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Videos
The Seeker
Bargain
Baba O'Riley
Love Reign O'er Me
Won't Get Fooled Again
I Can See For Miles
Bargain
Eminence Front
I Can See For Miles
I Can't Explain / The Seeker
My Generation
Pinball Wizard / See Me Feel Me
Squeeze Box
Squeeze Box
The Kids Are Alright
Who Are You
Won't Get Fooled Again
You Better You Bet
Love Reign O'er Me
A Quick One
Press
Lehigh Valley Music
Philly.com
Buck County Courier Times
Review by Joe Stralo
There are certain bands that just seem to crank it up to eleven in Philadelphia. The Who has always been one of them – the city loves them and the band loves the city right back. The show on May 17th at the Wells Fargo Center proved that The Who, with 50 years in tow, play with all of the passion and intensity of a band that has something to prove. But The Who has nothing to prove – they have held their place on Mount Olympus as rock Gods since the late 1960’s, when they played “See Me, Feel Me” during sunrise at Woodstock. From the opening note of “I Can’t Explain,” there was a rage in their playing, the type of rage that comes from adolescents who have enormous chips on their shoulders.
Pete was in very good spirits, joking about having the key to the city and then saying to Roger, “I have the key to the city, so fuck you.” He introduced “The Kids Are Alright” by saying that when the song was written in 1964, “most of you weren’t even born,” and then going on to say that we now have our own kids and even grandkids, but this song was about us as kids,” giving a nod to the median age of the audience, which was probably 45 years old. The first indication that the Philly show was going to be absolutely over the top performance-wise came at the end of “My Generation,” with a jam that would challenge the best “My Generation jams” throughout The Who’s entire career, including the incendiary version that was played and immortalized in an FM broadcast from the Philadelphia Spectrum in 1973. But the apex of the show and the microcosm for what this show, this tour, and what rock and roll are all about, came during “Love, Rein O’er Me,” when Roger let out a scream at the end that was pure rock and roll fury. “LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVE” echoed throughout the 25,000-seat arena like the voices of triumphant arc-angels. The look in Roger’s eyes as he let loose came from rage, fury, and passion; if the biblical story of Armageddon has a soundtrack, that moment would play at the climax. And, on a much smaller scale, it was as if Roger was thinking, “all of those vocal chord problems and rescheduled shows – FUCK THAT, I’m going to sing my heart out every fucking night and I don’t care if my vocal chords are shredded at the end of the night!
A rather light-hearted moment, and one that would have sent a 30-year old Townshend into a rock star, guitar-throwing tantrum, came during the banjo break in “Squeeze Box,” when musical director/keyboard player/banjo player Frank Simes missed his cue for the banjo solo. Pete had to shout at him twice, “NOW, PLAY IT NOW,” so Zak guided the band back to the opening of the break, when Frank was able to redeem himself and begin the banjo solo. Pete took it in stride, reinforcing his good spirits, telling the audience, “Frank asked to introduce more chaos into the set. There you have it – chaos!”
The entire night was a triumph with the few ragged moments (“a bum note and a bead of sweat,” as referred to by Roger) outshined by sheer intensity. Pete may have owned the key to the city in physical form since 1993, but the reality is that The Who have had they key to this city since the late 1960’s and they will have it for generations to come.
Review by Pat Stanton
This show was best NA tour show so far, not counting Jazz Fest as that was outside of the normal tour. Pete again displayed enormous energy and was in great humor, telling us that he has the keys to the city and they say f#ck off, among many other comments. Roger sounded the best since before he became ill in Cardiff last December. Squeeze Box is back, rest of set list is the same. Magic Bus is gone and probably not coming back as I hear that it strained Roger's throat during the harmonica bit.
Review by Terry McBride
Kind of a fun show. About what I expected based on everything I've been reading. Only real stretching out was MG. Miss the good old jamming days. A few screw ups. False start to AQO. Aforementioned SB banjo drama. Roger came in early during part of one song (AJ). PT was not happy with his guitar during WGFA, and let Alan know it both during the song and at the end. Walked off and had quite a bit of serious chit-chat with him before the obligatory farewells. Missed the jump during BBE with my camera. Damn! I'm a little rusty. I'll do better next time. (Did I just say that?) Amusing encounters with security over my camera. Talked my way out twice! Har! Met old friends and new friends. Good conversations. And yes, "Civilians will... Fuck...You...Up"! Oh, one more thing. Don't quite know why, but wore my Who colors to a Who show for the first time. Will usually wear Who stuff to anything 'but' a Who show. Odd choice.
