The Who in Oklahoma City, OK 05-10-22

 

The Who Setlist Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA 2022, The Who Hits Back!

 

 

Videos

Who Are You
Baba O'Riley

 

Press

The Oklahoman

 

Review by Pat Stanton

The Who concert on Tuesday in OKC was one of the best shows that I have seen in the last few years. Both Roger and Pete were upbeat, energetic and happy the entire show. They, the band and the orchestra were simply spectacular.

Pete had laryngitis for both the Dallas and The Woodlands shows but he was back to normal in OKC. He joked that the good news was that he had his voice back which was also the bad news. He was chatty all night, saying he told Roger before the show that he would cover the conversation by sharing bits of chapter 26 of the story of his life.

The set list swapped Relay for Bargain in the band only middle section. It was a nice change.

There was a scary moment when a young waifish man jumped over the rail, onto a platform just below the stage. He looked at Roger, who was standing front stage, and repeated "I love you" several times. Roger initially smiled then calmly walked back to his table with his water and tea. Eventually, security appeared and removed him but the guy could have easily jumped onto the stage and caused a problem if he chose to do so. I am certain that the crew would have stormed the stage to protect Roger but it was a major fail for security.

Pete thanked the audience for supporting them several times during the show. Advance ticket sales was very poor but by selling tickets for very low prices, the arena was probably 2/3 full. Pete expressed that they understand that it is a major commitment to travel to shows and buy tickets, especially during uncertain times. He often expresses this but last night he repeatedly did it.

Roger has not sounded better in years. His LROM was actually one of the best that I ever heard.

I noticed that Pete often looked to Simon with love and pride in his talent, especially during Sparks and The Rock where Simon takes a lead role.

When the orchestra returned after their break/band only section, Pete went into a very funny tirade about where the orchestra members go, what they do during the break, if the same people return or if different musicians come back. During the final good nights, he assured the audience that the same people do come back as he monitors them. This was all said tongue in cheek of course and was typical of his playfulness all night.

Billy Nichols was missing last night. Hopefully he will return for the Memphis show as he was missed.

I enjoyed my 3 show mini tour and look forward to picking the tour up again in DC and NYC.

 

Review by Bob McHugh

Here is my review of Oklahoma City. They sounded good. I don’t mind rock bands with orchestras, but this format is definitely a better vehicle for Roger than Pete. Pete’s guitar volume is much too low! No uhmpf! They were both in good voice. Pete was quite talkative. High points were the Tommy section, acoustic Seeker and a very nice Relay. Lamest part of the show was WAY, EF etc. after opening orchestra section. From Seeker on was quite good. Roger really nailed See Me, Feel Me. Amazing really. His voice was top notch!

The crowd was lame. Mostly sitters. Vastly undersold. Top section covered. No back floor seats. Maybe 5,000 people. I think they will still be doing this into their 80’s. I hope they plug back in though. That’s it. I have already clocked 3,000 miles on this trip and driving back to Colorado tomorrow. Five shows in 8 nights. Two Van the Man shows at the Ryman, Patti Smith and then Elvis Costello at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. Plus the Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan centers. It’s only rock n roll, but I Live it.