THE WHO ON TOUR

CAN'T HAPPEN HERE

2009-03-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

BLOG SLOW DOWN

2009-02-24T05:17:00.000-08:00

I WON'T BE POSTING HERE MUCH BUT WILL PERIODICALLY TIME TO TIME.

YOU CAN FIND MICHAEL STARCKE ON FACEBOOK.

SEE YOU THERE.

BOB DYLAN'S MASTERS OF WARS

2009-01-28T03:21:00.000-08:00

FEEL FLOWS

2009-01-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

THE WHO KENNEDY HONORS CBS BROACAST REVIEW

2008-12-31T01:38:00.000-08:00

Yeah our FDNY and NYPD heroes were the hilight of the night,brought back such fond memories of the CFNY.
I loved how they were pointing up at Pete and Rog and throwing their hats in the air, what a moment.
Funniest moment was when Jack Black says to the audience about The Who .."triumphant dragonslayers of emotionality and about now they're (Pete and Roger) probably wondering why I was chosen to make this speech." Camera cuts to Roger and Pete cracking up laughing in which it almost appears that Pete was about to fall over the balcony LOL!! Black went on to say "surely there was someone more qualified (crowd laughs)
why is this moron talking about dragons and emotions?Who does he think he is? WHO? (crowd get's the joke) I'm just one of the millions thanking you for rocking us to our deepest inner most nooks and crannies.Roger Daltrey,Pete Townshend......thank you for blowing our minds and touching our hearts." (film history of The Who starts on big screen narrated by Jack Black).

Here is a little bit more of what Jack said before that dragon slayers and emotionality lines comment.........

"When I was 10 years old I fell in love with The Who. I saw the film 'Tommy' on cable television and despite Jack Nicholson's heinous rendition of Go to the Mirror'...I was deeply moved by the music and story. I wasn't deaf, dumb or blind but I could relate to Tommy.' I, too, wanted to be seen, felt and healed. I had a supportive family, but growing up can be tough no matter what your upbringing...and no other band had the courage or sensitivity to write those kind of emotionally raw songs...They played with real passion as if their lives depended on it...as though it might be the last day of their lives. They were legends in a time of legends. On the battlefield of rock they went toe to toe with the likes of Hendrix and emerged unscathed...triumphant dragon slayers of emotionality."

Bettye Lavette's version of LROM was absolutely a stirring rendition,Pete and Roger's reactions to her was priceless as were their reactions all night. I especially loved watching Pete and Roger singing the words as BB King played and sang 'Let the Good Times Roll' during the Morgan Freeman tribute.Pete especially, was singing along with B.B King quite emphatically.

A WHO FAN'S REVIEW OF KENNEDY HONORS

2008-12-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

Who fan review of the Kennedy Center Honors by Jess Olsen who was working Wardrobe for the special event.....

It was a pretty cool evening. I thought all the tributes were fantastic, but of course, The Who's just had that extra special something that set it apart. I was stationed in wardrobe, which was located one floor beneath the stage and right next to the dressing rooms of the performers. There was a large area in front of the elevator with a CC TV where a few of the workers and performers were gathered to watch the event. Joss Stone, David Grohl watched the Morgan Freeman tribute there before they were summoned up on stage. Queen Latifa and Lily Tomlin also made appearances. The dancers that paid tribute to Twyla Tharp were also there. Caroline Kennedy kept poking her head in and out. Betty LaVette was here and there. I shared an elevator with Garth Brooks. I'm sure there were other famous people that I just didn't know. Jack Black decided to finish out the evening in this spot. He had used the phrase "ass kicking" a couple of times during his spiel, and on my way out I told him, "Congratulations on being the first person to use the word 'ass' at the Kennedy Center Honors." Smiling, he replied, "Really? Ya Think? Yeah, probably in that context. It will probably get cut." I replied, "Aww, that's too bad," and walked away. I kind of cool little moment for me.

One of the best moments of the evening (for me anyway) was during the Morgan Freeman tribute. They formed a Morgan Freeman All-star tribute band featuring Pinetop Perkins, David "honeyboy" Edwards, and fronted by the amazing Koko Taylor. There were others on stage, but for the life of me, I can't remember their names. In any case, the band went into Taylor's "I'm a Woman." Pete and Roger were totally rocking out! It was great ... Nobody else was moving, but you had Pete and Roger grinning ear to ear and bobbing their heads to the beat. Great stuff. The camera's didn't pick up any reactions when BB King went on the stage, but I'm sure they were stoked.

The Who's tribute was in the middle spot, after Freeman and Tharpe but before Jones and Streisand. Jack Black was the MC for this particular tribute. He was hilarious; dare I say, funnier than at the Rock Honors. They did show Pete and Rog a bit during Black's speech, and they were incredibly amused and entertained. As mentioned earlier, he said the word 'ass' a few times, which with the juxtaposition of black ties, shiny necklaces, polished shoes, and the fact that were were in a building dedicated to fine arts, just made me smile. He talked for a bit and then narrated a short video that talked a lot about the starting up period of The Who and how Tommy was sort of the saving grace of the band. THey skipped over the landmarks like Who's Next and Quadrophenia to mention the loss of two band members. The CFNY was then highlighted as the start of the comeback. They really needed to include this piece so that the 'big surprise' would make sense later ...

The Rob Mathis band, the house band for all the acts, was then introduced. Save for the Morgan Freeman Tribute Band, Rob Mathis and his band played while different performers sang tributes. There were sound problems for the first two performers, Joss Stone and Chris Cornell. They were going to re-tape these pieces after the entire show was done, but I suppose there is a chance that they will get cut completely ... which wouldn't be the end of the world. Joss Stone does have an amazing voice, but one that just doesn't seem to fit the anger and defiance that is supposed to be conveyed by the song. Chris Cornell did sound a lot better at the actual event than in rehearsals but can anyone really do any justice to WGFA? Betty LaVette was third to pay tribute. She did a rather soulful rendition of Love Reign O're Me ... which was AMAZING. Save for the moment when New York's finest were revealed, I'd say that Levette was the crowd favorite and for well deserved reason. The camera's did pan over to Roger and Pete once during this particular tribute. Like the rest of the audience, they were mesmerized. To leave Pete and Roger spellbound and speechless speaks volumes to how great LaVette's performance was. She received a standing ovation from the people watching downstairs when she returned to her dressing room. Dave Grohl's Who Are You was pretty good, as you would expect. He did edit himself Rob Thomas and Baba O'Riley was OK. I think he tried to get to cutsie with "Don't cry, Don't raise your eye, it's only Teenage Wasteland." Then they revealed the contingent of public servicemen. The firefighters and police officers was fantastic and the crowd reacted really well. The screen shots that I was looking at did not show the immediate reaction of Pete and Roger when New York's finest were revealed, but there were 3 different shots going on at all times. Hopefully the final mix that is shown on television captured the surprise. At the end of the song, Rob Thomas kept saying, "I love you, I f***ing love you!"

All in all, a very cool evening. Pete, Roger, and all the fans should be very proud.

THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS THE WHO

2008-12-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2008/12/kennedy_center_honors_pete_tow.html

Kennedy Center Honors: Pete Townshend Riffs! (And Riffs. [And Riffs.])

Pete Townshend picks up his guitar and plays, just like yesterday.David Segal drew the assignment to interview the Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey for the big Kennedy Center Honors package running in this Sunday's Style & Arts.

Lucky him! As it turns out, he could have filled the entire section by writing exclusively about Townshend, who sat down with David for an extensive interview last month in New York.

It was a pretty exceptional Q&A, but most of Townshend's thoughts wound up on the cutting-room floor, given that David was writing a feature, not a book.

I've just returned from said cutting room, where I scooped some of the great scraps off the floor. They're posted below - and after the jump, where you'll also find some bonus Roger Daltrey quotes.

Be sure to look for David's piece this weekend, along with profiles of the rest of the Kennedy Center Honors recipients: Morgan Freeman, Twyla Tharp, George Jones and Barbra Streisand. (The Babs story by Peter Marks is phenomenal.)

On to the Townshend transcript....

