The Who hits 50!
In most cases, I like to spread out my events over time. Tonight is an exception to this rule.
In order to arrive at this evening , we have to go back to October 2014. After missing The Who’s tour the previous year where their 1973 album Quadrophenia was performed in its entirety, I wasn’t going to be denied again. I found out about this tour and its six stops in the NYC area. The two that topped my list were the May 30th 2015 show at Forest Hills Stadium and the October 27th show at MSG. I was at work the day the tickets went on sale. My lack of patience was the difference as to why I ended up at the latter concert and not the former. I had both pre sale codes but saw the one for MSG first. No matter, I had my ticket and looked forward to the night.
Flash forward to September 2015. I was looking forward to October 27th as it would be the last concert of the year and the last event before leaving for Spain. I would find out that the show would have to be postponed due to frontman Roger Daltrey’s viral meningitis. I was saddened as every other concert I’ve been to went on as planned. But I perked up knowing the concert would be rescheduled instead of cancelled. I wasn’t going to give up the ticket under any circumstances. And I was able to move my PTO day to the day after. As the saying goes,”good things come to those who wait “.
I was coming down from the high of Black Sabbath the previous Thursday night all week. But the wait for tonight gave me something to look forward to all week. The work day came to an end. But before heading back out, I stopped at home to drop off my bag so I would have an easier time going through security. This decision wasn’t without a drawback as I was scrambling to find somewhere to have dinner as my first idea of Stout NYC was overcrowded. After a quick dinner close to MSG, I arrived at the arena.
The opening act tonight needs no introduction, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. It was a spirited 45 minute set drawing from the best known material of her days as part of the Runaways and her solo material. It’s tough to top the opening triple of “Bad Reputation”, “Cherry Bomb” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me”. She would finish her set with “I Hate Myself for Loving You “, after throwing in “I Love Rock N’ Roll” for good measure. Her set proved that being a badass is a quality once picked up, it will always be there. Thirty minutes went by to let the performance sink in.
At 8:45PM, the lights went out and the words “Keep Calm, Here Comes The Who” appeared on the screen. That was the launching point for the opening song, a blistering “Who Are You “. The opening song was the first sign of a good night to come. The set list of twenty one songs encompassed most of the band’s 50 year history from their debut album with “My Generation” through to “Eminence Front” and all points in between. The highlight of my night came during the Quadrophenia portion of the set with a powerful performance of “Love Reign O’er Me” and a well deserved standing ovation from the crowd. If the start of the night was thrilling, the ending was pure bliss in the form of “Baba O’ Reily” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. With those two songs at the end of the set, an encore would be considered anticlimactic.
Alas, another night of bliss comes to an end. It was worth waiting a year and three months for this night. Thursday night is now Friday morning and the feeling of snow lingers in the air. It’s only the start of a busy remainder of March. The kid will be alright.
