Friday, March 16, 2007

THE WHO ON TOUR 2007

REVIEWS BY MY BROTHER AND I FOR.........




NASSAU VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM UNIONDALE NY 3/11/07

I Can't Explain The Seeker Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere Fragments Who Are You Behind Blue Eyes Real Good Looking Boy Sound Round Pick Up The Peace Endless Wire We Got A Hit They Made My Dreams Come True Mirror Door Baba O' Riley Eminence Front Man In The Purple Dress Black Widows Eyes You Better You Bet My Generation / Cry If You WantWon't Get Fooled Again
Encore:Pinball Wizard Amazing Journey Sparks See Me Feel Me Listening To You Tea and Theatre

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Review by Mike Starcke

Just now got home from the long roadtrip from Florida to New York and back hitting up four shows. Well, actually 3 shows and one cancellation!! That's another story for another time haha! Poor Rog. I'm beat but I will take this short time to write a little review of the Long Island gig in Uniondale NY.

Arrived at the Marriot Hotel which sits on the lot of the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale NY on Long Island on March 10th at approximately 3pm.This is an off/travel day for The Who so after we check in and head down to the bar which is in the lobby area of the hotel called Champions and have a few beers we then head off to the watch the NY Islanders defeats the Washington Capitals 5-2 at the Nassau Coliseum where the Who will play the very next night. So it was a good start for my bro and I on Long Island. The day of the show March 11th my brother, our buddies and I head down to Champions again for the Who pre-show party where we meet alot of Who mates and Who strangers that we befriend. It was a great time. But then it was time to walk on over to the coliseum (I just love it when you can have the bar, the hotel and the venue all in walking distance!). A band hailing from Boulder Colorado called Rose Hill Drive hits the stage at 7:30pm and I check out a few minutes of their set. I must say that I really like their sound, they remind me of a cross between Cream meets Zep meets Black Sabbath.
The Who come on at 8:28pm to the crunching opening chords to I Can't Explain and the fireworks are off! The band was relentless from that point on. I must admit, I'm rarely disappointed by a Who performance but there will be a show every once in awhile where they're not running on all cylinders and that can happen when Roger is having a tough go of it with his vocal chords. But on this night there will be no such thing! I had seen 11 shows on this tour previously and this to my ears was Roger's best vocals throughout the show. Man in a Purple Dress is just so full of blood, sweat and tears balls to the walls singing. I think I've said that before in another review for another show but I guess that's just how I see it and feel it.

There's no need for me to say anymore as the setlist is posted and I've already said that it was a hot performance from the beginning to the end. That seemed to be the consensus from those who I had talked to after the show. Just to quickly touch on the band. I brought some small posters to raise and show to each member. I think that Pino is a phenomenal bassist and I don't "get it" when I read that someone feels he is not the right fit. Let me tell ya, Pino was at the right place at the right time when Pete asked him to step in for the late John Entwistle. It was meant to be and he is meant to be there for now. My sign said PINO POWER and Pino gave me a nod and a smile for it. I had one for Zak that said ZAK ATTACK that I held up right after WGFA and he pointed his drumstick at me and winked, lol. Mine for Simon said SIMONATOR: DO THE CRAP DANCE! Well Simon busted out laughing, he really got a kick out of it. The funny thing was when Roger was reading it and then moved out of the way and alerted Simon of the poster. This is a dance he labeled of his and it can be seen on Youtube. SIMONATOR is a name someone came up for him and he used it on his blog briefly. For Rabbit I simply said WELCOME BACK RABBIT!. He had left the band for a month or so to be with his ailing wife. It was great to see him back and we wish all the best to him and his wife. He waved appreciatively with a smile. Rabbit is one of the main staples of this WHO machine, he feels like family. I didn't make one for Roger I let my friend Jess O for that. Let's just say that it got her and I backstage and autographs and photos with Roger. You rock girl! I did do one for Pete. It read....GOD SPEAKS OF PETER TOWNSHEND which was my homage to him and derived for the song off the new CD Endless Wire called God Speaks of Marty Robbins. Pete really digged it bigtime! So suffice to say, it was an absolute blast on Long Island New York for those two days!

