The Who are on what they’re calling a final tour, “The Who Hits 50.” (They actually hit 50 two years ago.)
What a shame. It’s a shame because this band is still performing at such a high level of passion and ferocity and musical excellence.
Led by original guitarist-songwriter Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, they continue to delight so many fans, as they did Sunday night at the 18,325-seat Honda Center in Anaheim. (They also played the 19,000-seat Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday and will play the Valley View Casino Center, formerly the San Diego Sports Arena, on Friday.)
They are really going to be missed.
These SoCal gigs were postponed from earlier this year when Daltrey contracted a case of viral meningitis. He is fully recovered from this very serious illness as well as the throat surgery he underwent to remove a pre-cancerous growth on his vocal cords that limited his fabled roaring singing ability.
At 72, the singer once again roars and soars.
In the years following the 2002 death of original bassist John Entwistle, Townshend, 71, would solo in the most discordant fashion. Were these artistic statements or demonstrations of disdain aimed at fans that would seemingly cheer everything he played, regardless that what he was playing was so off-key?
Whatever the reason, he’s back on track, his trademark windmills prominent throughout as he played masterfully in key, ripping off intense booming solos and fingerpicking delicately.
Bassist Pino Palladino has been with the band since Entwistle’s death, and the journeyman is a capable and unobtrusive presence.
Driving the band for the past 22 years is its second truly great drummer (original drummer Keith Moon died in 1978). Zak Starkey, the 50-year-old son of Beatle Ringo Starr, is the closest thing to Moon incarnate and is a wonder to see and hear. Townshend credits Starkey’s drumming as a main reason The Who continues to perform.
The touring band is filled out with Townshend’s guitarist brother Simon, and keyboardists Loren Gold and Frank Simes.
The band delivered 22 songs from its career over a couple hours without an encore. The set list has changed some since the tour began in November 2014.
Missed most is an early curio, “A Quick One,” Townshend’s six-part, nine-minute minirock opera that was a precursor to his full-fledged rock operas “Tommy” in 1969 and “Quadrophenia” in 1973. (Another rock opera by Townshend, “Lifehouse,” was attempted in 1971 but abandoned.)
The band played it early on the tour, and it would have been great to have heard it at the Honda Center.
The evening’s highlights were the rarely performed 1972 nonalbum single, “Join Together,” the 1967 single “I Can See for Miles,” which has been performed sparingly until this tour, and 1971’s “Baba O’Riley” (many know it incorrectly as “Teenage Wasteland”), still one of rock’s most popular classic anthems ever, 45 years after its release.
Despite the age of Daltrey and Townshend, “Amazing Journey/Sparks” from “Tommy” remain among the most downright ferocious pieces of live music to be heard anywhere on Earth. It’s pretty amazing that at the conclusion of this two-song medley, the Honda Center was still standing.
The band has deleted from set lists on recent tours anything from its 2006 album, “Endless Wire.” That was the first Who studio album in a quarter century, since “It’s Hard” in 1982. “Be Lucky,” the song they recorded and released in the summer of 2014, did not receive a showcase. Also absent were “Real Good Looking Boy” and “Old Red Wine,” which they recorded in 2004 for an anthology, “Then and Now.”
Not performing “Be Lucky” or the “Endless Wire” material is OK, but those 2004 songs are excellent and classic Who. Hearing one or both of those live would have been special.
However, with a catalogue as extensive as The Who’s, they have a couple of dozen other songs they didn’t get to that would have killed on this tour. The fact is that this was a thoroughly awesome, totally satisfying concert from a group that will be so badly missed once they actually do hang it up.
The Who will also return to Southern California at least once more, on Oct. 9 and 16, when they co-headline with former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters the Desert Trip festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
Before leaving the stage, Daltrey may have addressed their decision to retire after this tour when he said offhandedly that at least on that night, his feeling was it’s now uncertain if the band would indeed not call it a day and would be back for more.
Turtles’ ‘Happy Together’ tour set
The Turtles’ annual “Happy Together” summer caravan tour just gets more and more popular.
With lead singer Howard Kaylan and his high-pitched backup singing sidekick Mark Volman, the Turtles have been fronting these tours for years, performing their all-time classics “Eleanor,” “She’d Rather Be With Me” and the title of their tours, “Happy Together.”
As always, this year’s jaunt features a group of beloved hit makers from the ’60s performing four or five of their biggest hits.
This go-round stars several return performers, including former Three Dog Night lead singer Chuck Negron (“Joy to the World,” “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)”), former Paul Revere and The Raiders frontman Mark Lindsay (“Indian Reservation,” “Kicks”), Union Gap crooner Gary Puckett (“Young Girl,” “Woman, Woman”), and The Cowsills (“Hair,” “The Rain, the Park & Other Things”), who made their tour debut last year.
