The Who in Oklahoma City: A Review

I can't think of very many things I'd rather do on a Friday night than hang out with my closest friends and listen to some good live. I've had many memorable experiences doing just that, but March 23rd, 2007 may just be the most memorable. That's because I'll always remember it as the night I saw The Who perform in Oklahoma City.

I don't know if it was the fact that Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, the two surviving members, have been together for over forty years, or because I received so many raised eyebrows when I mentioned I was going, but I wasn't prepared for the energetic, vibrant, enthusiastic and loud performance that I saw.

From the moment they walked on stage and tore through the blistering one-two punch of "I Can't Explain" and "The Seeker," I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly anticipating what was next. And from the roars of approval from the near-capacity crowd at the Ford Center, I knew I wasn't alone.

Sure, you could tell Roger's voice was still feeling the effects of the being down the previous week with the flu and bronchitis, and maybe Pete can't jump quite as high as he used, but so what? Roger worked most of the kinks out by the second chorus of "The Seeker," and he had no problems nailing the scream on "Won't Get Fooled Again." Pete still played the guitar with the deftness of a man thirty years his junior. And the windmill power chords were a thing of perfection.

Despite being without the services of the original rhythm section of the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle, the backing band wasn't just some off-the-street guns for hire. Bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/vocalist Simon Townshend and drummer Zak Starkey formed such a cohesive unit, you'd have never known they didn't play on the original recordings. Throw in Brian Kehew on keyboards in a fill-in role, and you've got as tight a set musically as you're likely to hear.

The set list was diverse and varied, hitting on their biggest hits like "Who Are You," an inspired version of "Baba O'Riley" and a soulful rendition of "Behind Blue Eyes," complete with creepy psychedelic eyeballs on the video board. Footage of the group's history was proudly displayed on during "The Kids are Alright" and "My Generation." The band did an excellent job of including songs from 2006's studio album, Endless Wire, without it distracting from the show or screaming out "beer run," which speaks both to the quality of the material on their new album and the keen musicianship displayed on stage.

The Who entertained the crowd for over two hours, ending the first part of the set with a white-hot rendition of "Won't Get Fooled Again" before returning to the stage for an homage to the classic rock-opera Tommy, featuring "Pinball Wizard" along with snippets of "Amazing Journey,""Sparks" and "See Me, Feel Me," among others. Finally, they closed with the song "Tea and Theatre," a sort-of acoustic history lesson on the band's career.

As I write this, almost a week after the concert, I'm still blown away at the performance The Who gave an adoring Oklahoma City crowd. It's an evening I'm not bound to forget any time soon, if for no other reason than my ears are still ringing!