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March 4, 2016- by Steven E. Greer
Last year was the 50th anniversary of the formation of The Who. They toured all over and ended in their hometown of London, in Hyde Park, last summer. However, some of their North American concerts had to be rescheduled, and March 3rd was the rain check date at Madison Square Garden.
Several things impressed me. First, the StubHub tickets I wanted were nearly $600 on the day of the concert. That is unusual and indicated a huge demand. Then, once the show was getting ready to start, the coliseum was packed to the rafters.
The audience was quite diverse. Parents brought young kids. There were the original fans who now in their 60’s and 70’s, and all sorts of other people. New Yorkers love this band.
Madison Square Garden has been The Who’s home away from home, as Roger Daltrey explained. Before the show kicked off, some messages were shown on the large video wall reviewing past Who performances at MSG. For the post-9/11 concert, The Who stole the show, even though Paul McCartney produced the event. 11 years later, at the Hurricane Sandy concert, they did it again, and so on.
Daltrey made a funny and insightful comment during a break. He said, “It’s good to be back, and there is no disaster this time.”
The Who, now a 51-year-old band, is performing very well. It was an impressive sight to see and hear.
Daltrey’s voice is back in top shape, and Townshend is looking healthy. Simon Townshend is helping out on guitar, and Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son) has been playing drums for 20-years now, replacing Keith Moon. Pino Palladino plays bass, replacing John Entwhistle, and he too has been with the band for decades.
If you missed the concert, the Showtime movie about the Hyde Park concert is worth watching.
Update March 5, 2016- The Who played Fallon the next day.
https://youtu.be/4jCbQylxEQ0