On the Who's hiatus in the 80s:
Even when the Who weren't working there was a huge amount of interest in what we had done. The Stones continued to roll, like a machine. It was just absurd that the Stones tried to compete with an artist like Bruce Springsteen, because Bruce was new, unbelievable energy and there's Mick prancing about on stage, Keith green with heroin, Ronnie Wood playing at like 10 percent of his power. I thought, this is about spectacle, it's not about music, and thank God I don't have to do that any more.

On Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon:
Never felt very close to Roger, never felt very close to Keith. Liked them both very much, on and off, as one does with people you work with.

On one reason he still performs with the Who:
It's a little empire. At the bottom are the obsessive fans. Then the road crew, who love to come with the Who, who've grown up with us. After my ritual shower, when they're loading my gear into the van on my way to the limo, they all stop. It's just a good feeling and it's a reminder of who I am. I'm the president. The buck stops with me.

Roger can only say to me "I want this to go on for as long as this can go on," which he does quite unabashedly. "I just want to go on until I die." And I say, "Well, I don't want to be on stage with you when you die. I've been through it with Keith [Moon, the band's original drummer], I've been through it with John [Entwistle, the original bass player], I've been through it with dozens of friends.

(Much, much more after the jump.)

On his mood before a show:
I try to stay very solitary, so when I go to the stage I'm unutterably bored and therefore pleased to be going on stage. Because I find performing to be unutterably boring, so I have to make it as exciting as possible.

Often people as they intercept me [on way to the stage] will say something like "have fun," or "go out there and knock 'em dead," and I'm always very ratty to them. "What do you mean have fun? What are you talking about, fun? This is fun is it? It's supposed to be fun."

I try to avoid shopping, walking, I try to keep it to a minimum. So when I get on stage, it's kind of all I've got for the day, it's the only color, it's the only life, and I just allow the adrenaline to take over.

The best thing is the hot shower [after the show], the American hot shower. Come off stage, take a shower, sometimes cry with joy. Over the fact that the show is over, if I've played well I'm obviously very artistically fulfilled. I feel as though I've just put a roof on a building or something, you know, a bit blue collar, but a very, very good feeling.

On booze:
I drank for one of the last 26 years and it was 1993. It was a New York experiment [during work on the Broadway version of "Tommy"]. I used to drink a lot. That was the medicine. And it led to some of my worst behavior with respect to my moral compass. I'd hang out til four or five in the morning, [screwing] up the following day, or having an affair. It became a ritual for me, being the last guy at the party.

On his role as rock star:
My job is to be a kind of receptacle. Look at Kurt Cobain. He's a receptacle of teenage angst. He is unimportant, we don't really care about Kurt Cobain. When we do look closely at him there's nothing there. That's why he's so fabulous, because there's nothing there, because he poured so much--he kind of sacrificed himself in this daft, crazy, nihilistic but heroic way so that we could go have a good teenage moment and that's what rock and roll is about.

For years, I never quite understood why the Who worked so well. Now I know why it works and now I know how it works -- I try not to get in the way. When I sing "Teenage Wasteland" there are people in their 50s and 60s who feel teenage at that moment. That's their thing. It's not my thing. They do it. It's almost we're Amtrak. You make the journey.

When we were young we used to say "Its about the kids," you know "The kids are alright," now we say it's about "them" because they're not kids any more.

It's certainly not about me. I'm sure of that. But if that's true than aren't I [expletive] clever. Do you know what I mean? Because what I've actually done is this: I've gone to art school, been trained to look at a brief, got the brief, right at the right moment, run with it for a time and at the peak of my work, written these songs that have become quintessentially anthemic and almost universal, almost unconsciously. But I didn't realize how smart I was being or how unconscious I was. I was just writing because I needed to write, doing an album because I needed to do an album.

On how he feels these days:
I wake up in the morning, I have a cup of tea and I feel like a 14 stone guy who could walk through a truck.

On being wealthy:
It's only from looking at the spreadsheets for my divorce settlement [that I realized how much money I have]. It crept up on me. The Who broke up before sponsorship for tours happened. "Tommy" was good for the band, because of the movie, which financed the band in the final years. But in 1981, [right before breaking up the band for the first time], I nearly went bankrupt. I was drinking, very unhappy, hated being in the Who, and I was trying to do other things. I had recording studios all over the place. I ended up with this mini empire. It was ridiculous. And I nearly went broke. The way I stopped myself from going broke was I left the Who.

On the ambiguities of "Tommy":
If it had a [expletive] ending it wouldn't work. This isn't [expletive] Don Giovanni. This is rock, this is about creating something that will last 1,000 years. This is poetry, this is high [expletive] art.
"Oh, you're an artist now, are you? An artist, pretentious [anatomical reference]."

The Mona Lisa isn't a great painting at all. It's just iconic. When we see the Mona Lisa, that's a picture you know, everybody knows. Why? Why do you think it is? Because we don't know what the [heck] it's about. We don't know who she is. We want to? We don't want to? Is it us? What is it about her? It's just a [expletive] face for [expletive's] sake. You know, most of us can't even get close enough to it to see the [expletive] brush work. It mustn't have a raison d'etre. Or its raison d'etre can't be something that can be defined on the spur of the moment.

On why there were few girls at early Who shows:
When I was young, I watched my father's audience and the coquettishness of female fans, and I didn't trust them. I remember watching my father [a saxophone player in a Royal Air Force band], he used to do these Sunday concerts. There was singer named Frankie Vaughan. He had these Vegas type songs. Sultry guy, Jewish, really fab and so sweet to me, always very kind to me. His song went "Give me the moonlight and the girl" and when he got to "and leave the rest to me," he'd do this kick, and when he did this little kick the girls went nuts. I'd go sit in the audience at my dad's shows, I'd be sitting in my school uniform. [In the high pitch of an overwrought woman] "Oh little boy, little boy."

I'd say, "My dad's in the band." Perfume and boobs and petticoats and pheromones and alcohol and cigarettes and hair and lipstick. Just a delight. And I'd be sitting there with my vanilla milkshake, looking from one cleavage to the other, and listening to them, just having a go. [High pitched voice again] "Which one do you want? Who do you fancy?"

One day, we're in the playhouse and I got my friend Graham to come around. I said, "You've got to see this. Sometimes they their knickers at him." Frankie Vaughan comes and we sit there and he does his thing.

Complete silence. It was just soul destroying. And it was because there was a young guy on the bill named Mark Winter, who was a kind of Bobby Darin copyist and they were saving it for him. It was shocking to see. It was one week later! This wimpy guy comes out and they're screaming. Graham said "You said it was the Frankie Vaughan guy. Who's this guy?"
I just thought, I'm never going there.

My audience, our audience, were predominantly Mod boys. The girls in the Mod audience looked like boys, they were almost invisible. They all looked like boys, and the Mod audience was 75 percent male. Luckily, it's never translated into my personal relationships with women. I trust them implicitly.

On music and the Internet:
We do a short tour like this, you have the feeling you're reaching a lot of people because of the passion of the event. In actual fact, you get to the end, we've played to maybe 300,000. If somebody said their web site had 300,000 hits in a day, they'd say, [in an apologetically tone] "We'll we're building."

On his future:
I've been trying to figure out what I want, because I'm pretty sure that I know that I can have pretty much whatever I want. But I don't really know what that is at the moment. And I certainly don't know what I need as an artist. I don't know if I can do it again, as a composer. I don't know if I can get out of the way enough, I don't know if I can be as innocent as I was to write about members of the audience, just do it without caring about them very much. Because now I care about the audience deeply, and I'm immeasurably grateful to them.

On why never gives the same answer in any interview:
One of the reasons I don't like interviews so much is that I do find myself in a creative mode. Not creative. Workshop. I'm workshopping, I'm brainstorming, in a sense I'm throwing what I believe at the moment and seeing whether it floats with you. Because I so passionately believe this is where I stand at the moment, and then I'll read the article and if you say something like "Seems to me like he's full of [nonsense], then I'll need to kind of go back and look at that.

-------------

And now, a few words from Roger Daltrey...

On the Who:
Good band, in'nit? Pound for pound.

On Townshend's songwriting:
"Substitute." One line of that song, "I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth." That was so profound, because it described in one line where we came from. I was on holiday recently in Majorca, and out for a walk every morning, sweating in the mid-day sun. Couple Spanish builders unloading materials from a truck. They're sweating and mopping their brows. One builder looked at me and said, "I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth." That song was written in 1965.

