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Videos
Who Are You
Who Are You
My Generation
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Baba O’Riley
Press
Review by Melissa and Gary Hurley
Just a quick review about Mondays show.
The show, as Pete told the audience, was the same list as Sandringham last August so if you went to that show you can all Fu@k off now.
The energy was electric from the start of the show but Roger and Pete had conflicting set lists, so Pete started with I Can’t Explain but Roger started with Tommy with tambourine’s in hand!
The Tommy Set was the usual numbers and once again The Heart Of England Orchestra rocked out and Pete thanked them all for playing for no fee to raise extra funds for the TCT.
Roger was in excellent form all night, as was Pete but it took a few minutes for him to kick start because of a broken amp.
After the orchestra departed for a break it was time for the WHO set with Pete asking for requests from the audience but laughed off all the requests saying you have to do better then that…
By the time the Quadrophenia set started Roger was looking a little hot under the collar dripping with sweat like most of the audience and as the rock started he was sitting behind Zak being fanned down by Binky and Douggie for the next 10 minutes, and on his return for LROM his eye’s where closed until the scream when he gained some extra energy to finish the set with BOR.
Not the best show in the world but a lot of fun with plenty of banter between the band and audience. A very good dress rehearsal for Wednesday nights show.
Pete also said on stage that it was nice to play to so many friends in the audience.
Review by Chris Elkins
The WHO played their first gig in 7 or 8 months on Monday night. This show was at the Royal Albert Hall in support of and to raise money for TCT.
At times the rust showed. The Who seem to do minimal rehearsal, so the first gig back after a layoff is always a work in progress. In some cases more of a fly by the seat of your pants. Pete had guitar issues a number of times and it seems that various members of the band were given different set lists.
Despite all of that, there were plenty of magical moments. The music sounds as fresh and cutting edge today as it always has. Not a huge variation in the set list from their most recent tours.
Highlights for me were I Can’t Explain, especially after Roger had grabbed a couple of tambourines and 90% of the audience was sure they were going to start with the Overture. He jokingly put them back down and the familiar guitar chords of ICE started. Other stand outs were Substitute, the Kids are Alright, and My Generation.
Jon Button is doing an admirable job of filling in for John, but the one man wall of sound is missed. The tracks from Tommy sounded amazing with this orchestra. If history repeats itself, the glitches will be worked out and the band will be at an even higher level on Wed.
Review by Sheva Golkow
The Who/Squeeze TCT Night One - March 18 2024
“I’d beg for some forgiveness But begging’s not my business” “I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth” Two of my favorite lyrics, from two of my favorite songs, written by two of my favorite songwriters. Both British, both writing songs unapologetically using British vernacular, both written in the voice of tough British youth. There are other similarities between them as well, in their humour, and their ability to write lyrics that sound the way people actually speak.
So looked at from that angle, Squeeze were a great opener for The Who. Squeeze may be older now, with just the two songwriters the only original members, but they still project that youthful fun and good cheer. The two warmup shows they did the weekend before Monday night’s concert, enabled them to hit the stage running, with a strong, polished performance. They moved quickly from one song to another, focusing on hits from various points in their career, covering as much territory as possible within their 45-50 minute (I’m not sure) set. They got a good reception, although there were only a few of us up and dancing.
No such worries for The Who - the audience was almost completely on its feet for the band’s two plus hour performance. Unlike Squeeze, though, Pete and Roger hadn’t rehearsed enough, or possibly at all. Rather than go right into the Tommy suite, as they’ve been doing since 2022, they opened with a lackluster “Can’t Explain”. Done properly, it’s the perfect way to start their show, but this tepid version was just frustrating - it never got off the ground.
It was almost a relief when they launched into “Overture”. The suite went smoothly; no “1921” or “Acid Queen”, but it all sounded fine. It was after Tommy when things went a bit sideways. Pete seemed confused about the set list, insisting that it wasn’t what was planned. This got mentioned several times throughout the band’s set; at one point Pete walked over to Roger and exclaimed “He’s got a different list from mine!” He also scolded Billy, blaming him for the list mix-up, while Roger remained unruffled.
There were other problems as well - at times Pete fiddled with his guitar settings more than usual, and had issues with his hearing aid as well. But he never lost his temper, instead simply shrugging his shoulders and joking about it. He did seem distracted, and no wonder - Tommy on Broadway is currently in previews, and opens next week. He’s off to New York after the second show, and you get the sense he’s anxious to be there.
Nonetheless it was a fine show after that rocky start. Roger had a one or two rough moments, including a few bum notes, but his voice came through when it mattered most. The rest of the band was solid. All in all, while not an A+ show, it was an enjoyable one, particularly in that gorgeous, historic hall. Here’s hoping Wednesday sees fewer problems and less confusion, although really - would it be a true Who show if everything was perfect?
Review by Lauren J. Hammer
Squeeze put on a solid, upbeat, fast paced, power pop opening set. They barely paused or said anything between songs, probably because they are not accustomed to being the support act, and they opted to get in as many songs as they could in the time they had to work with.
As for the main event, I had seen a setlist before the show, and I was beyond delighted to see them kicking it off with I Can’t Explain. That had been my one and only request. (I thought my best case was that they’d start the band set with it. I never imagined they’d start the show with it!)
So I was stoked about that, but then when they came out, Roger went and picked up the tambourines. I was crestfallen. Tambourines = Tommy = a late drop of ICE.
But then he put them down and they launched into ICE.
It wasn’t a great performance of it. Pete was a bit out of sorts from the get go with some sound issues, and the tempo, in my opinion, was just a little bit too slow.
Usually I can’t tell what Roger’s saying when he talks to me/us off-mic, but after the song, Roger looked at us and said, “I fucking fooled ya’.” Yeah, he did.
Then it was on to Tommy. (Personally, while it wasn’t a great performance, I loved ICE as a pre-Tommy warm-up song.)
Tommy was solid but not great. No Acid Queen. And/but, as always, every single night I hear Amazing Journey / Sparks and See Me, Feel Me / Listening to You is one of the greatest nights, ever.
During LTY, Pete caught the energy and jumped in to sing, but Roger and Peter were singing entirely different verses. Eventually, Pete figured out that was happening, probably cueing off of us and tried to correct.
Who Are You and Eminence Front were pretty usual.
That band set was solid with:
Kids (short version)
You Better
Substitute
My Gen (w/ Cry)
WGFA
Behind Blue Eyes (w/ Katie and Audrey, as always)
The closing set was the most common orchestra Quad selections and Baba.
The video got a late start during The Rock, so it wasn’t synced up quite right, which was a bit irritating to me, and, it meant that Pete’s guitar wasn’t synced up with the 9-11 attack on the twin towers, which is so very powerful every night. But on the plus side, it is REALLY NICE for me when there is a video screen behind the stage, (as opposed to one on either side). That way, I can see the video AND the band.
When Roger came back from his Rock break, I could see that he was struggling. The rest of his performance was fine, but I could see and feel it.
All in all, a solid but not remarkable dress rehearsal / opening night. Of course, that’s only judging them against their extraordinary selves. The fact that they could give us that show at 80 and almost 79 is nothing short of astonishing. I expect Wednesday will be even better.
