)
• Love, Reign O'er Me
• Won't Get Fooled Again
• My Generation
• ?? (bathroom break - I heard a guy puking in a stall behind me - arena rock inspires vomiting)
• Naked Eye
• Pinball Wizard
• See Me, Feel Me
• Tea and Theatre

Fantastic. Honestly. Except for Real Good Looking Boy, which is a super ghey song, but I can live with it. Like I said, I never thought I would actually see The Who in concert, and now I have. And it wasn't a watered down version. They rocked like it was 1972. Okay, maybe not 1972, they didn't break anything. But they didn't hold back at all and Daltrey was most impressive.

Wow. I'm all worked up now. It's been quite a week. Monday: The Who. Tuesday: Oback Barama.

Where am I and what year is it again?

The Who's your Daddy... rolling stone

July 29, 2008

It's Tuesday and time to pick a clip from YouTube to ponder.

Now, I want to be clear about one thing. I don't know shit about YouTube. I'll give you two quick examples of what I mean (as if it wasn't already apparent).

First, this "YouTubesday" bit is anything but original. I'm not ripping off anyone else's idea deliberately (like a hundred other jackasses, it came to me all on my own - check out the big brain on Potsy), but there are plenty of other blogfolk who have done this same thing. But no matter, I'll march down the well beaten path.

Example two: I literally learned of this RickRolling thing just this past Thursday. I confess that it was a bikini clad woman that led me astray. But it was while I was doing research for this post. So you see? I learned something already.

I'm exceedingly good at wasting time, but rarely does it involve clicking through YouTube videos. But that's all about to change. I'm about to waste endless hours - all for my own personal entertainment/education/lack of significant other, child, or pet.

We'll start simply this week. My selection for YouTubesday is in celebration of The Who and their November 3rd concert at the Verizon Center (for which tix went on sale to the general public this past week). Rock Club is about rock, not just about the indie band scene, and I want to see The Who in concert before any more of them die. Or before I do.

This is a cover of Derek Martin's 1954 record.

Will they live up to my expectations? I'm trying to keep my expectations relatively low, but no doubt I'll have ants in my pants by November 2nd. Which reminds me... I wish this concert were a day earlier. It'd give me a good reason to wear this shirt again...