On drugs:
I just didn't have the luxury of being able to do drugs. All those drugs dry your voice up. Do drugs, dry your voice up. So I had to be disciplined and I always wanted the band to be the best band in the world on stage.

But the reality is, they could just have fun. It got to a stage [in the 60s] where it got completely out of hand, and I just got fed up with it because the playing got [expletive]. Really was. We went from being the best band to sloppy and messy. The timing was wrong. It was derogatory to what we were doing.

One night, I just roared off the stage and went to Moon's stash and flushed it down the loo. And of course he went absolutely berserk and he came at me with a tambourine, which was a mistake because I used to love to fight in those days. So we ended up in a brawl and they kind of ganged up on me and sacked me. They did gigs without me for six or eight weeks. Then they knocked on the door and said "Will you come back?"

I knew I handled it badly. We still had problems with Keith throughout our career. But Pete, it tidied up his brain. He was never unprofessional after that. It also taught me to reign in my temper.

On getting name checked by a blues man:
I have to say one of the nicest things that's happened to me lately, I was watching a film on the BBC about the history of the guitar, and BB King came on and he said "You know, us guys were playing small clubs, getting around on buses, earning peanuts and then bands like the Who came along, the Rolling Stones and they played our music. They knew our music." It really, it made my heart jump, it really did. Because I tell you, those guys did it for me. We understood those guys. The English working class was as near as you could get to being a white black person. We were treated the same, in that period of time. [Bluesmen] used to come to England those guys, they were gods to us. We worshiped them. They got treated like stars

KILBURN 77/LONDON COLISEUM 69 DVD

2008-11-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

I purchased the DVD in the mid afternoon on November 18th and called a few friends a few hours later and asked them to come over to our house to have a debut watch party and it turned out to be an all out WHO fest til the wee hours of the morning.

Imo it was the London Coliseum bonus DVD that should of been packaged as the main event opposed to Kilburn.Don't get me wrong as Kilburn is just simply amazing despite the past history of it being panned as sloppy and a gig that Pete did not want released.Kilburn turned out to be quite the opposite as what I remembered what the critics said about it in a negative light and what Pete felt about it as well but as a result a fantastic edit job made it into very enjoyable viewing.Pete is so unbelievably energetic and Keith is in a fun mood and played the drums so much better than what was written about over the years.Roger is just simply perfect in voice despite forgetting the words at times.What can be said about John as he is proven to of been the anchor of the runaway ship called The Who! F*cking thunder!

All in all it turned out that London Coliseum as a bonus was and is the star attraction.Yes,it starts off blury and unfocused and made me a bit concerned as to what the rest of the film would be like but by the 3rd song the lighting problems became more clear and the sound was incredible,I was waiting for the neighbors to
call the police sound division LOL!! I truly believe that London Coliseum is our Live at Leeds on film at last! Get this DVD now as it is the greatest WHO film documentation of all time in my humble opinion!

THE WHO IZOD OCTOBER 29 2008

2008-11-08T05:37:00.000-08:00

THE WHO OPEN 2008 TOUR IN DETROIT

2008-10-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

An American Tune

2008-10-11T23:44:00.000-07:00

PETITION DRIVE FOR PETE'S OLD WEBSITE

2008-09-14T23:17:00.000-07:00

Maria Niku has started a petition under way for the relaunch of Pete's old website,

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petetownshend-com.html

The petition is not intended for forcing Pete's hand in any way, simply to express the support a decision to relaunch the website would receive from fans. The decision is, as always, his and depends on his wishes and motivations.

If you support the idea, please go to the link above and sign the petition. If you wish to spread the word, please feel free to do so in any way you see fit. However, I ask you to please not use the Kew website, the blog or the forum, for the purpose: it would not be right to use Rachel's website to promote things that are not about her work, however close she and Pete are.

The petition will eventually be delivered to Pete.

Pete Townshend Backstage Tampa 2000

2008-08-16T22:37:00.001-07:00

THEY'RE BACK ON THE ROAD THE 'ORRIBLE 'OO!

2008-08-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

THE WHO COMING TO U.S. WEST COAST EAST COAST

2008-07-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! The Who will play two shows at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on November 8th and 9th 2008 and are slated to have dates announced for the East Coast as well. Stay tuned!!

Meanwhile we gear up for the VH1 Rock Honors broadcast on July 17th!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY:REMEMBER WHO WE ARE

2008-07-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

GEORGE CARLIN 1937-2008

2008-06-24T01:10:00.000-07:00

VINCENT BUGLIOSI FOR THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH

2008-06-02T02:44:00.000-07:00

GEORGE W BUSH COULDN'T LEAVE OFFICE SOON ENOUGH

2008-05-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Countdown: Special Comment May 14, 2008 Part 1

Countdown: Special Comment May 14, 2008 Part 2

IS PETE TOWNSHEND CLUELESS?MORE LIKE CLUED-IN

2008-04-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Pete's Blog

26th April, 2008

Clueless

Rob Lee your webmaster came to see me on Thursday. You people probably don't know what a fabulous man he is, and how much he cares about me, The Who, and you subscribers. One day maybe, he will give you the story about his own background, it is fascinating. Last Tuesday I had a lunch meeting with Roger and the two Who managers Bill Curbishley and Robert Rosenberg. We were trying to come up some kind of decision for the future, mainly - I suppose - for Roger's sake, but also so we could get some positive news to our band members, and our fans. We all feel in the air at the moment.

I sat fairly quietly. I don't want the Who to evaporate before my eyes, but I can't see how to push it forward without some kind of cohesive creative strategy, or Great New Idea to carry me along. That is how I've always worked in the past. Today is no different for me.

Roger and I are very different and have different needs. I find playing Live and touring with the old music very easy, I enjoy it, but it doesn't rock my world. Roger finds playing Live tough, sometimes he has to dig very deep to pull it out, often he seems unhappy or pained while performing, but there is no question - being on stage in The Who rocks Roger's world. He would prefer to do that than almost anything else under the sun. I hope this explains the confusing facial expressions that come from Rog and me sometimes on stage. We certainly try to support each other these days.

What rocks my world? Feeling I am creating something new. That's what I live for. The early work of The Who has become so well known that it's hard to rise above it, but every artist with more than a few hit records has this problem. New material has to be solidly supported because fans want to meld it into what has gone before to create a continuum that the artists themselves might not want to support.

On Tuesday Rob Lee sent me an email reproducing a couple of posts from folks on my Forum page, asking when I was going to say something? It seemed to be amazing timing. There I was, a few hours after a meeting with Roger, unable to give him a single thing that would help him feel better, and Rob Lee was telling me I should speak to the fans.

Instead, I fired out a short noncommittal statement, and on Thursday met with Rob himself. He's always great to hang out with. In the morning on Thursday I had called Rog and told him I wanted to record with the band in September, and do a Pacific tour in the autumn and winter of this year. He was over the moon. He was already worrying about next year, and the year after that, but it was good to make him happy.

When I put the phone down I emailed the band, and our main crew with the good news. We would record in September and tour in October to December.

Today I changed my mind.

I must not commit to studio time or show dates, especially not to long tours, without some kind of creative programme. I don't know whether I can write songs for The Who. I don't know if I can come up with some idea, some story, some angle, that will make me feel good about being the writer for The Who. Most important of all I don't know if I write something whether I should try to force The Who to carry it. With The Boy Who Heard Music squashed into what became Wire & Glass on Endless Wire I was happy with what we did, but sad to lose drive on the bigger story, the bigger idea.

Now that kind of sadness for me as a writer happens whether it was a Great Idea or not. Who knows? Who cares, but me? What I must do is make sure I allow myself to write, make mistakes, and make time to assess whether what I have on my desk makes sense for The Who.

So this morning I emailed everyone to tell them I've changed my mind. I'm not mad. I'm not selfish. I might be a little weak sometimes, to allow myself to make decisions based on factors that have nothing to do with art, music, ideas, change, life, expression or creativity - but I do want to honour our old friendships, play the old music together, honour our desire to see you people, and to meet new fans, play new places and so on. That's what tears me apart. But I really do have to be strong enough to admit that today I really do not have a clue what to do next. Something will come. It always does. But that's where I am today. Clueless.

