“Lean on my shoulder now
This story is done
It’s getting colder now
A thousand songs
Still smolder now
We play them as one
We’re older now
All of us sad
All of us free
Before we walk from this stage
Two of us
Will you have some tea
At the theatre with me”
-by Pete Townshend (the Who) – 2006
Many of the concerts we go to nowadays are by performers nearing the end of their career. While they may be past their prime, there is something emotional about seeing your favorite musicians for the last time. When I saw the Who was coming back to Philadelphia, we felt that we had to go, as Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend are both over 80 years old now. This might be our last chance to see them again. Unfortunately, they were coming the same time we had planned our family vacation, so we checked their schedule and decided to take the trip to New York to see them at Madison Square Garden. The Doubletree Hotel is just 3 blocks from the venue, so we opted to make a weekend out of it and strolling to our hotel room after the show rather than fighting the departing after-show crowd traffic.
I believe the first time Eva and I saw the Who was at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on November 25, 2006. Sadly I never kept a record of my concerts over the years, but in googling their Philly concert appearances, the year 2006 sounds right, and I’m pretty sure we saw them with the Pretenders who opened that particular show. I do remember it was the first time we ever sat on the floor level and it was very loud, but it was exciting to see them in person, even though John Entwistle had already passed. It’s hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago.
Now that we’re in our “golden years”, we’ve gotten hooked on purchasing VIP tickets, to get prime seats along with the perks that come with the various VIP packages. This time we splurged on the “My Generation” package, which included seats in the first 10 rows (we were row 7), attending the sound check, a VIP reception with appetizers and complimentary drinks, early access to merchandise before the doors opened, and a gift package which included a tour poster and blanket, and the obligatory show lanyard.
We had to arrive between 3:45 and 4:15 for sound check. Our group (about 100 people) was ushered inside the venue and led to a few rows on the floor, not too close to the stage. The techs and supporting band were doing their thing, and then Roger and Peter came out. I wasn’t sure if they would make it to sound check- I noticed in the fine print that they did not guarantee every band member would be at the sound check so I was half expecting the stars not to show. Needless to say, we were excited they came out. They went about their business discussing things with the band and doing small snippets of songs they wanted to work on. I specifically remember them singing the opening vocals on “Who Are You” and it sounded fantastic! But for most of the time Roger was facing the band, as they were having discussions and we were just eavesdropping in on the conversation. The whole process was very interesting to watch. As a house manager at Sellersville Theater, I’ve seen hundreds of sound checks, but this was The Who, so it was extra special. Once they were done sound check, to my surprise Roger and Peter spoke to the VIPs. They thanked us for our support- they were clearly very appreciative of their audience. Roger noted that he’s not getting any younger, and said he’s seen too many friends his age play past their prime. He was determined to quit before his age took its toll. Then he asked if there were any questions, which I think threw us a bit as we weren’t expecting them to interact with us. One lady approached the stage and asked him to sign her ticket. He said he couldn’t do that for everyone, but he ended up signing it for her, and needless to say she was thrilled. They thanked us once again as they left the stage. It was a fun experience.
We then proceeded to the VIP reception for food and drinks. We had out picture taken at the concert photo booth, and played a WHO floor dart game (which Eva soundly beat me at more than once). Eva and I both got tour shirts at the early merchandise sale and took advantage of the private bathrooms before making our way to the show.
The opener was a woman/group called “Feist”. I was not familiar with her, but she apparently had a big hit 20 years ago with the song “1, 2, 3, 4”. She’s received multiple Grammy nominations, including “New Artist of the Year”, in 2007. Eva and I both loved her performance. She has a style all her own, and we became fans. Feist is full of energy and tried her best to engage the audience, getting them to sing along and cheering for the Who. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, the audience didn’t get too excited except for the few Feist fans in attendance. But I certainly gave her an “A” for effort.
The Who performed beyond my wildest expectations. It was a show of their greatest hits- one of those shows where you know and sing along with every song they played. Pete is 80 years old and Roger is 81, but they both looked and sounded great. I’m glad they didn’t die before they got old. Roger still hitting the high notes (for the most part). Pete is still doing the windmill. At one point Townsend remarked “I’m sure you people all work hard for a living, let me tell you this job is f’ing easy. I still can’t believe I get paid to do this!” The crowd stood and sang the entire show. A guy behind me must have shouted “We love you” a hundred times. A woman in front of us passed out (it was rather warm in the venue), was tended to by the medical team, and was right back in her spot once she recovered- she wasn’t going to miss this. There was one time where Roger forgot some words, but the crowd was with them the whole time. To quote Scott Mehno’s published review of the concert:
Known for taking meticulous care of his voice, the singer stunned the audience on a number of Who classics via a medley of Tommy touchstones, including “See Me, Feel Me” and “Pinball Wizard”, and later with a seismic sample of songs from their sixth studio album, 1973’s trailblazing Quadrophenia. The straight-talking, no-nonsense 81 year old (talk about casting, Daltrey was born in working-class Acton in the midst of a WW2 bombing raid) delivered arena-shaking versions of “The Real Me” and the heart wrenching “Love, Reign O’er Me”, which caused Townsend to exclaim “Roger is blowing us away tonight.”
It was indeed an impressive performance. They had a great band, most of whom perform frequently with Roger. It included Peter’s brother, Simon on guitar/vocals. And I was surprised to see Loren Gold on keys/backing vocals, as he is also a current member of the band Chicago. A lot was made about the replacing of Zak Starkey on drums, but it was not surprising that they went with Scott Devours, who has been in a long-term collaboration with Roger Daltrey, going back to 2009, when he played on Roger’s Use It Or Lose It tour, in performances of Tommy at venues across the U.S., and in 2013 substituting for Zak during The Who’s Quadrophenia & More tour. There was a guest appearance by Katie Jacoby (whom I’ve seen before with Ed Palermo’s Big Band) with her killer violin solo on Baba O’Reily, which got a huge ovation. During the band introductions, Roger spoke briefly about his relationship with Pete- they’ve been friends for over 60 years. “Don’t believe what you read in the press”, he said. While they don’t socialize much privately, music has bound them together throughout their lives. When Pete and Roger closed with an acoustic “Tea and Theatre”, I think it brought a tear to everyone’s eye- “Lean on my shoulder now, this story is done… We’re older now, all of us sad. Before we walk from this stage, two of us- will you have some tea at the theatre with me?”.
The next day we went to the 911 Museum, which Eva had never seen before. If you haven’t been there, you should make a point to visit. But it’s very emotional. Halfway through the museum, we had enough and rushed a bit through the rest of it. It can be overwhelming. I personally do not know anyone who died that day, but the stories of the victims and the rescue workers are heart-wrenching.
Although I wouldn’t want to live in New York city, I love visiting. I personally love the fact that as you’re walking down the street, you hear so many foreign languages. So many great restaurants, museums, parks, and things to see. The homeless folks in the street can be a bit depressing, but I suppose that exists everywhere. My heart breaks for them, regardless of their personal stories. But for every homeless person we see, we pass by a famous movie star on the street. New York is clearly the melting pot of the world. I always enjoy our overnight visits in the Big Apple!
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