Back to Tampa March 25th for the make up show for the one that was cancelled last night (March 13th). For us Florida locals it worked out very well, now we have two shows back to back to look forward to!! :)



Review by Marc Starcke


This was our friend Rob's backyard, as he grew up literally walking distance to the Nassau Coliseum. Matter of fact, we took a quick tour of the area just before the show. Mike and I grew up close to here as well, in Levittown, about 7 miles from Uniondale. This was more than worth it for another long trip from Florida to NY!The preshow party at Champions bar in the Marriott was relaxed but alot of fun hanging with us Who fans and friends getting pumped up for a LI Who show!Onto the show itself, it was great having so many friends right in the same area with us. It was cool to have George next to us, as we know now there'll be alot Pete eye contact coming my way via George (sounds selfish, I know, lol). Of course the signs Mike and Jess made helped too. Joyce, Meg, Lauri, Brian, Eddie, John, Mark, Rob, Scott P., Billy C. and is brother and many more all around us or somewhere nearby! The crowd was very enthusiastic, but not as wild as at a Philly show or even Atlanta, but very into it.I have to start off with a funny moment of a latter part of the show. When Roger sang "he is your leader, he is your guide" during AJ of course, I saw Pete looking toward me and George, so I quickly pointed at George as those lines were sung to tell Pete jokingly that George is your leader and your guide. As Pete looked at me and George, and saw me pointing at George, he shook is head no and pointed at himself! It was funny as sh*t!!!!I thought Pete was on fire as Nassau. Roger's voice again sounded great. I didn't realize he had already begun experiencing a bit of the problems that would comeback and hurt him in Tampa. That damn cold in the Northeast, it seems to really effect Roger negatively big time.The show started off with Pete busting a guitar string during either ICE or AAA, but I believe it was the latter. Someone can correct me on this. To make up for the busted string, Pete really went beserk - banging the remaining strings with the flap of his jacket over and over, banging out some loud heavy sounds - that must be one heavy jacket, lol. WAY was more energetic than in D.C., with Pete jumping and letting loose with a flurry of windmills in many different junctures of the song.The miniopera, to me, never gets tiring. I enjoyed even more this time around. Roger really sounded great, especially with the power he displays on "Mirror Door". Of course there was the moment mentioned by Mark F. during "Endless Wire". I was standing right next to George when this happened. I couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the song! "He'd gather and wire and assholes", lol. Mike that should be your next poster! You can paste a photo of George on the poster along with it,lol!!!!While I think BWE's can be performed (instrumentally) with more energy, heavier power chords, etc - vocally it is always perfect and great to hear Pete and Roger sing it. I really enjoyed this night.MG was unbelievable. The CIYW segment extended with Pete running around the stage and tearing it up on guitar. The same for WGFA, alot of great soloing by Pete. Roger, again, sounded powerful and crisp on the vocals. The same goes for the Tommy encore, the energy was amazing and Tea & Theater was as emotional as ever. Just a great night back in the area where Mike and I grew up!Marc

3 Comments:

Blogger Mike S said...

To see photos please go to
www.longliverock.org and go
to the left hand side and
click on the city and date
that you desire to see reviews
and pics.The site is endorsed
by Pete and run by the wonderful
Carrie Pratt.

12:27 PM  
Blogger grace said...

Hi Mike!

Another super review. Must have been some sign to get you guys back to meet Roger. Great to get the nods from the guys too. I got a nod from Pete once front row MSG, pretty cool when it happens. I was glad to read that Rabbit is back, he really is a staple of The Who.

I agree it is nice when the venue, hotel etc. is all in the same area. Thank you for sharing your whoventures. I will go over and check out the photos.

take care, xx grace

8:17 PM  
Blogger Anne-Marie said...

Hi Mike,
Awesome review from the two of you. I'm glad you're continuing to enjoy your Who adventures.

6:53 PM  

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