VH1 ROCK HONORS THE WHO

2008-04-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Fans of the legendary British band 'The Who' should mark July 17th as a day they should be glued to their television sets. 'VH1 Rock Honors', a show will air for the third year on VH1, is honoring the band made famous by Pete Townsend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon with a 2 hour special taped in Los Angeles at the Pauley Pavilion. The show will highlight the bands achievements and show how the band has influenced modern day acts as they take a stab some of their song catalogs. The bands who will be appearing to pay tribute to the band will be announced at a later date. Last year, Nickelback, Gretchen Wilson, Keane, Alice in Chains and Queens of the Stone Age. Making special appearances were Cameron Diaz, Jada Pinkett Smith, Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Williams, Criss Angel and Taylor Hawkins paid tribute to Genesis, Heart, Ozzy Osbourne and ZZ Top.

"For me, The Who defined the rock era. Their music truly pushed boundaries, connected with millions of rock fans and inspired countless bands to fulfill their own musical destinies," said Tom Calderone, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VH1. "I speak for music fans around the world and say thank you to The Who for their artistry, their vision and their attitude. We can't wait to salute Pete and Roger's legacy in this year's 'VH1 Rock Honors,' an event that will definitely be an amazing journey."

ROGER DALTREY PARTY 1974

2008-03-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

LA DE DA

2008-02-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

I live my life, it's only right
'Cause i can't live your life for you.
I'm satisfied, feeling high
'Cause i found out just what to do.
Oh, you can bet i never let the things i get get the best of me.
When i get blue, here's what i do and so can you,
It is no mystery when you sing.

La la de da, like que sera sera,
Whatever la de da, la de da,
All you gotta say is la de da.

You don't need to cry, (cry)
No reason why is ever good enough for me.
We can take a walk, just laugh and talk,
Whatever's going to be will be.
And when it rains i don't complain, i'm like a train, i just keep rolling on.
Sometimes you lose, you blow a fuse, you're not immune
To what's been going on, sing along.

La la de da, like que sera sera,
Whatever la de da, la de da,
All you gotta say is la de da
Oo-oo

And when you're down, it can be found, turn it around, you know the remedy.
(you always get what you always get, you always get what you always get)
Just cut some slack, don't look back 'cause it's a fact it will be okay
Ringo Starr - La De Da
lyrics from http://www.6lyrics.com
When you say

La la de da, like que sera sera,
Whatever la de da, la de da,
All you gotta say is la de da
Oh yeah
Just like doris day said que sera,
La la de da,
La la de da,
La la de da,
All you gotta say is la de da,
All i gotta say is, all we gotta say is,
It's the only way is la de da.
La la de da,
La la de da,
La la de da,
Come on. Ev'rybody
La la de da,
This one's for you, mate
La la de da,
It went la de da, i say
La la de da,
La la de da,
Come on, join me with this line!
La la de da,
La la de da,
La -

ODE TO MEG FOX 1965-2008

2008-02-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

O Parvardigar, the Preserver and Protector of all
Without beginning are you Lord without end
Non-dual, beyond compare, and none can measure You
Without color, expression, or form, nor attributes to live

You are unlimited and unfathomable
Imperishable beyond conception by our minds
No one can defy you ,oh God you are eternal
None can see you but with eyes divine

You always were, You always are, and always will be
You are everywhere, in everything and beyond
In the firmament above and in the deep
On all the seven planes and farther on
And in all that’s hidden to our eyes and always see

Beyond the trinity of words and in the vow
You can not be perceived or no one shall repent
O Parvardigar preserve protect us all
Without begging are you Lord without end
You always were, You always are, and always will be

You are the Creator, the Lord of Lords
The knower of all minds and hearts
Omnipotent, omnipresent, from you we cower
You are Knowledge, Infinite Bliss, Infinite Power

You are the ocean of knowledge knowing all
Infinitely knowing, but cannot tell
The knower of the past, the present and future
crowning even this, your knowledge itself

Oh merciful benevolent eternal
You're the trinity of Knowledge, Truth and Bliss
You are the source of Truth, The One with infinite attributes
You are the ocean of love we sorely miss

You always were, You always are, and always will be
You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the High
You are Prabhu and Parameshwar
You are the Beyond God, Beyond-Beyond God also
Parabrahma; Paramatma and Allah
Yezdan; Ahuramazda and God the Beloved

O Parvardigar, the Preserver and Protector of all
Without beginning are you Lord without end
You are named Ezad, the only one worthy of worship
We sing the universal prayer to you Amen

PETE TOWNSHEND STIRRING RENDITION OF LMLOTD

2008-01-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

THE WHO OAKLAND COLISEUM 1976

2007-12-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO MY LIFE TATTOO

2007-11-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

FROM THE MAGIC KINGDOM TO THE HERPES MASTER CLASS

2007-11-25T23:06:00.000-08:00

THE WHO ORLANDO FLORIDA 1982

2007-11-25T22:57:00.000-08:00

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT FILM PROMO

2007-11-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

MORE WHO @ HOUSTON 1971 FILM STILLS

2007-11-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

HOUSTON TEXAS 1971 FILM STILLS

2007-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Film stills of a rare concert that exists out there which is from
the elusive Who's Next Tour of 1971.

HOUSTON TEXAS 1971 FILMS STILLS

2007-11-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

This is an example of what exists from The Who's Next Tour in 1971.
Oneday I am hoping that the owner of this rare film will have a
change of heart and release it for all WHO fans to enjoy the best
time period for The Who,The Who's Next Tour.

TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS ON JOHN

2007-10-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

JOHN ALEC ENTWISTLE

October 9th 1944-June 27th 2002

Must have been mid-afternoon
I could tell by how far the
child's shadow is stretched
out and he walks with a purpose
In his sneakers Down the street
he had Many questions like children
often do... He said

"Tell me all your thoughts on John?
And tell me am I very far?"

Must have been late afternoon
On our way the sun broke free
of the thunder clouds
We count only buzzard bass guitars
Skip the cracks in the street
And ask many questions like children
often do... We said

"Tell me all your thoughts on John?
Cause I'd really like to meet him
And tell him why the WHO we are?
Tell me all your thoughts on John ?
Cause I'm on my way to see him
So tell me am I very far
Am I very far now?"

It's getting cold
Picked up the pace
How our shoes make hard noises
in this place Our clothes are
stained We pass many cross-eyed
WHO fans And ask many questions
like children often do...

"Tell me all your thoughts on John?
Cause I'd really like to meet him
And tell him why the WHO we are?
Tell me all your thoughts on John?
Cause I'm on my way to see him
So tell me am I very far
Am I very far now, am I very far
now, am I very far now?"

Tell me all your thoughts of John?
Tell me all your thoughts of John?

AMAZING JOURNEY:STORY OF THE WHO

2007-09-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

COMING NOVEMBER 6TH 2007!!

Pete and Rachel Dancing With the Stars

2007-09-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.jibjab.com/starring_you/receipt/468412

THE WHO ROAD PHOTOS

2007-08-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

ON THE ROAD WITH PETE TOWNSHEND

2007-08-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

TBWHM HITS THE STAGE!

