The Who Hits 50!

After the fire, the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smolder and the soul always yearns
After the fire, the fire still burns

- Written by Pete Townshend 

- sung by Roger Daltrey

 

Last night, I remembered this song from around 1985/1986.  Pete had written it when Band Aid and Live Aid had taken place.  Profits from the song were to help aid Africa.  However, that was not the first time I had been aware of The Who.

 

My mother loved music.  Throughout my years, I had heard My Generation and I Can See for Miles and Miles.  The Who catalog is etched in my being along with The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, The Rolling Stones, and many, many others.

 

I remembered The Who show where 11 people were crushed to death when the crowd rushed the stage.  It was supposed to be the band's last tour in 1981/1982.  Oddly enough, the band would come back together and do another tour.  This tour would be different.

 

What makes this tour different is that much of the show was devoted to generating funds for various organizations.  One that was near and dear to both Roger and Pete was the Teenage Cancer fund.  A couple of times, I saw a short video where Roger points out that there are places for children and adults, but the teenagers are left out in the cold when it comes to cancer care.  There needs to be a place for the teenagers who are dealing with this disease to be able to be with other teenagers and be teenagers.  Money from the ticket sales would go to this charity.  Of course, there were a couple of other charities, but this one fit so well for a band who represented the teenagers for so many years.

 

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opened the show.  Joan still sounds as good as she did back in the late 70's and into the 80's.  I remembered her being part of "The Runaways" and seeing her perform in Urgh!  A Music War!  The song she did for that music documentary was "Bad Reputation."  

 

This year, Joan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  However, along with her, I am surprised that the Go-Go's were not inducted by this time.  Still, she show a lot of strength in her songs and performance.  I love seeing bands that I liked back in high school who can still maintain their performance level today.

 

So, that little tidbit leads me to when Joan introduces Miley Cyrus onto the stage.  I was not shocked that she was there, but her choice of outfit.  The dress did not cover her breasts, so she sticks black tape over her nipples and heads out on stage.  So many "artists" have done this over the years, that quite honestly, bring something new to the table.  I know that Miley has the ability to really do a song justice - SNL's 40 year reunions how and how well she did "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover."  She knocked that song out of the park and I applauded her for that.  I also applauded her for keeping her clothes on as well.  If you have the pipes, then you do not need to shock people.  Some days, I get really frustrated with Madonna for starting that.  Shocking people is not art; it is a call for attention.

 

I will say that Miley did a great job doing "Crimson and Clover" and "Hate Myself For Loving You."  (Side note:  I hear that song and think of the Sunday Night Football game show theme.)

 

When The Who hit the stage, I hate to admit it, but damn, Roger and Pete look great.  For me, I could see that Roger was having a bit of stability issues on the voice, but once he got warmed up, he was back to hitting those notes as he did in the beginning.  Maybe I am not as critical as other music critics - I am there to enjoy the show.  You have to be pretty stinking rotten for me to get up and leave, so my criticism is pretty weak.  

 

The set list went through a lot of the band's catalog over the years.  When the band went through some of the stuff from "Tommy," I was reminded of being in Phoenix, AZ when I was 9 years old.  This one girl had gone to see the movie in 1975/1976 and that was all she could talk about during "Show and Tell."  So, for me, that was funny, but I was singing right along with everyone else on "Pinball Wizard."

 

When the band finally wrapped up the show, Roger thanked everyone, including the audience for coming out and helping with their charities.  Pete threw out the line "Fucking teenagers!" as a reminder of Quadophenia for me.  I just had to laugh.

 

This may be the band's actual "final" show.  Then, again, maybe not.  In all  honesty, The Who will always have a place in my heart.  One of the few shows where I felt I should have gone to other shows because the band was so good.  I was blown away.

 

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

This is my generation
This is my generation, baby

 

-Pete Townshend