Posted on 09/11/2019 7:06:25 AM PDT by mmichaels1970
Sometimes things not mentioned are worth mentioning. We see post after post of political rantings and anti-Trump blather from entertainers, musicians, etc., that put a damper or flat-out ruin what we'd hoped would be a good time.
I went to see The Who's "Moving On" concert yesterday and felt it was worth posting that there was not a SINGLE hint of anything political, anti-American, or anti-Trump anywhere throughout the event. We frequently repeat the mantra of "shut up and sing", and The Who did just that.
This post isn't meant to be a review of the show itself. You can like them or hate them. I just felt the need to put out there that there are still some events that can just be fun, without some underlying message.
It's kind of a shame that this would even be an issue that I would consider after a great night out. But with so many Hollywood/entertainment bash-fests day after day I really felt the need to give credit where credit is due and let you all know about it.
The Who are an enigma to me. I’m a bass player, and my all time favorite bass player is John Entwistle. I just really like his creating “lead bass” for that band. I don’t think Townsend is much of a guitar player, but he’s awesome to watch. Daultry is meh, but he knows how to swing a mic. And Moon...well, he was amazing.
But the bottom line is that I LOVE their music. The energy, the arrangements, etc. It’s just great stuff.
I remember when Tommy first came out. I played “overture” for my dad and he said, “boy, that drummer is really amazing”, or something like that. My dad has never been into music at all, yet even he noticed.
The first concert I ever saw was The Who in what is now the Key Arena in Seattle. This was around 1970. I’ll never forget it.
I missed John (saw him in ‘89). Never saw Keith (I was 8 when he died). John’s bass lines were certainly missed yesterday. A full orchestra really meshed well with the music. Pete was great. Roger still had a few high notes left in him. He hit one in Love Rain o’er Me (the second last high note while forgoing the last one). I didn’t think they would even try that song.
I loved watching a beautiful, formally dressed orchestral violin player hopping wildly about the stage during Baba O’Riley in their finale.
I tried to karaoke Riding the 5:15 once. What a disaster. :)
My favorite Who song. Possibly my favorite all-time song. The video where you see Pete sliding across the stage on his knees as Roger hits his scream, to me, is the epitome of Rock. It is pure joy summed up in one musical note.
They did that song fully acoustically yesterday which was about the only thing I was slightly disappointed with. I suppose they’re too old for the jumping and sliding. And they being the only two surviving original members, they kind of made it a song that just belonged to them and cut out the rest of the backups.
At the concert for 9/11, in which The Who blew the house away, a first responder handed Daltry a cap (I believe it was a NYFD cap).
Daltry handed it back to the guy, saying “I’m not worthy to wear this.”
If you’ve never seen “The Kids are Alright”, I highly recommend it. I have it on Blueray. It’s a documentary on The Who. It has a lot of special features. One of them is watching a “studio concert” in the movie, but listening only to the John Entwistle track. Pretty amazing, actually.
I think it’s free right now on either Netflix or Amazon Prime video.
They played the original woodstock at something like four in the morning, BTW. And they hated it.
When Daltrey does speak about politics (EU) he is worth listening to.
Sky News (@SkyNews) Tweeted:
The Who singer Roger Daltrey was not impressed when Sky News asked him about Brexit.
Read the full interview here: https://t.co/gqk91bKrzT https://t.co/fSW3Tfgk2v
Isn’t there now only half a Who?
I’ve been listening to The Who since the mid-1970s and I can’t even really say what Townshend’s politics are other than “eclectic” (like most of his other philosophical forays). I think he was pro-intervention post 9-11.
Daltrey is a pro-Brexit, anti-immigration conservative. They were both lower middle class guys who made money at a time when UK tax rates were brutal.
One of my favourite groups of all time. :)
I can karaoke Pinball Wizard ok, so I thought I’d get away with 5:15. Not even close.
Daulty really could hit the high stuff. My favorite superbowl half time show is the one they did a few years ago. It’s on youtube.
which means they’re conservative.
It’s not just music. I went to see Jim Gaffigan in late 2018 at Enterprise Center and he made a feint into Trump material. The silence of the audience prompted a retreat from that material. Astute. The next month when Sebastian Maniscalco came to town, he showed the wisdom to remain out of this type of “woke” act.
Boston and Blue Oyster Cult stayed away from that crap when we went to see them. Great show.
So much to like about The Who’s music and their concerts but the one thing I can do without is Pete’s extensive potty mouth riffraff between songs.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.