2007-07-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

TBWHM Play in Poughkeepsi NY review

I just got home from Poughkeepsie and I am headed out to a birthday party but I figured I would take a minute to add my thoughts.I realize that very few people here actually read TBWHM when Pete originally posted it and I wish someone who did was there. (hopefully Patrice read it, I can't remember, I think pkeets did too)I have to say, the music held up. I can see some songs being eliminated, RGLB and Marty Robbins but the rest of them converted well to musical format. It was a true thrill to finally hear It's Not Enough played live. I wish it was by the Who but this was the next best thing.I think the way this works is they put on a general gist of a play, no set to speak of, no costumes and the players reading from notebooks but they did have most of the music in place, they have the idea of a script but if this project were to go forward they would need a real script,more indepth covering a better range of the back story.The actors who played Josh, Gabriel and Leila were very good, awesome singers. They managed to get across the personalities of the characters even if you didn't read the novella, if you did then all of the sudden they became more interesting. The dynamic between them is very interesting. The physical relationship between Josh and Leila and the emotional/cerebral realtionship between Gabriel and Leila came through and the true brotherly realationship between Josh and Gabriel was hard to intrepret correctly, it could almost come across as homosexual. I don't think it is but I think it could be seen that way. For me the jury is still out on the guy who played Ray High, I don't think that guy was big enough (I don't mean in physical size I mean, larger than life).The backing band and musical director were awesome, really great.As for me, I can see this working on Broadway or off Broadway. It could actually be an audience interactive kind of play. I have to admit it took every fiber of my being not to get up on my feet and sing and dance along. I know the performers really dug the fact that several of the people in the audience knew the music and knew it well, we got lots of smiles.It was so nice to see everyone again. Diane and Bob and her daughter and friends. Lisa W too, I knew you'd be there. Brian it was great to see you and a pleasure to meet your wife. George great fun as always, I hope you finally got something to eat, did you stop for a haircut? Mark, you managed to get in the front row once again!!!! I think this is really a great discussion possibility as I think this may be taking up a lot of Pete's time in the near and distant future. Rachel's too as her song I Can Fly from Shine featured prominently in the show.It seems to me there are three themes running through the play, Trilby's Piano. Fragments and In the Ether. All the songs were the ones we are familiar with, a verse was added to RGLB but it was clunky and it didn't work. I imagine that one will end up on the cutting room floor so to speak. They changed Hymie to Simon and sang it "Simey" I figure that will be changed too. I am not sure why they took Hymie out maybe not PC?? Not sure? I really feel it has merit as a show though.

5 YEARS AGO....WE MISS YOU JOHN

2007-06-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

I SAW YA!!

2007-06-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

ROGER AND ME

2007-04-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Another angle,the more preferable front face angle from Atlantic City NJ March 9th 2007.

ROGER AND ME

2007-03-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Meeting Roger backstage at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City NJ March 9th 2007
after The Who ripped through another rip roaring show!!

THE WHO ON TOUR 2007

2007-03-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

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

Online Articles:
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

MEETIN' PETE AT JOE'S PUB!

2006-12-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

ITA/Meet N' Greet Nov. 29th 2006We,Meg,Joyce,Laurie,Marc and I take two cabs from our hotel in mid-town Manhattan and pulled up to the curb in the lower eastside in front of the huf*ckingmongous bus parked there in front of Joe's Pub.I immediately spot Mikey Cuthbert talking to a couple and thus,I begin to start my "casing the scene".As I case said scene,I spot several familiar faces in line such as the lovely and sweet Cynthia and say my hello's as my eyes look sideways left to right,I now see my opportunity to siege Mikey,who I've always taken a liken to.I then summon Marc to whip it out(his video cam that is)and start filming as I shake Mikey's hand and make somesmall non-sensical talk as usual,then from out of nowhere appears the sleak,sexy,glistening and shiningRachel Fuller dressed in a tight black knit dress curving herarse into the shape of a moaning Lisa, I acost her like a paparazzi without a job (she was looking hot as a cat on a hot-tin-roof) and I barreled in and proceed to talk in my usual (startling start) in the middle of sentence ways that "I catch my twin bro Marc from time to time listening to your CD Cigarettes and Alcohol as he works out on the weights in his garage" Well,pretty embarrassing moment as her CD is actuallycalled 'Cigarettes and Housework' so after being corrected by Marc,I went back to her and apologizedonly to get in return "you're all f*cking mad anyway".She was sweet and very down-to--earth, made usfeel quite comfortable.After standing in line for what seemed an eternitywe proceed in and take our seats at a table wherewe can see Roger,Heather and Mr.Curbishley seatedto our right in a level slightly above us.Lots of smilesfrom Roger,lots of staring from Marc who had a perfectsightline(he even said that he thought he was makingole Rog feel a bit uncomfortable at one point withthe unavoidable staring),well,pointing a video camat Mr.CSI(kidding) can help that situation grow a bit uncomfy dontcha think Mr.Starckarazzi? We order our medicine,say hello to William Snyder andvarious mates such as Billy Canell(Who's Next guitarist)and his brother Jimmy.We schlop our drinks and orderfood and in moments the lights dimmer and on comesRachel who intros Jimmy Fallon who does a hilariousbit called 'Car Wash for Peace'.Rachel did her gorgeoussongs,Marth Wainright is fantastic just not my cupof tea(I did shout out,"what no horse pajama's" in whichshe made a comment about).You see,at the last Joe'sPub she was wearing these cute PJ's with horses on themand to say that those PJ's contoured her body likepermanent tats woody be an underwear....I mean,understatement.No comment on Ryan Adams(if there were rope on handwe would of either hung him or hung ourselves).He'snot bad, just not the right crowd.Mikey did 'Misery' and 'Plasticine', as Meg noted in herreview,he does sound much better live in the flesh.Sean Lennon came out looking alot like his dad of the1971 era decked in specs and beard.He sounded likehim,talked like him and joked like him,it was quiteeerie.His 4 songs were by far the best next to Pete.Oh,yeah Pete.Who did Marty Robbins! What asurprise and the best song of the night.Drownedkicked ass as did In the Ether and Endless Wire.Watching Pete push out In the Ether was spectacularto watch.The nights participants came on for the finallyto do ' Im One' with Jimmy Fallon even havinga part,done admirably and his mini-mic spindrew a chuckle from good ole Rog from hisseat.All in all,musically it was a good,not great.But the fact that we were obscured by a hugepiano didnt really help the overall enjoymentbut then again,meeting Pete was really whatwas on our minds more than anything.Anyway,to keep this short,we were usheredinto a hot stuffy room whilst we wait for ourPeteness,we talk amongst eachother andorganize our stuff we want to get signed.Pete's then lead in and a friend of Joyce'snamed Joe Ganley I believe was the firstto get with Pete.To make this to the point,since I am the writee of the reviewee.Marc and I didthe bookend poses with Pete as Megsnapped away at her cam,I tell Petethat we are Mike and Marc Starckehoping he heard of us but just "oh'd"and smiled.(I think the APB has beenout on us no thanks to my stalkingemails to his assistant Nicola.Ofcourse I may be paranoid too haha).Pete's hands are big and he gave mea nice firm handshake(no I didnt kisshim as my brother did but now I wishI had.I wanted to know what thosewhiskers felt like lol).Nuther great moment with Pete waswhen he remembered my posterfrom the Florida show and thenlater he signed it and wrote a littlenote that said ' YOU NOTICED...I NOTICED. Pretty darn cool!!

THE WHO ROCK SUNRISE FLORIDA

2006-11-21T00:02:00.000-08:00

November 20th 2006

First of all the Pretenders were an awesome opening.
Chrissie Hynde is a rock star and her stage presence
is huge.The band kicked major ass and most of the
crowd was there to watch.

As for The Who.

What a f*cking show! Meg,Joyce,Marc and I were third row
right in front of Pete,my ears are still humming.Pete had
this angry look on his face for the first three songs bringing
back the memory of the second MSG show in 2000 when
he stayed that way thru the entire show and didnt say
a word to the crowd.But,he cracked a smile all of a
sudden to someone in the crowd and loosened up.

Him and Roger were as playful together as ever.
Roger nixed the glasses and had a tucked in black
shirt,he looked 10 years younger and the shitkicker
of it all was that his voice was perfection tonight.
I mean,absof*ckinglutely perfect!!!!

It was a full house at the Bank Atlantic Arena,but
the crowd sat for the new songs on the most
part except for us crazy f*cks in the front rows,
but the fact that they sat for the new songs
seemed to fire the boys up.Of course,they then
stood and went crazy for the old classics.

Baba stands out as a ripping
version as well as the fiery extended MG/CIYW
jam.The mini-opera fired me up, I just loved
it more than ever tonight.Seeker was in the
second slot,AAA replacing Substitute.No
Black Widow's Eye's which was a slight
disappointement but the overall energy
of the show overpowered that for me.
RGLB was as gorgeous as ever played.

I made up a poster that said:

The Boy Who Heard Music to The Endless Wire
It All Started Here(Florida) September 24th
2000.

(Pete had mentioned on his diary awhile back that he
started writing TBWHM by the Atlantic ocean in
West Palm Beach Florida on September 24th 2000).

