Wicked Awesome

Best. Concert. Ever. At least that I’ve attended.

Whoooooo Are Youuuu? Represent – who managed to make it to the Toronto Who Concert, December 4, 2006? It was way better than I even expected. Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend, tonight, were at top form – although Daltry did have a bit of a raspy voice and some real high notes were missing the odd time. But Whoooo cares? They put on an awesome show.

We even took along the wee fella – David, who is four years old. I would bet he was the youngest in attendance – and before anyone wonders about his ears and the loudness, we had plenty of ear plugs for him. He was clapping away, even though he didn’t really know what exactly he was seeing and listening to. But I figured, when he gets older, he might be a little miffed that he wasn’t taken to what could be the only and last opportunity to see The Who in concert.

And can you believe he even fell asleep at one point?? The ACC was just a-rockin’, The Who fans were singing, hollering, clapping hands, dancing in their seats – and my eldest son Alex was just in awe, amazed, and standing up out of his seat. But when The Who started to play some stuff from their new album, well.. David fell asleep! David is normally a night owl like me.. but for whatever reason – this is the second time he’s fallen asleep during a rockin’ concert – the first time was in Athabasca with his mom, when he was not quite a year old, and Randy Bachman got into “Taking Care Of Business.”

Pete Townshend didn’t smash any guitars but for guys that are both.. what? in their 60’s? Daltry and Townshend put on an awesome show. I myself had goosebumps, and when they performed, “Who Are You,” I felt incredibly appreciative of the fact that I had the opportunity to watch them perform along with three of my favorite and loved ones, that my eyes even kinda moistened up a bit.

And yes, they did perform “My Generation!” I wondered if the line, “I hope I die before I get old” might be cutting it a bit too close.. but these guys sure didn’t come across as old, that’s for sure.

And “Teenage Wasteland,” (Baba O’Riley) Wow. Wow. Wow. Goosebumps… Just absolutely incredible. Seriously I have no words to actually describe the amazing performance.
Wow, indeed – my mind is still kind of swimming in all the great tunes – and even the new ones from their newest album, “Endless Wire,” that I’ve never heard before. Some of their new songs were great – some I’d like to hear again – not sure they are “great,” but I’m going to be buying the CD.

The crowd was also amazing – there were folks there that appeared in their late 60’s and 70’s, along with teenagers and everything in between, that just knew they were seeing something classic. And of course, my 4 year old, who probably won’t appreciate it fully for a few more years.

It seemed to me, and then while chatting with others after the concert, apparently to others as well, that Daltry and Townshend have just gotten better.

The concert opened with “The Pretenders.” Yup, those “The Pretenders,” with Chrissie Hynd. Chrissie was “ok,” I guess… a couple of lewd jokes between songs… and the crowd appreciatively cheered.. but most of us seemed to know what we were there for… and when The Who took the stage… the electricity was just incredible. To be honest, while The Pretenders were on stage, I kept looking at my watch… and kept thinking, “ok, come on.. time pass quickly.. this is … well.. ok, not bad.. but.. ”

Then Chrissie had to make her little PETA sentences; I felt like yelling out “eating tasty animals,” but thought better of it. It was ok.. intermission time – and The Who would be there – the band we were all there to see.

David did wake up later on when The Who was performing… I can’t remember what now.. and he sat on my knee, covering his ears a bit, but looking around, and clapped his hands. When the concert was done though, he did NOT want to leave – we walked out of the ACC, and as we walked towards the subway station, he whimpered a bit – pointing backward… while saying, “not yet.. I don’t want to go home yet. Let’s go back for more.”

What a great night. Yeah, there were a few songs I would have liked to hear performed live, like Magic Bus and Squeeze Box. And… if John Entwistle were still around.. Boris The Spider.

But whatever… what a fantastic amazing show. I almost miss my late 70’s, early 80’s old faded denim jean jacket, with The Who patches sewn on, Union Jacks drawn on, etc. etc.

Yes, my subjective opinion: Wicked. Awesome. Incredible. Thank you, Pete and Roger, for coming back to Toronto, letting me share some of my favorite music with you live in concert with my 18 year old son and my 4 year old son, and the awesome mom of my four year old. You guys aren’t old yet. Still a long time before you ever need to think about dying, that’s for sure.

Update: AC (Forty-Three Year Old Whiner) posted his own review of the concert. His review of The Pretenders is a little bit different than mine; but he seems to share the same opinion as I on The Who. AC also reports that in his section, there was a problem with drunks – something we didn’t notice in Section 103 or the surrounding sections. There was a good bit of pot smoking going on and even some folks sipping on their pints, but no inebriated behaviour that made others uncomfortable or took away from the enjoyment of the concert.

For me, at 13 dollars a pint for beer at the AC, I purchased none. That’s insane. I guess whatever the market will bare but 13.00 per pint was more than I was willing to pay.

Update 2: Anne-Marie was there too. I guess she’s been lucky enough to see The Who in Berlin as well.

Update 3: Cherry Suede was there too. I share that wondering of “who’s next” that Cherry Suede asks at the end.