Blog, Spectacle

Spectacle: The Who rocks Staples Center

Guess who’s back? The Who is back! After nearly 50 years of playing together, the remaining members of The Who are still going strong.
The Who took the stage Wednesday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, performing their iconic 1973 album “Quadrophenia”.
Technically, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are senior citizens, but this dynamic duo is still young at heart when it comes to doing what they do best: rockin’ out. They performed with plenty of energy, performing a 23-song set including the entirety of “Quadrophenia” as well as an encore of classic hits such as “Baba O’Reily” and “Who Are You.”
The Staples Center was packed, and Pete Townshend was pleased to see that The Who’s fans still love their music. “Thank you for filling the place to the rafters!” Townshend declared.
Townshend’s brother Simon, and Zach Starkey, son of The Beatles’s drummer Ringo Starr, accompanied Daltrey and Townshend on stage, replacing the original bassist and drummer for The Who–the late greats John Entwistle and the Keith Moon.
But Entwistle and Moon were temporarily brought back to life for the show. Old clips of past performances from Entwistle and Moon were incorporated into the show. The clips were played during Entwistle’s bass solo during the song “5:15”, and Moon’s vocal solo in the song “Bell Boy”.
It was clips like these that made the show so spectacular. Other background footage featured some memorable events in American history, including: Winston Churchill during World War II, President Nixon, and the news of John Lennon’s death.
Townshend and Daltrey are getting old, but give themselves credit where credit is due. “We hit a few bum notes, but we’ve still got it” said Townshend at the end of the performance. Despite their age, it doesn’t look like The Who plans on slowing down. They will be playing a concert in Madison Square Garden, New York City, on February 28, 2013 along with Elvis Costello to benefit Teen Cancer America–an organization driven by Daltrey and Townshend to make a difference in the lives of teens and young adults with cancer in the United States.

Listen to a couple of tracks by The Who down below, courtesy of Spotify.

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