I hear your my friend. You are right. Keith cannot be replaced. Nor can John. I get carried away when I see these guys. And I type too much. The 2/10 show in Vegas really was astonishing.
I just spent the weekend in Las Vegas. I attended, what was for me, Who concerts numbers 26 and 27. The Friday night show was wonderful; however it featured a couple of unfortunate events. Despite the repeated requests that came across the PA for people not to smoke, someone near the front lit up something. Roger has an extreme allergy to any kind of smoke. A magnificent trooper, Roger carried on, but he was certainly struggling. (Roger, if for some bizarre reason you read this, your voice that night was not that bad, and my God did you ever make up for it on Sunday!) In the thoughtless audience member’s defense, this was a rock concert in a Vegas casino, in a theater called “the Joint”. Hard not to be tempted to light up a fatty. Still no excuse, it was bad behavior.
The other unfortunate incident involved a collision between Pete’s hand and his whammy bar. Amazingly I was also in attendance on August 16th, 1989 in the Tacoma Dome when Pete suffered a similar, but more much more severe injury. Friday night he ran off stage and returned shortly. In 1989 he went to the emergency room.
I loved the Friday night show. The band is wonderful. The video montage was very well done. I especially appreciated the video during “The Rock” which included synchronization between some brief footage of 911 and the opening cords to “Love Reign O’er Me”. That was really excellent. Simon’s vocals, and guitar were great. The drummer filling in for Zak was really good I thought. I love Pino. He does a stellar job filling in for the legend.
As much as I enjoyed Friday, the Sunday show was beyond the realm of human comprehension. If it turns out to be my 27th and last Who concert, I will die happy. Roger’s voice was as good as I have EVER heard it. I’m talkin’ 1971 here. Of course when I saw the Who in ’71, I could have been under the influence of controlled substances, but regardless, Sunday night Roger’s voice was other worldly. Even Pete seemed to glance over at Roger in disbelief.
Pete fed off of Roger’s effort. Pete’s guitar and vocals were…the BEST I have ever seen. This was ”white overalls era guitar” caliber. We’re talkin’ 71, 73, four times in 76, etc. It was totally astonishing…and no, I was NOT under the influence of substances that might have caused unjustified enthusiasm. Pete was a man possessed. He was infected. He had problems. It was a serious panic situation. I was concerned for his well-being…and mine.
I met Pete once, on the second floor of a Barnes & Noble in Seattle when he was playing with Rachel the afternoon before a Who gig at Key Arena in Seattle in October 2006. Despite my rude interruption, he was cordial and very nice to me. Finishing up Sunday night with “Tea & Theatre”, I felt my life gathered into a wonderful continuum of beautiful music, joy, and peaceful acceptance. I think we have all aged quite nicely.
The concert was a reaffirmation of hope, a rejection of despair, a celebration of life, and an inspiration for the future. It was a nice show. At one point Pete screamed into the microphone, “I’m still alive!” Yes indeed Pete, you are certainly still alive. Because of another astonishing evening with the bloody ‘oo… so am I.
Pete has been known to do damage to his fingers and hand while playing onstage.
Tom Wright tells a story about Pete, early on back in the day during the first Who tour that Tom road-managed, in Tom’s book:
“RoadWork”.
I saw the Who in the late 80′s, where Pete speared his hand going wild on the whammy.
If I remember correctly, he played through the rest of the show in the stadium at New Jersey Meadowlands, while wrapped in a bloody hand bandage.
Went to the Who show at the Joint. Incredible show!!! A great time seeing Roger, Pete and the entire band rocking the place. Two hours of complete rock and roll.
13 Responses to The Who Rock The Joint
will never be the who,stop’t sept 78
I hear your my friend. You are right. Keith cannot be replaced. Nor can John. I get carried away when I see these guys. And I type too much. The 2/10 show in Vegas really was astonishing.
I just spent the weekend in Las Vegas. I attended, what was for me, Who concerts numbers 26 and 27. The Friday night show was wonderful; however it featured a couple of unfortunate events. Despite the repeated requests that came across the PA for people not to smoke, someone near the front lit up something. Roger has an extreme allergy to any kind of smoke. A magnificent trooper, Roger carried on, but he was certainly struggling. (Roger, if for some bizarre reason you read this, your voice that night was not that bad, and my God did you ever make up for it on Sunday!) In the thoughtless audience member’s defense, this was a rock concert in a Vegas casino, in a theater called “the Joint”. Hard not to be tempted to light up a fatty. Still no excuse, it was bad behavior.
The other unfortunate incident involved a collision between Pete’s hand and his whammy bar. Amazingly I was also in attendance on August 16th, 1989 in the Tacoma Dome when Pete suffered a similar, but more much more severe injury. Friday night he ran off stage and returned shortly. In 1989 he went to the emergency room.
I loved the Friday night show. The band is wonderful. The video montage was very well done. I especially appreciated the video during “The Rock” which included synchronization between some brief footage of 911 and the opening cords to “Love Reign O’er Me”. That was really excellent. Simon’s vocals, and guitar were great. The drummer filling in for Zak was really good I thought. I love Pino. He does a stellar job filling in for the legend.
As much as I enjoyed Friday, the Sunday show was beyond the realm of human comprehension. If it turns out to be my 27th and last Who concert, I will die happy. Roger’s voice was as good as I have EVER heard it. I’m talkin’ 1971 here. Of course when I saw the Who in ’71, I could have been under the influence of controlled substances, but regardless, Sunday night Roger’s voice was other worldly. Even Pete seemed to glance over at Roger in disbelief.
Pete fed off of Roger’s effort. Pete’s guitar and vocals were…the BEST I have ever seen. This was ”white overalls era guitar” caliber. We’re talkin’ 71, 73, four times in 76, etc. It was totally astonishing…and no, I was NOT under the influence of substances that might have caused unjustified enthusiasm. Pete was a man possessed. He was infected. He had problems. It was a serious panic situation. I was concerned for his well-being…and mine.
I met Pete once, on the second floor of a Barnes & Noble in Seattle when he was playing with Rachel the afternoon before a Who gig at Key Arena in Seattle in October 2006. Despite my rude interruption, he was cordial and very nice to me. Finishing up Sunday night with “Tea & Theatre”, I felt my life gathered into a wonderful continuum of beautiful music, joy, and peaceful acceptance. I think we have all aged quite nicely.
The concert was a reaffirmation of hope, a rejection of despair, a celebration of life, and an inspiration for the future. It was a nice show. At one point Pete screamed into the microphone, “I’m still alive!” Yes indeed Pete, you are certainly still alive. Because of another astonishing evening with the bloody ‘oo… so am I.
Pete has been known to do damage to his fingers and hand while playing onstage.
Tom Wright tells a story about Pete, early on back in the day during the first Who tour that Tom road-managed, in Tom’s book:
“RoadWork”.
I saw the Who in the late 80′s, where Pete speared his hand going wild on the whammy.
If I remember correctly, he played through the rest of the show in the stadium at New Jersey Meadowlands, while wrapped in a bloody hand bandage.
Went to the Who show at the Joint. Incredible show!!! A great time seeing Roger, Pete and the entire band rocking the place. Two hours of complete rock and roll.
june 15 02 will be rocked of its foundation nuff said
pete put the wammy bar through his hand in tacoma in 1989