The Who at Oberhausen, DE - Koenig Pilsener Arena

 

The Who Setlist König-Pilsener-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany, Back To The Who Tour 2016

 

 

Videos

My Generation
The Rock
Pinball Wizard
Baba O'Riley
Won't Get Fooled Again

 

Press

WAZ
Ruhrnachrichten.de
lokalkompass.de
RP Online
Regioactive.de

 

Review by Pat Stanton

The concert last night in Oberhausen was a good show although the pace seemed rushed. There were no stories between songs, just a comment here and there. The set list was basically the same as it has been during the concerts concerts in 2016, with 5:15 back.

Roger sounded fine all evening and his Love Reign was noteworthy, with the full range of his vocals displayed. John Corey's intro to the song was longer than usual but it was superb.

Pete attempted a little German but was apologetic, saying he forgot everything he learned in school and that he loves the language. His observation was that at this point we all need to learn Chinese.

The arena was very warm with occasional cool blasts of air conditioning. As it was in the low 80s in Oberhausen on Saturday, it is understandable.

Both Pete and Roger were grateful and thanked the audience for all the years of support at the end. Pete especially seemed touched by the strong response from the audience.

The next show is on Monday in Stuttgart. The crew would not give any of the set lists to the fans after the show, commenting that they need to reuse them in Stuttgart. Not a really funny joke as each set list has the name of the city on the bottom of the page and to a fan the set list is a treasure and not just a piece of rubbish to be discarded, but probably a harbinger of the set list for the remaining shows.

 

Review by Lauren J. Hammer

Show was solid. Absolutely nothing special. [Editor's note: Pete played a gold top Les Paul for the first time in ages! We think that is very special.]

No Can't Explain. No Seeker. Lily was in. 5.15 was in. Acid Queen was in. No Squeeze Box.

Very little chatter. Rushed through the show (but obviously NOT to get in extra songs!)

Great to be there, as it always is, but not a particularly strong show.

They weren't rusty, as it's only been a few months, but it's obvious that they did not rehearse.  They did NOTHING different.  It was lazy.

NO intro story to Kids (which was in the #2 slot in place of The Seeker).

German crowd most enthusiastic about Behind Blue Eyes and I'm One.

Less gravelly shouting on I'm One.

Bit of a funny thing when Pete was trying to intro Quad songs by talking about how they'd done Quad their last time through Oberhausen. The only problem was the last time they were in Oberhausen was the Endless Wire tour. Took a while for him to sort out what we were saying.  When he finally heard us, he realized that that won't work, as he was trying to introduce Quad songs.

And not that we were particularly shouting this to him, as we know it's fucking never going to happen, but in the front row crowd, we were pining away for Endless Wire songs. "Mike Post Theme!" "Fragments!"

John's Love Reign solo was painfully long (we remarked in the car today that the time spent on his solo was enough for the entirety of I Can't Explain!!!).  That said, it was quite lovely, in and of itself. Roger's Love Reign performance was excellent.

Amazing Journey/Sparks, was the highlight of the show, as always - but NO BIRDMAN.

During WGFA, apparently, Pete was playing a Gibson SG for the first 1/2 of the song.  I was clueless, only realizing this after Horace posted about it.  Not being a gear person, I didn't "get it," but H and Terry and Max and Duke were beside themselves about it. [Editor's note: Pete played a Gibson Les Paul, not SG.] 

Pino was absolutely buried in the mix, as per usual.

No Bob Pridden tonight. Apparently, he has some health stuff going on. Rog had a lot of sound issues, but no tantrums. I think he understood that everyone was doing their best without Bob there running the show.

Personally, I missed Bobby.  Him enjoying the show every night is an important part of ME enjoying the show!

Brief fashion report.  Roger was in his black jeans and black button shirt, sleeves rolled up above his elbow.  Shirt stayed buttoned.  I like his new haircut.  Pete also wearing black pants and a black (short sleeve) button shirt.  Looked good on him.  We got some belly action on some of the windmills, etc, plus later in the show, he became unbuttoned up top (3 buttons down), showing off more chest than Roger!  It was actually a good look on him, complemented by two, heavy silver chains.  Simon was wearing some funky, new glasses for the first half of the show.  Frank had no hat on.  Loren got his hair cut shorter.  It doesn't look bad, but I missed his longer hair.  Nothing notable about Zak or Pino or John.

As always, a good time was had by all.

 

Review by Klaus Heintz aka Vortex242

2016 is not my year. Until now I count two highlights; The Who in London 2-13 and The Who in Oberhausen 9-10. Around these dates my life happened in hospital beds and, after losing one lung to a fungus, in rehab centers. BUT... it is so worthy to live and see The Who on stage... I use the power from the stage to feed my own. And Oberhausen was no exception.

Went to the show with my brother Karl and a close friend. Walking there was a bit slow, and I tried to avoid every staircase. Had a big smile on my face when I spotted old Wholigan friends Melissa and Gary on the way. Had a hug or two. Great to see some friends from the Netherlands and the States as well. Time was limited and I got in the hall playing the rehab card. Due to my illness I was relieved that the seats were not front of the stage but on the side. I could sit most of the show. Standing for two hours was not an option. I had a great view and the sound for recording was fine as well.

Tried to spot good old Bobby Pridden behind the board, but no sign of him. After the show I learned he had to retire. Hope he can enjoy life for a long time!

From the first notes of the Who Are You intro I smiled and a few tears found the way. The first four or five songs sounded a bit rushed. They started uptempo and were calmed down with Rogers singing. Perhaps they wanted to keep the show short because of the hot weather conditions we had in germany in september.

The first highlight was I Can See For Miles. Brilliant guitar work and Rogers singing was great. Same on Behind Blue Eyes, which is usually a disaster as Roger's voice is not good enough anymore for that song. That day he nailed it. Thanks!!! Bargain was a highlight as usual. The mouthorgan intro of Join Together sounded perfect. And the band became a live wire starting with the Quadrophenia part.

Like in London my jaw dropped with the sheer energy the band developed during the last hour of the show. To have 5:15 back in the set is great. Same for The Acid Queen. My personal highlight is Sparks. Everytime they play it. The greatest live piece The Who ever had.

Closing with Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again is fine, but I heard some negative comments, when the show was over with no encore. I would also want to hear a closing Magic Bus or Naked Eye as an encore.

I was very very happy to have attended the show. Thanks to friends and family who brought me thru the hard times. Thanks to The Who for providing the good part of life. I appreciate that!!!