Right after Fragments I held it up and Roger
gave me the smile and acknowledgement
but then I was trying to get Pete to read
it but he didnt seem to look at it and that
brought a huge laugh to Roger as brought
to my attention by Meg,Joyce and Marc.

Pete finally read it and announced to the
crowd that there was someone holding
a sign and went onto explain how it was
true that he had started it(TBWHM) in
West Palm Beach.Someone took the sign
from me and had people in the 3 or 4 rows
behind us pass the sign around and each
person held it up It was a trip!!!I didn't
think I was going to get it back because
I really want to bring it to Joe's Pub and
have Pete sign it.Thankfully Meg got it
back for me!Thanks Meg! I'm
emotionally and physically drained.

There's just nothing like being up there in the
front rows.We wound up watching the encore
in the front row with a bunch of rowdy fans.
A couple were talking really loud during
Tea and Theatre and Roger just stared at
them with this wicked glare and I tapped
on there shoulders and told them to please
be quiet for this song and they obliged and
Roger started.Very emotional,really powerful.
We forgot to by the Who tea mugs at the
souvenier stand.We were planning on getting
them after the Pretenders set and holding
them up for Tea and Theatre.We will remember
for the next time hopefully.What can be said
about Tommy encore?It always shreds!

You really get the interaction with
the boys that close.My voice is shot.
Marc brought in a video camera and
got some nice crowd shots and of us.
and some real good close ups of the
band.He also got the Pretenders set
entirely.

Overall,we were more than satisfied,it
was a rip roaring night for sure!

Now on to Atlanta!

ICE
SEEKER
AAA
Fragments
WAY
BBE
RGLB
Sound Round
Pick Up The Peace
Endless Wire
We Got A Hit
They Made My Dream Come True
Mirror Door
Baba O'Riley
EF
MIAPD
Mike Post Theme
YBYB
MG/CIYW
WGFA
Pinball Wizard
AJ/Sparks
See Me,Feel Me
Tea and Theatre

Added Notes from my brother Marc......

Preshow party at TGIF's Restaurant around 6pm:

Joyce & Meg,Mike and I were joined by Scott Pilam & his friend Carlos,Crazy Rob,Jeff Winterich (from Melbourne,fl.)& a couple of his friends.There were some other fans there who joined us,one who was seeing them for the first time, the other who had not seen them since he saw the 1982 JFK show.

The Pretenders came on right at 7:30pm and played their usual 50 minute set.They were as great as everyone was telling us from the prior shows.I decided to go into the stands a bit further back to video tape them.I loved Chrissie Hynde's red boots.She took time out to teach the audience a shimmering english style type of dance that she said "Pete would love".30 minutes later as the show was winding down - she started to do that dance again!

-I have never seen Roger smile so much at any Who show ever..and I've been to 30 of them.He smiled during every song and even invented some really creative dance moves on the stage.As my brother said,his voice was perfect tonight!

-My Generation segued into CIYW, but it was one of the longest versions on the tour,incredibly explosive guitar work by Pete which included him singing "let your tears go,let your past go" several times.And Roger's coolest (and a bit funny) dance moves came during this song.And it wasn't the Chrissie Hynde one!

-The encore as usual was unbelievable.There's nothing more to say about it! Pete actually did a scissor kick leap like the old days.Matter of fact he seemed to jump more than usual.His windmills were infinite it seemed and more ferocious than when I saw him back in Boston and NYC two months ago.

During the start of "Tea & Theater" some people in the front row next to us were talking and yelling loudly at eachother which caused Roger to glare at them.My brother and I quickly told the folks to stop gabbing and pay attention (& respect) and they did immediately and the song was as emotional as ever.

What a night!! We all agreed that it was better than our previous favorite show of the tour in Boston last September.
Oh one more thing.You fuckers in the front row don't belong there.I never saw so many people in the front row who didn't even seem to know what show they were at.They seemed to be waiting for Wayne Newton to show up.It was unbelievable.
Joyce,Meg,Mike and myself stood and sang all the words to W&G and you can see Roger and Pete taking notice while the rest of the crowd sat down.And I mean all of them sat down.I pretty much got all the words right except Pete looked right at me when I sang a line wrong and he did a double take and started laughing at me and shaking his head.We all had some kind of interaction from the band tonight!
As Mike said,we ended up in the front row for the encore.Although the 3rd row at that place was as close as you can get without being front row.The fence was the closest I have seen at a venue.

ENDLESS WIRE

2006-10-31T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is my review of The Who's new CD Endless Wire

Fragments-

How cool is it for those of us who were lucky
enough to here this in-concert?Roger pointing to select
fans and then all saying ("the part of you belong to
you")"and you...and you....and you.....and you."
How powerful is that?How much better connected
can you be to The Who machine at that moment?
Listening to this again brings back those wonderful
memories up north with dear friends.

A Man in a Purple Dress-

I must admit I felt a bit weary
at a couple of online listens but now that I have the
words and get to hear it in stereo,I realize what a
powerful statement Pete has made here.

"How dare you?Do you think I'll quietly go?"

Mike Post Theme-

Well,this has been a staple for me
going way back to the beginning of the Euro/UK shows.
Could of used Zak's drums but other than that it's
a tasty treat and who can deny the already classic
line...."If there really is a God,we should get laid
today." That's my life story in a nut shell!!
Ok,no pun intended!!

In the Ether-

I would of loved this song so much better
in Pete's normal voice.I still like the style of singing
just not the voice it's in.Don't like the "rocking and
rocking me" line,seems too awkward and out of place.
The jury is still out on this one for me.

Black Widow's Eyes-

This is a classic imo.Right now
I have to say that it's my fav't song along with
2000 Years,but I imagine I'll be flip-flopping my
faves on and off as usual.Roger's deep dive into
dark waters with "I fell right in love with her"
and right back up to the surface following with
"through a hundred hearts you flew".The sick,
f*cking sick harmony parts in synchro-unison
between Rog and the Townshend's is simply
haunting.When I first heard them do this in
Boston I swear I achieved an orgasm.Without
anal beads involved,that's quite the achievement
for me.

Two Thousand Years--

Tell me that Roger's way of
singing this does not make your nipples hard?
I can listen to this song over and over and over.
We Who fans talked many of times about how
Roger can interpret and passionately sing out
to the wide open mountains and to the infinite
sea.This is one of thousands.Two Thousand
yeeeeeeeears,two thousand long,years!

God Speaks of Marty Robbins-

Another one that I heard Pete do online,the ITA
show in it's rawness.Top 5 fav't song of all time
Who or Pete.This some may say is classic Pete solo
but who cares?I'm done stigmatizing my brutha's!
When you ejaculate,you ejaculate.No matter how
you slice and dice it,you have to ask yourself
one question?Did you enjoy it?
Don't forget to get out the marguerita and
the sailing cap for this breezy wonderful diddy.
"one became one..father and son..watched
the sunrise break." "I heard the heavens sing
predicting Marty Robbins".Nice!!

It's Not Enough--

Someone on Relayers said that this was her least
fav't song on the CD and I just have to say "HUH?"
I couldn't get enough of this song live in concert
and I wasn't let down after hearing it in my house.
Classic Roger pleading "When I'm on my knees I keep
taking your stuff,make sure you know it's never
enough." Brilliant.Written by Pete and Rachel.
Hmmm...interesting that Roger got to sing a
partial Rachel song.Ya gotta dig it.If she replaced
Rabbit on keys in concert I think I'm finally in that
place where I can accept that.

You Stand By Me--

Whether it's an ode to Roger,Rachel,the fans or
whomever,how can you deny this one?It's short
and to the point."You take my side against those
who lied,you take my side gimme back my pride".
Need there be anything more said for the rest
of his life?It's cemented into the Endless Wire
for infinites.

Sound Round
Pick Up the Peace
We Got a Hit

These three songs from the mini-opera I lump together
because they are short and finger snappin' foot tappin'
wholicious.I wish they were longer.Listening to the
extended version of We Got a Hit reaffirms that.

Unholy Trinity--

Roger put's that classic Roger character woven
into this sweet tune."we are unhooooly triiiiiiiiinity".
I can't help but think of the beginning part without
thinking of 'Ive Known No War'.Also,this is not
meant to be an insult when I say that a certain
song has a 'solo' feel.This one combines the
Roger's classic 70's solo songs with a the feeling
it would of fit in with the Quad soundtrack album.

