I am sure it will be a good show...did it sellout?? What dates are they playing in NY?

i saw the who during their '96 quadrophenia tour. i thought it was good, but rog was a bit off tune a few songs. if you wanna hear how they're going to sound, get the cd or dvd 'live at the royal albert hall' (with noel!). it's exactly how they're going to sound, except with pino and unfortunately not john.

have fun, man...i'm sure you'll have!

REVIEW:

i just came back from the who concert. i've seen many concerts before, but this was the greatest i've ever been to, and probably the greatest i'll ever go to. pete and roger were electric, the crowd was electric, and the band and fans were just using each other's electricity (yes, i'll stop using 'electric' lol).

the concert started at the greatest pace i've ever seen. it started out with 'i can't explain', and went into 'anyway anyhow anywhere'. when you thought that wasn't good enough, they then played 'who are you', their greatest live version i've seen or heard via recordings, etc. 'behind blue eyes' was the next song, which was a much better version than the version heard on 'live at the royal albert hall' or 'the concert for new york city' (bassist john entwistle's last ever concert with the who before his death). 'baba o'riley' was the next song which just kicked serious ass.

then, the band started their mini quadrophenia set, starting with '5.15.', going into 'the punk and the godfather' (one of their best songs tonight) and ending with 'love, reign o'er me' (it wasn't their best version ever, but wasn't horrible either).

pete then introduced the band, which was longtime keyboardist john 'rabbit' bundrick, then pete's brother/backing guitarist simon, then bassist pino palladino (who did one hell of a job, he's definitely up there), and ending with zak starkey, their amazing drummer (and now oasis' as well).

pete took over for 2 songs, 'eminence front' and 'drowned', then roger and pete played an acoustic song together, NAKED EYE. then the rest of the band came out and played one of their 2 new songs, 'real good looking boy'. not the best song in the world, but sure beats the hell out of their post-keith moon albums. talking about post-moon albums, they then played 'you better you bet'.

then they played the song that needs no introduction, 'my generation'. it was another amazing version, as they always do. they went into a little peep from 'young man blues', which led right into their 2nd new song, 'old red wine'. one hell of a medley, right? (by the way, pino blew us all away with his solo in my generation)

then the greatest who song ever (in my opinion at least) was played to close the set. 'won't get fooled again.' it was THE song tonight. zak went crazy, and so did pete. windmills, jumps, just going wild.

after about a minute and a half, they all came back to play their usual 'tommy' encore, starting with 'pinball wizard', going into 'amazing journey/sparks' and ending with 'see me feel me/listening to you'. this was beyond words how amazing it was. then after a bit, pete said, "ok, one more. sing along, it's quite easy" everyone knew he meant 'magic bus'. the song went into a bit of a who jam (think of 'won't get fooled again') and ended with a bang. no, not literally.

one more thing, for all you people wondering: pete did NOT smash his guitar tonight.

one funny happening: during the end of "amazing journey" which went into sparks, roger started doing his microphone windmill, when it slipped out of his hand and went into the front row lol.

unbelievable concert. THIS is what music today needed- a kick in the ass and a fuck you to go with it. THAT is rock and roll.

SET LIST:
1. I Can't Explain
2. Substitute
3. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
4. Who Are You
5. Behind Blue Eyes
6. Baba O'Riley
7. 5'15
8. The Punk And The Godfather
9. Love, Reign O'er Me
(Band Introductions)
10. Eminence Front
11. Drowned (Pete acoustic solo)
12. NAKED EYE (Pete & Roger acoustic solo)
13. Real Good Looking Boy
14. You Better You Bet
15. My Generation / Young Man Blues / Old Red Wine
16. Won't Get Fooled Again
Encore 1:
17. Pinball Wizard
18. Amazing Journey / Sparks
19. See Me Feel Me / Listening To You
Encore 2:
20. Magic Bus

this was the review from petetownshend.co.uk's diary:

Sometimes in your life you just happen upon magical moments. Today I had planned to be in Cardiff to see my football team lose the FA Cup Final but instead I found myself in New York with the Who. I could write a lot about what happened on the stage at Madison Square Garden tonight but it wouldn't do justice to the band's performance so I'm going to sleep on it (after I've put some photos up) and return to it tomorow.

It's now tomorrow!! I've had a number of emails about last night's show saying how amazing, even transcedental, it was. I've seen the Who a lot, and sometimes it's easy to be nonchalant about it but something special did happen last night. Whenever I've written about this sort of thing before it's always the band / audience relationship that takes my attention but last night it was the Pete / Roger relationship that had me hooked. I can't put my finger on it as it's totally intangible, but something, don't know what, evolved last night.

We've heard talk of a new Who or Who Mk 2 and I think last night that transition kicked in, particularly I felt during the Roger / Pete acoustic version of Naked Eye. I told both Pete and Roger after the show that I felt something magical had happened and I don't know if they thought I was mad or what, but they both agreed it was a great evening.

So the short trip is over and I'd like to thank everyone, as always, who were so kind to me during the stay. I look forward to the rest of the year and beyond with a new excitement. New York always provides something new and never fails to amaze me (although the SWAT guys on the corner do the opposite!!) and last night it did both! Thanks.

Matt

what a set list! id pay alot of money to hear the who live. imagine what they would have been like in their prime.