Roger Daltrey reigns o’er Niagara
As any longtime Who fan will tell you, the best concerts were always the ones that felt like they could fall apart at any second. A blown amp. A destroyed drum kit.
At their peak, The Who brought a volcanic energy to the stage that made every show unruly and unpredictable.
So it was amusing — and a bit old school — when an angry Roger Daltrey abruptly halted the show at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Monday night. He had been battling his earpiece all night, and it finally boiled over during the crescendo of Baba O’Riley. Not content to muff the ending, he barked orders to someone off stage while the band stood frozen.
“We’ll start it again!” he yelled, and his anger fuelled an even better Baba as the crowd roared in approval.
But the technical gaffes weren’t over yet. Just before the last song of the night, Daltrey’s keyboard player frantically tried getting his attention: All the instruments were suddenly without power.
“Everything’s gone off … they didn’t pay the electricity bill,” he joked. “I have to bid you good night. We can’t do any more.”
And then, as if delivered by a magic bus, there was power. Daltrey played a new ballad, Always Heading Home, and everyone headed home happy.
For every jaded fan tired of the polished, corporate-sounding Who of the past 30 years, it was a nice throwback. Screw-ups that made an intimate show feel more genuine, less scripted. If you’ve only seen Daltrey through binoculars at a stadium, seeing the 73-year-old icon this loose, and this close, may have been worth the $200 ticket.
The night’s off-the-cuff vibe started as Daltrey took the stage with tea cup in hand. “Good evening … who cares if it’s a Monday night?” He launched into the Tommy Overture, followed by a trio of Who classics — Pinball Wizard (complete with first
mic swing), I Can See For Miles and Behind Blue Eyes. All delivered with crispness and energy from a band that includes Pete Townshend’s brother Simon.
From there, Daltrey delivered what he promised at the start of the night: Choice solo stuff and nuggets The Who had never performed on stage before, including Athena and — amazingly enough — Going Mobile off of Who’s Next (“I don’t know why Pete wouldn’t sing this song on the road”).
Between the songs and the onstage banter, Townshend was a presence all night. Daltrey said he did his first solo album in 1973 for something to do while Townshend was busy writing Quadrophenia — “I don’t do well sitting on my ass” — and introduced Dreaming From the Waist as a song about a midlife crisis, “which Pete seemed to have at 31 years old.”
In fact, Daltrey’s brief solo tour, which continues with a second Fallsview show tonight, is basically a tune-up for the next (and likely last) Who tour. “If Pete wants to tour next year, I’ve got to keep the voice working,” he said.
But stadiums and arenas don’t offer what Fallsview could Monday night. Much like Steven Tyler’s show last year, it was a chance for a rock icon to relax a bit and mingle with fans in a cozy, 1,500-seat venue. It was perfectly suited for Daltrey’s storytelling and English charm between songs, which ravenous Who fans ate up.
He said Days of Light, off his 1992
solo album Rocks in the Head, was inspired by his four years as a sheet metal worker, which he quit to join a rock band (“Thank God that worked out!”). As for The Who’s notorious reputation for hotel room destruction, he said “they deserved smashing up because they were in desperate need of renovation.”
Among the biggest surprises is what Daltrey didn’t play — The Who’s trademark anthem Won’t Get Fooled Again. A strange omission, but then again, try doing that scream at 73. Even Daltrey has his limits.
It was a celebration with a melancholic note. Daltrey covered Blueberry Hill in honour of Fats Domino, who died Oct. 24, and with the sting of Tom Petty’s passing still fresh, this was a reminder to see these giants from rock’s golden era while we still can.
As Daltrey sang Monday — twice — “Let’s get together, before we get much older.”