Trilby's Piano--

If you didn't follow TBWHM novella by Pete one might
mistake the word for "Hymie" for "hiney". "Genius
would fill me-she loves hiney".
Ok,so I'm not exactly enamoured by this one yet.
It's part of the story so I should learn it and be
serious about it,right?In due time dearies,in due
time Nice production on the orchestrals by Rachel.

Endless Wire--

This song has really grown on me.I especially love
the Pete and Roger combined effort on the extended
version.I think Sara nailed it in the Traveling Wilbury's
analogy.

Fragments of Fragments--

Add more Lawrence Ball and you get trippy,coolness.
It can be a bit over the top but I like over the top.
I like under the bottom too but that's for another
forum

They Made My Dreams Come True--

Another one that grew on me.Pino's creepy bass
ties into this haunting song and Pete's vocals.
"People died where I performed,people cried
when glass deformed,shots rang out as the
singer yawned,the band played on until the
dawn." Classic.Further more assessing that
we want Pino and Zak dominating the next
album if Pete so chooses to do another one.

Mirror Door--

Many didn't like this song at first listen many
months ago in it's original form.Now look at it.
It's a Who classic already!The best song live
no doubt!

Tea and Theatre--

Tearjerker.What can I say?The night comes down
like a cell door closing.

2,000 MILES TO TEA AND THEATER

2006-09-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

My brother Marc wrote his account of our roadtrip from Florida to NYC then to Boston
and back to NYC with The Who!

Memorable moments in Boston and NYC!

Not in any such order or continuity...

-On the road again! Drove from South Florida again.Mike,Rob and
myself.
We leave at 9:30am on Sept. 13th and arrive into NYC (after a 7 hour
stop over in Maryland) at around 2:30pm on Sept. 14th. Back in the
New York groove.

We meet up with Joyce & Meg at the Union Square Inn Hotel in the East
Village, which is close to where Joe's Pub is.

More on the Joe's Pub show under the NYC section below.

BOSTON-

The day after Joe's Pub show - Joyce,Meg,Oz,& Eddie Ryan join the
three of us and ride to Boston.

Joyce checks us into the Hilton Hotel

Scott Pilam arrives from Logan Airport and joins us.

A night off hanging out in beautiful Boston - mainly at the Quincy
Market area - the day before the show.Met some great fans.

- We meet the amazing Ryan brothers on this off night. The "other" Ed
and John from SLC,Utah.Some of the most amazing stories ever heard!
Swimming with Roger! That one was the best. Forrest Who Gump moments.
We hung out at CHEERS and in front of the Black Rose bar just having
a great time in a happening college town on a weekend night and the
weather was perfect.Charles from Denver showed up! I didn't expect to
see you that night - so what a surprise. And Charles brought his
daughter for her first Who show.How great is that! Another brother
tandem that go to shows together.They were impressed with some of our
Who "meetings" stories.But theirs were the tops of all time!

Show day arrives on September 16th.

Preshow at the Harps bar across from the arena.We arrived there about
5pm.I couldn't believe how many recognizeable faces showed up in
Boston.Was happy to see Jeff House show up after there was some
initial doubt he would.Glad you could make it to the show.

-Mike and Rob talking live on a popular Boston rock radio station
(100.7 WZLX) before the Boston show at Harps was one of the best
moments of the trip!! A station DJ (the popular Chuck Nolan) was
there with his crew promoting the radion station & the show with a
great preshow party, which included a 2nd row giveaway contest.The
bar was packed from the front to the back.The DJ came up to
Mike,Rob,and I with a microphone. Mike explains how we drove from
Miami to Boston & NYC and how we've done this many times.Mike
explains how he was told by his boss that he cannot miss work for the
next 6 months when he gets back.The DJ laughed.Rob injected some
funny comments, the funniest being something like "We are so
committed, that we all should be committed". Meaning to a mental
health facility for our insanity of driving so far to see THE WHO.
Insanity is fun, if that's the way's it's done!

Hours later at a concession stand inside the arena,
I overhear these parents who were with their kids talking about how
they drove from D.C. I proceeded to tell them how we drove from
Miami. They said to me with excitement in their voices: "Was that you
on the radio telling that driving story from Miami"?! .And I pointed
at Mike and said "yes,there he is"! Along with Rob, it was their 2
minutes of Boston radio fame! The couple bursted out laughing and
high fiving Mike & I! lol.What a small Who world! It's a small who
world after all!

- At the Boston show (4th row on Pino's side), Pino was playing for
Scott Pilam,Ozzie,Mike and I after he spotted all four of us cheering
him on, bowing to him,etc. As Ozzie said earlier in a post - Pino
turned right at us - and played for just a us. He did so for more
than a few moments! It was a hilight for sure. Pino had a huge smile
on his face and appeared so very appreciative of our
attention.Likewise!

-The energy of both the band and the audience - together - was
unbelievable in Boston.I could not stop looking around at the whole
audience reaction from the top levels on down to the floor
area.LISTENING TO YOU....I GET EXCITEMENT AT YOUR FEET!!

-The new songs are the hilight for me and alot of us.The miniopera
and "Black Widow Eyes" are my favorites.
I didn't learn what "Tea & Theatre" was about until literally after
the final msg show was over.I look foward to listening and feeling
that song at the next show (Sunrise) knowing the lyrics a little
better.I still need to sit down and listen to this one and absorb the
words. Now starting to realize that this new WHO CD/ALBUM will end up
being a classic..for the music and the emotional content.They are
turning out being perfect for the stage, at least to my ears and
several others I have spoken to about them.

-Pete's massive spit shower spray in Boston, as he crouched down to
machine gun down some of you who were sitting over there.No one who
was over there could confirm to me that they had received some "Pete
stains". I believe he showered the back of a security dude.Gunned
down in a hail of fog nozzled venomous drool!!Hahahahahahaha!!
That punk attitude at age 61..it remains.That is what I love about
Pete.The passion,compassion,the anger,the love, the energy...it's all
still there! Lisa & Ron & Brian Lynch will get the Fog nozzle
reference.

After the show we ended up at CHEERS again (since Harps became a
dance club after 9pm) with much of the same crowd, including another
raucous and fun night with the Ryan brothers and their stories.

Back at the hotel ---

-Mike was having a mildly intoxicated related problem of not being
able to slide the hotel key into the door slot successfully (at
around 3am).Ozzie then held the door shut to frustrate Mike even more
(we hear Mike screaming "the light on the door knob is turning
green...wtf!?"- I think he figured it out by then - but why won't
the door open?).I video'd the whole funny incident! Oz let's go of
the door and Mike falls against & thru the door Three Stooges style
and tumbles over the bed once he made it into the room! lol!!! Of
course, Mike embellished the prop fall but it was all good and fun!

- Someone called Guest Services asking if they could speak to
Mr.Hilton."We need more towels,food,and the services of Miss Paris
Hilton please"? Rob, did you make that call???
What happens in Hilton, stays in Hilton.

-Oz's elderly woman impression when Rob was on the phone with his Mom
in the hotel room was funny as heck. Rob's Mom kept asking Rob who
the lady in the room was that she was hearing in the background. Rob
comes back with "Mom,that's my friend Ozzie". It seemed to tie in a
little with Mike's funny impression of Leon from the movie "Dog Day
Afternoon". Another classic moment of the boys being boys.Or was it
the Leon's being the Leon's?But how sweet was this.We sang happy
birthday to Rob's Mom , who is one sweet lady.

- I can't quit you!!!!!! Funniest quote of the whole trip - just in
the sense of the context of how it was being said and why! Ozzie and
then Rob, both going on and on with this.Basically a message for
master Pete! We all may have thought about trying but Pete can't quit
us either.Get the joke? Get the message?!

NYC -

-Started in NYC for the Joe's Pub show.A line formed for the 6pm door
opening.That is where we met many of our familiar Who friends for the
first time.

