The Who - Sheffield Arena, 23 May 2007 Pete Townshend's talking about the 60s. About playing in Sheffield. About Mods. "I soon realised they had their own thing. It wasn't about class. It was about what you wore, where you went, what you listened to. We tried to reflect what our audience wanted us to play, what they were thinking". This is after The Who have opened with stormers of versions of “Can't Explain” and “The Seeker”. And then its - “This ones about all of us - who we are” - as they launch into the introduction to “Who Are You”. Amazing stuff. After all these years there's still the old sensibility there. Not that they ignore the contemporary scene. Townshend's first words on walking onstage are "We're not the Arctic Monkeys", modifying his comments with "they're a great band - they remind us of ourselves when we were starting, really eager".
leaping around
This is The Who in their fifth decade. Or rather the New Who. And the news is they're as on fire as ever they were. Roger Daltrey's voice still sounds powerful and the decibel count is significant. All right, perhaps Townshend's not throwing his legs over the top of microphone stands anymore, or leaping around in the way he once did. But the anger is still there, the passion. And the band that has formed around the two originals gels perfectly. Of course, the shoes of John Entwistle and Keith Moon will never completely be filled but Pino Paladino on bass, Simon Townshend on guitar and - the perfect inheritor of the Moon legacy - Zak Starkey do the legends proud.
delivered with the conviction
The crowd is treated to a selection of classic Who tunes as well as up to date material. Quadrophenia - to the acclaim of many - is brought back into the set with “I'm One” and “The Real Me”, announced as “this has a bit more bite”. There's the inevitable extended version of “My Generation” followed by “Won't Get Fooled Again” and a memorable “Baba O'Reilly” - “that gets more applause than any these days”. The screens that form a backdrop show clips of post war Britain and beyond, with key 20th century events forming a central theme. Surprisingly there are no “Substitute” nor “Kids Are All Right”. But that doesn't matter. Its notable how well the tunes from “Endless Wire” stand up to the older songs. There's “Man In A Purple Dress”, a selection from the mini-opera and “Mike Post Theme”, all delivered with the conviction and belief that comes from a new set to draw from. And Daltrey opens “Real Good Looking Boy” by a reflection on when he first heard the song - “when Pete sent it over, I don't know what it meant to him, but it took me back to the age of 11 watching this man sing and play guitar like I'd never seen before“. A certain Mr Presley of course. By this stage, the absence of a certain set of songs is being noted. “Where's Tommy?” shout members of the audience. And when the band leave the stage the protests are even louder. But the gap is filled admirably.
Daltrey and Townshend are alone onstage
They return and launch into a perfect version of “Pinball Wizard“. Its followed by “Amazing Journey“, and “See Me Feel Me“, the “following you“ refrain echoing round the auditorium. And then its left to two. Daltrey and Townshend are alone onstage and they conclude with a moving acoustic version of “Tea And Theatre” from Endless Wire. And you think - can it really be over forty years since they first released “I'm The Face”. No one knows how much longer they'll be touring and Townshend will be producing new material. Best to simply savour the moment. And reflect on the fact that there are generations here spanning the sixties to now. Lets hope it‘ll be a long time before they “f-f-f-f-f-fade away”.
Rob Massey
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