Legendary British rockers, The Who, started the second leg of their Moving On! Tour last night at Madison Square Garden. For a band that has been in existence for fifty-five years, you’d think at this point of their careers they could just show up and mail it in with their vast array of hits, but the Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey had other plans. With a full orchestra in-tow and a new song to showcase, the age-defying duo put new twists on old classics that had the audience engrossed from start to finish.
The Who at Madison Square Garden
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Hitting the stage shortly after 830pm to deafening applause; the orchestra and band including drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son and Godson of Keith Moon), Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother), bassist Jon Button and keyboardist Loren Gold wasted no time laying down the groove to “Overture.” You could feel the energy coming from the stage from the back of the arena as Roger flipped his tambourines and Pete locked in on the neck of his Fender as the band wasted no time in playing “1921” and “Amazing Journey.”
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The setlist was a glorious mishmash of the expected hits such as “Pinball Wizard” and “Who Are You,” combined with deeper cuts like The Who By Numbers’ “Imagine A Man.” While the whole night was a great time and the orchestra added so much depth and flavor, the middle of the show was seemingly the most memorable when everybody existed the stage except Roger and Pete. With just a guitar and the voice we all know so well, the pair performed a goosebump inducing version of “You Better You Bet” and then followed that up with “Behind Blue Eyes” with the help of a cello and violin. Other notable highlights included the new song “Hero Ground Zero,” which Pete dedicated to a local friend that recently passed, and a Townshend tune called “Guantanamo.”
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The impressive night ended with the anthem “Love Reign O’er Me” and then finally brought the house down with a spirited “Baba O’Riley.” If your feeling a sense of FOMO now, have no fear, as you have one more chance to catch The Who this tour at Jones Beach, NY on 9-15-19.
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Pete windmill GIF
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Article: Shayne Hanley
