Wednesday night i met up with my high school English teacher for dinner and a pint at The Black Rose, which is now the one and only bar I will go to in Faneuil Hall. He played the first song by The Who I had ever heard, The Kids Are Alright, and from then on I was hooked on the band. Anyway, during dinner he mentioned that he was going to L.A. to attend the concert. I of course, went nuts, because not only was he seeing the show, but he was also attending a pre-show reception where it was rumored that members of the band would be in attendance. So after seeing my excitement he goes, "well what are you doing this weekend. There's a woman on the website selling a ticket, and she's legit,". My reaction was something like, what? shut up, stop it, no, I can't, I'm broke, and so on and so on. After he headed back home, I went to IA and met up with Nick, Dan, and Trev, and we went to our usual place of business, Goody's. After a couple of rounds, I began consulting them on what I should do. They of course all agreed that I would hate myself if I turned down this opportunity. The next day, I texted Pete and said that I would take the ticket if it was still available.
I then spent the rest of the day on cloud 29 until, he called and said he couldn't get in touch with the seller. He said she wasn't responding to his emails, or his calls, and that it appeared as if she had sold the ticket, and that I was out of luck. BLURG!... so I went to Talia's and she had refreshments that helped take my mind off of the suspense. Then at about 11:45 P.M. he calls and says, "Nick, if you still want the ticket, it's yours. Book a flight,". OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG I immediately booked my flight to L.A.
This was the first performance of The Who I saw, on television, that hooked me:
This is also a performance with one member gone, Keith Moon, who died in 1978 from an overdose.
Anyway, I was off to L.A. I met Pete at the airport and his cousin picked us up. Tim is tall, wide, loud, Irish, and very funny. He took us to a bar and we had a few rounds, played a couple games of pool, and then stumbled out. I collapsed on an air mattress, and when I woke, Tim's wife was playing The Who on a cassette player! I was surrounded by Who-heads (as Jeremy once called me) and I could not have been happier. That day we spent picking up other members from the website, one of which, nicknamed CrazyHorse, was literally bat-shit crazy. His first topic of conversation, to a group of people he's really never met, was about the hooker he "almost broke" the night before. Very inappropes. We pick up one more Whooligan, and then went to Santa Monica Beach for about 30 seconds.
Next was the pre-show reception. Remember the rumor I told you about? Well, at 5 a guy comes to my table and explains to my group that a special guest was coming at 5:30, and that we were to not take pictures, ask for autographs, or bother this person at all in general. So I start to lose my mind. The admins from the website start giving speeches, and then suddenly they stop, I turn to look at the entrance, and there stands Pete Townshend. Song writer, and lead guitarist of The Who. A.K.A GOD ! This is the man behind blue eyes, creator of Tommy at age 21! AND HE WAS 7 INCHES AWAY FROM ME! Talk about a great way to get someone pumped for a Who concert. Ugh... it was so surreal.
After that enormous bonus, we headed to the Pauley Pavilion where I had a fantastic seat, 10 rows from the stage, on the floor. The concert included performances by Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Incubus, Tenacious D, and Pearl Jam. Foo Fighters covered Young Man Blues and Bargain. Flaming Lips did a great medley from Tommy. Incubus performed I Can See For Miles and I Can't Explain. Tenacious D, a last minute addition to the roster, performed Squeeze Box acoustically. It was Pearl Jam that really blew me away though. They performed Love, Reign O'er Me and The Real Me, from the album Quadrophenia. They had a small string section, and their performance contained so much passion, it was clear that they were the proudest to be at this event honoring the greatest rock band to ever live.
Finally The Who were introduced by Adam Sandler performing a parody of Magic Bus. Pete and Roger were on their game aside from some sound issues with their monitors. They performed Baba O'Riley, The Seeker, Who Are You, Behind Blue Eyes, 2000 Years, You Better You Bet, My Generation, Won't Get Fooled Again, and finally, Tea and Theatre. The Seeker will probably end up cut from the broadcast since Roger missed some lyrics. I could not believe how close I was to the band, and I was a happy little 21 year old Who fan sporting a green Who T-shirt worn under the classic black blazer.
After the euphoria of the concert and sort of meeting Pete Townshend, we went to an after party at The W hotel bar. We got to cut the long line, walk in with our VIP badges, AND drinks were free. So I had a couple $13 cocktails, and just soaked in this amazing, bizarre, spontaneous weekend.
Everyone that I met at the concert had either seen the band perform with Keith Moon, or at least with the late John Entwistle (bass). John died in 2002, and I saw The Who for the first time, live, in 2003. So my appreciation for Keith and John comes only from videos in documentaries. Although The Who only have Pete and Roger left, and they're both in their early 60's, they still rock like teenagers. The power of their music will never be quiet, no matter how old they get. If anything, it will get louder, since they can barely hear it to begin with.
Townshend brought rock and roll to such a higher intellectual level, and the way The Who interpreted his writing was nothing short of an explosive sound. The music has meant so much to me, particularly in my formidable years where I was really figuring out who I was, what I wanted, and what might make me happy. If you ever want some of their music, just ask, because I am always overly excited to recruit. Last night I gave Jeremy a few CDs, and then tried to hand him the documentary, The Kids Are Alright, and he pulled his hand away, and said, alright alright alright, that's enough. HA... anyway
I'll end this blog with a video of Tea and Theatre. A song from their new album Endless Wire. Pete and Roger now perform this song, acoustically, as the finale to their shows. It's their own tribute to 40 years of brilliance. Enjoy!
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