There is one newcomer on board this time around. British Invasion star Spencer Davis can be counted on to showcase “Keep on Running,” “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m a Man.”
The 54-date tour kicks off June 3 in Biloxi, Mississippi, and runs through Sept. 3 in Ralston, Nebraska. And if history is any guide, quite a few additional dates could be added. Included are stops on July 13 at the Grenada in Santa Barbara, July 20 at Humphrey’s in San Diego, July 23 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills and a biggie on July 24 at the 8,000-seat Pacific Amphitheatre during the OC Fair (its capacity was 18,000 before a major remodeling).
Willie Nelson’s July Fourth picnic roster
Willie Nelson has been hosting his traditional Fourth of July Picnics since 1973. This year’s bash at the Circuit of The Americas racetrack in Austin, Texas, which holds 120,000, will include sets from 70-something country outlaws Billy Joe Shaver and David Allen Coe, as well as his Highwaymen pal Kris Kristofferson, who will turn 80 two weeks prior to the Picnic.
Other acts on the bill include Lee Ann Womack, Jamey Johnson with Alison Krauss, younger country rocker Brantley Gilbert and Americana singer Margo Price. Of course, the 83-year-old Nelson will join his guests throughout the day as well as playing his own set.
Charlie Daniels’ “Volunteer Jam”
A year after Willie Nelson hosted his first Fourth of July Picnic in 1973, another country vet, Charlie Daniels, hosted his first “Volunteer Jam.” This year’s 40th anniversary event is set for Nov. 30 at Nashville’s 18,500-seat Bridgestone Arena.
Daniels will celebrate a milestone a month before the Jam, so this year’s bash will mark the fiddle-playing singer’s 80th birthday. Daniels, who recorded six platinum albums during his half-century career, will be joined by Kid Rock and country comic Larry the Cable Guy. Additional performers will be announced.
Part of the proceeds from the Volunteer Jam will be donated to the nonprofit The Journey Home Project, which Daniels co-founded with his manager, David Corlew, to assist U.S. veterans.
It’s a busy fall season for Daniels, best-known for the crossover hit and 1979 platinum smash, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” He still maintains a rigorous performing schedule. He’ll play at least 35 shows during the second half of the year (but none west of the Mississippi), and later this year he’ll be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Gregg Allman honorary doctorate
Gregg Allman received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where The Allman Brothers Band first formed in 1969 and called home during its early years.
Presenting the 68-year-old singer-keyboardist with the degree was a man The Allman Brothers helped move into the White House, former President Jimmy Carter.
Carter drew laughs when he told the crowd that he might not have won the 1976 presidential election if the band hadn’t “adopted” him. The band endorsed the then-Georgia governor shortly after he launched his presidential bid and played numerous benefit concerts for his campaign.
Allman and his band will play the KAABOO Festival at the Del Mar Fairgrounds north of San Diego on Sep. 16 and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 6.
Billy Zoom back with X
Even though Billy Zoom, guitarist for pioneering L.A. punk band X, is still undergoing “chemo maintenance” for the bladder cancer he was diagnosed with last year, he is rejoining the band.
Zoom & Co. played a trio of SoCal gigs earlier this month. Beginning Aug. 12, X’s “Re-Zoomed Tour” starts in Falls Church, Virginia. The tour continues through the month and includes a show on Aug. 27 at the Ohana Music and Arts Festival at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.
A longtime resident of Anaheim, the 68-year-old Zoom formed X in 1977 with singer-bassist John Doe, singer Exene Cervenka and drummer D.J. Bonebreak. Their first two studio albums, “Los Angeles” in 1980 and “Wild Gift” in 1981, are included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at No.’s 286 and 333, respectively. Both albums were produced by The Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
Garth Brooks back in NYC
On Aug. 7, 1997, Garth Brooks gave a free concert in New York City’s Central Park. It drew nearly 1 million concertgoers, making it the largest crowd to attend a concert in that park.
That was the last time the 54-year-old Brooks played the Big Apple.
Brooks will finally return on July 9 when he and his band play Yankee Stadium. His wife, country star Trisha Yearwood, will open for him. Capacity for concerts at the new Yankee Stadium since its opening in 2009 is approximately 45,000.
Steve Smith writes a new Classic Pop, Rock and Country Music News column every week. It can be read in its entirety on www.presstelegram.com. Like, recommend or share the column on Facebook. Contact him by email at Classicpopmusicnews@gmail.com.