Pete Townshend walks thru the front dooor & brushes Mike on the
way in (Mike was just getting thru the door after presenting his
ticket).Pete says "excuse me" and looks Mike right in the eyes and
Mike says "hello Pete",and then Pete says "hello" back - with this
warm smile on his face.
I was ahead of Mike and Pete had pushed his way past me
but I didn't know it was him at the time since I saw him from the
back.It wasn't until Mike told me he was shouting at me to get my
attention, but it was too loud in there to hear him.In hindsight, I
did recall that the gentleman was Pete because I recognized his arse!
I mean his walk.

The show itself was great.Thanks to Joyce,we have a table on the
stage practically.("Give me a drink boy wash my feet")...and that's
what we did for Pete! Rob got Pete stains!! We all got Pete stains!
I loved hearing Pete perform "Blue,Red & Grey", "Greyhound Girl",
and "Let's See Action". But for me, one of the best moments was
hearing Rachel sing my favorite Rachel song, "Happy to be Sad".
It was totally unexpected and her beautiful voice is even better to
hear live.We all loved Floyd Vance and Martha and her horsey
outfit.Both so incredibly talented as well.

Our table was next to George and Duke (I believe they were at the
same table). George looked like a cool mod with his mod-like
sunglasses and the way he dresses.And of course, Sean Duke Cassidy is
THE MOD from SF! And of course Max is THE THE MOD.WE ARE THE MODS,WE
ARE THE MODS, WE ARE WE ARE THE MODS!!!!We also met some fellow bloggers
briefly such as the lovely Sue,Alecia,Sara Beth and Charlotte.What a night!

reat atmosphere's and
locations for both,especially the Affinia.My favorite hotel so far.I
am glad this one didn't have a minibar,fewwwww.Lesson learned.Always
those magical Who moments with you Joyce

- The Stout pre-show parties and meeting all the great Who friends!
Thanks to Jason Hare and whomever else were in charge of the Who
videos on all those big screens.Most of the names we met are
below.The last night, Magik shows up! I finally get drunk with you
Billy,hahaha! A really cool looking bar.Huge place, beautiful place.I
like it better than the Molly Wee's Pub from the past tours.

-First night at MSG...

...there was a ticket fiasco but ALOT of people ended up being in
similar situations.They all got resolved and lessons were learned.I
never sweated any of it...I was "getting on" and enjoying some
preshow pints for a change. You can't change the situation so you
just feel confidant it will all work out - and it all did! It's a sad
reminder of how many people are out there scamming and ripping us
fans off to make a buck.We all wanted to find these guys and do a
clockwork orange on them. George hung out at the box office for hours
trying to make up for all of our losses, thus never getting a chance
to join the preshow party.Thanks for doing that George..and Oz.

The show was great but the overall audience reaction was not.Seemed
to be more corporate types on the floor this first night for some
reason.I still loved the energy from the guys and the new songs
continued to blow me away.There was this one guy to my left who
looked to be around Pete's age wearing a suit, silver hair and
glasses.I decided to high five him and he went for it.Many many
times.The high fives were so stingingly hard from this guy...even in
my numbed-to-a-thumb overdubbed state....my hands were actually sore
for the rest of the night.I could hardly hold my beers.But the iced
down beers helped heal the pain,Hahahahahaha!! If he was one of those
corporate guys...he was one of the true Who fans from the way he was
enjoying the show.He should of gotten his busniess partners arses out
of their chairs though.

The review for this show is short,I know. The Boston show and the 2nd
MSG show was "the" shows for me! But they all were awesome.

- WHO'S NEXT plays at BB King's as part of the AFTER SHOW PARTY and a
big crowd is there for the show.They are "on" as usual.Just great.
After there show, everyone splits their time between Faces and the
Irish pub and than onto a late night diner.

2nd MSG Show -

As mentioned above, the preshow gathering is again at the cool
looking STOUT bar with the Who being played on the big screens again.

-Spending the Who's 2nd Msg show with Joyce,Meg,and Mike..from the
2nd row on Pete's side! Thanks Meg for all you did to get us those
tix.It was great meeting and hanging with you.Will see you again
soon.High fiving you Joyce during a Who show was awesome! I was just
so afraid of spilling my beer on you..I had to be careful not to give
anyone around us a beer shower.What a great view.It was massively
loud , the way I like it. Lauri and us making Who eye contact and Who
fists salutes often during the show.We loved every minute of it.The
MSG crowd this 2nd night was way more into it!

-Just before the lights went down Mike yelled high to Bobby Pridden,
and Bobby turned and smiled and then the lights suddenly went out
and you could see Bobby quickly turn his attention back to his
controller board.What a way to distract the sound engineer Mike,lol.
Just kidding.

-Mike points at some guy in the photo pit at this 2nd msg show and
says to me."That photographer looks just like Jason Hare". And I
agreed.About 10 minutes later I see this stranger's face when he
turns around for a moment and I realize it IS Jason,lol. I tell Mike
this and he says "No, it is not". Finally, Jason turns around again
and this time smiles and waves at us and Mike says "wow,it is Jason".
WOW, you lucky dude Jason!!!!

-We all file out of the Garden and down the corridor when all of a
sudden some sort of version of "LOVE REIGN O'ER ME" occurs.I mean, he
is one of us and does love us all, right? So, then you can say that
his message was one of love.Luckily that LOVE did not reign on us.But
the arc and the smile were all part of the special effects.It was a
beer chest but it was NO beer coming down- that for sure.That for
veddy veddy sure,LOL!!!!! Hate to say it, but it has to be added to
the Who story hall of fame,lol.The security guys could of easily
been "dicks" too.Matter of fact,I think when they brought him
backstage, he thought he was being led to a backstage party -
hahahaha! In a flash, you were already sitting in Faces and Names on
your third drink? How did you do it? lol.

-Roger's voice to me sounds just great despite some negative
thoughts from others (but just a few and we all have our own
opinions).I just think that in the mix of it all, you really can't
hear the off notes.You can on the DVD's at times which is
natural.It's all part of a natural progression, but it's still all
progressed well if you ask me .At his age with six million screams
under his belt, we and Roger himself are lucky he's singing at
all.Pete's windmills & spitfire strumming,chording,& overall playing
is more ferocious than ever. Not too many leaps but the "few" leaps
he does have been coming at unexpected times and he's doing more of
the scissor kicks facing the audience than I've seen before, which
has been surprisingly cool. Fewer jumps, but placed at precise
times..makes it just as special than ever before.The
singing,playing,energy,enjoyment,etc from the whole band has just
been incredible.

The last night, we spend most of the night at Faces and Names hanging
with everyone...including Simon and Bobby Pridden.A cool way to end
this trip.

We put in our share of time at the Irish Pub for old times sakes
these past several days too.

Loved hanging with THE Eddie Ryan,Lauri,Mason,Lauren,Steph, Sara &
Tommy,GG, Jason Hare, Diane & Bob, Seth,Brian Lynch,Kevin's from
Maine and Vermont,Rick from Maine,Barry,Alan, Charles and his
daughter,the McMullen's, Brian Cady,Keets, Duke, Barry,Jeff
W.,Cynthia,Bill Canell and his brother,the rest of the band.George L.
and Mark Fintz, Sheridan, Matt,Lisa & Ron, Happy Jack,Joe L., Jeff
House, Max the Mod (great having you hang out in a room a bit!),Scott
Schrade,Magik and so on! I know names have been left out,there were
so many friends there. I mean, we all know the Faces & Names! We all
missed you TRISH!!!

p.s.- Thank you to everyone who took pictures.Joyce,George,Ozzie,Mike
and so on.So far I have seen some great ones from George! Looking
foward to see many many more!

ON THE ROAD WITH THE WHO

2006-07-31T16:11:00.000-07:00

No,John won't be there with us on the

road but in spirit he will through the

music.Ready to meet up with my

fellow WHO fan friends up north!

And looking forward to meeting

new WHO friends as well :)

2006-06-05T01:34:00.000-07:00

2006-06-05T01:27:00.000-07:00

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2006-06-05T01:14:00.000-07:00

2006-06-05T00:51:00.000-07:00

2006-05-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

CELEBRATING FIVE DECADES OF THE WHO ON TOUR

2006-05-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

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2006-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

2006-05-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

2006-05-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

THE EYE OF THE MOON

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2006-02-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Blurred visions of WHO plums dance in my head!