The Who Plays Quadrophenia

 The spirit of the late John Entwistle loomed large, particularly during the middle of an extended 5:15, which included video footage from their 2000 gig at the Royal Albert Hall

 Keith Moon's vocals for Bell Boy were inserted into the live version, as was video footage from Charlton Football Grounds in 1975. Keith's heir, Zak Starkey kept perfect time, while still being able to fill the spaces like his late godfather.

 

The Who, in the form of survivors Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, brought their Quadrophenia tour to Toronto last night, to what appeared to be the be the biggest crowd on the Canadian leg of their North American tour. The dearly-departed John Entwistle and Keith Moon made special appearances in seamlessly-inserted video clips during 5:15 and Bell Boy, respectively.

The band, which combined Roger's touring band along with long-time sidemen Pino Palladino on bass and Zak Starkey on drums, tore through the 85-minute opus, then returned for an encore which featured their biggest rock-radio hits Who Are You, Behind Blue Eyes, Baba O'Riley (please people, learn to spell this properly) and Won't Get Fooled Again. The evening ended with Pete and Rog, doing their best Everly Brothers imitation on 2006's Tea and Theatre. The crowd got what they wanted, the band expressed their long-held love for Toronto ("...especially when I was drinking", confessed Pete), and everybody went home hoarse. In a good way.

Photos taken at Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario on November 23, 2012.

Meeting Pete Townshend

On a day off from The Who's tour of their (well his actually) opus Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend sat down for a Q&A session with local music brain Alan Cross at the Indigo book shop at the Manulife Centre in Toronto.

I couldn't possibly try to properly precis Pete's pontifications about war, the internet (as seen through a group of elite British artists in 1961, and himself via the aborted Lifehouse project in 1971), German blondes and competitive sailing here, but one phrase will always stick out:

Keith Moon was a c*nt. (which was said with utmost admiration)

There's a reason why Townshend was/is chief wordsmith for one of the loudest, most powerful groups in the history of rock music. His voice is softer, his body is slower, but his legacy is assured. The only words I'll likely ever say to the man were "I've been a fan since 1982; Whenever I hear "Somebody Saved Me" it makes me so happy". I got an "Awwwww" in return.

Oh, and an autograph.

Photos Taken at Indigo Books, Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario on November 22, 2012.

The Who

Yeah, they're old. Yeah, Pete can't sing. Yeah, it was another pointless, greatest-hits, let's-make-some-more-dough tour. Yeah, it didn't appear that they knew where they were other than "CANADA!!"

But godDAMN it was good!

Photos taken on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario.