The Who came to town in St. Paul last night on their Moving On Tour 2019. I made a promise to myself many years ago that I would see every major rock band/artist I could at lease once. The Who was definitely on my list.
I went with a bit of hesitation because I had heard that the last several tours, Pete Townsend didn’t seem to be that in to it. Granted that’s just one persons opinion. But none the less, you take that into account when its coming from friends that I trust. Add to that a horrible performance by ZZ Top earlier in the week at the Minnesota State Fair. I often wonder, has a band as old as The Who outlived their shelf life?
I can say that the answer is NO! They were truly wonderful last night. I don’t go in expecting the shear awesomeness of a Kiss show. But I do expect a level of desire to be there by the band and some interaction along with great songs. And that is what I got. I could see the youthful playing of Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey sang like a young man.
They were backed by a full orchestra, there had to be 50 people on stage with them. The sound was so full it was amazing. One of the stand outs for me was Zack Starkey on drums, incredible player. All of the musicians were top notch.
They played a lot of their hits including “Behind Blue Eyes”, “Substitute”, and “Pinball Wizard”. The one disappointment for me was “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. Considering so many bands over the years have used that song to pump up their crowds before their shows, The Who did an acoustic version last night that fell flat. It did not do justice to the song in my opinion.
But The highlight for me was “Join Together”. Hearing that song with a full orchestra was a real treat. They even played a new song from their upcoming release in November called “Hero Ground Zero”. I really enjoyed it, sounded like something that could have been on their 1981 album Face Dances.
I was very happy with the performance and if I had to guess, I don’t think they are done yet.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tommy Sommers Photography
