Daltrey and Townshend rock in Sunday concert
“I hope I die before I get old,” Roger Daltrey famously declared nearly 60 years ago in The Who's defiant anthem “My Generation.” But he and guitarist Pete Townshend, who penned that lyric, are now nearing their 80s and likely disagree with that sentiment.
The Who Hits Back! is exactly what it says: a return to (most of) their biggest hits, along with a few other favorites. And, judging from the near-capacity crowd at Value City Arena last night, that's exactly what their fans want.
It's an older and mellower audience and, of course, an older and mellower Who than two generations ago. The infamous theatrics have toned down, as has the volume, but the defiant spirit is still there and the music still speaks for itself.
This is a band who needs to prove nothing more and can simply enjoy doing what they do best: being musicians.
Daltrey and Townshend were joined by a hardworking touring band who both supported them and let them command the stage. Also on stage was a full orchestra of mostly-local instrumentalists that provided depth and complexity where there used to be rowdiness and volume. The band has grown up over the decades, and so have the songs, and
that change isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Two things that have barely changed, though, are Townshend's guitar playing and Daltrey's voice.
Townshend's technique remains masterful and expressive. “I'm One” was beautifully packaged, the counterpoint of his vocals and guitar perfectly honed.
Daltrey's singing is eerily unchanged from decades ago, still full of subtle control and a range of inflection that other singers struggle to master. His delivery of “We're Not Gonna Take It,” the closing track of their rock opera "Tommy," got a standing ovation.
The orchestral arrangements were well-written, and the instrumentalists, led by the tour's musical director and conductor Keith Levenson, were a welcome addition to the songs. With them, “Eminence Front” was even more powerful than usual — heavier, almost hypnotic. By contrast, a trio of strings on the opening of “Behind Blue Eyes” was tender and exquisite (even though it was nearly drowned out by the audience singing).
It didn't end there. Most of the setlist included orchestra, and other songs, such as “Who Are You,” “Baba O'riley,” and “Join Together” benefited greatly from the additional texture and timbres.
The band also did a few songs without
orchestra: “Won't Get Fooled Again” (which, to no one's surprise, turned into a sing-along), “Another Tricky Day,” and a tightly constructed version of their blues-funk-rock classic “The Seeker.”
As the clock inched toward 21⁄2 hours on stage, Daltrey's voice began to check out intermittently. It wasn't surprising, given the difficulty of his vocal lines. After a decades-long career, though, one learns how to handle such situations, and every time he faltered, he recovered
within a few seconds.
The Who didn't include “My Generation” in last night's concert, but they did include the next best thing. They closed with the song that inspired it: Mose Allison's “Young Man Blues.”
“But you know, nowadays/it's the old man/he's got all the money/and a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days,” the song goes. And maybe that's the new twist on that old defiance.