The Who

[David Johnson]

Went to see the Who at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Thursday.

Excellent! I find it hard to believe that a band that has sold 100 million albums is short of a few quid so they are forced to leave their bath chairs (Daltrey 70 years old, Townsend 69) to earn a crust.

They genuinely seemed to be enjoying what they were doing in the great tradition of blues guys who play til they drop. They played non-stop for two and half hours including every Who song I can ever remember and a lot I can't.

Great backing band, great musicianship. If you are into the Who, take the chance to see them.

Neil Young and then the Who. Old farts unite!

[max_tranmere]

I saw them in 1989 at Wembley Arena, when John Entwistle was still with them, prior to his death some years ago. Kenny Jones had already left by then and they had a session drummer. Now it is just two of the original four and I think a lot of the guitar parts are done by a session guitarist due to Townshend's tinnitus. So it's hardly the band one would have seen live many years ago. A bit like seeing U2 when it is only Bono and The Edge, and the bass, drums, and some of the guitar parts of that matter, are done by others. I'm sure it was an enjoyable show, but it's not really 'The Who'. The Who was the original four, and no additional musicians, in my view.

[Essex Lad]

Blimey, talk about looking on the bleak side. Let David enjoy his concert without knocking it. It's hardly his (or Daltrey and Townshend's) fault that Moon and Entwistle are dead.

[andy at handiwork]

I went to see them at the O2 some while ago when they did the whole of Quadrophenia and then an hour or so of greatest hits. Excellent show it was as well. They rather cleverly included film and audio of Keith Moon as the drum parts of a couple of numbers.

[Panties]

Always the way unfortunately. If post about something you've seen, you can almost guarantee that someone will reply saying in effect "I saw them when they were really good and better than what you have seen"

I haven't seen them in concert myself but I've watched and enjoyed some performances recorded live. I bet they were amazing at the Liverpool Echo Arena.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Sory DJ but without The Ox and either Keith Moon or Kenny Jones on drums I cannot consider the two left as the genuine article.

[thealtruist]

I saw them about ten years ago in Birmingham. Front row seats. And, let me tell you, that Townshend played ALL the songs and solos and never slowed down once. It was a magnificent night.

[Sam Slater]

You make it sound like David was saying the current lineup was better, or at the same level as the original band. It's not a competition - he's just saying he saw The Who and that he enjoyed it.

[David Johnson]

They had a knockout light show as part of the performance which also included a couple of clips of Moon and an amazing bass solo from Entwistle.

[David Johnson]

Well the last time I saw the Who prior to Thursday was in 1969 at Plumpton Racecourse when they played part of Tommy for the first time.

Townsend scissor-kicked and did his trademark windmill guitar strum, Daltrey swung the microphone out 20 ft. and Moon destroyed his drum kit.

And to be perfectly honest, given the improved acoustics in a setup like the Arena as opposed to an open air gig at the racecourse, I enjoyed Thursday's gig more. Townsend played throughout doing his "windmill" at times, Daltrey twirled the mike and Zak Starkey was in no way inferior to Moon.

The extra members of the band did a great job in providing the group with the capability to play the full range of the Who's music from the High Numbers days through to various "rock operas".

The lightshow was brilliant and they went down the proverbial storm. "Maximum rnb"!

Sam is spot on. It's not a competition. Catch them live while you can. They're still one of Britain's finest.