At 2am, on Saturday, the 29th of August, 1970 the Who enter the stage to give one of the greatest live performances in the history of rock and roll. Today, that very concert was shown on Sky Arts.
Welcoming in the Who with the message "A very nice rock and roll band from Shepherds Bush, England. The Who"... A white figure dances in the darkness of the stage, it could have been Pete, it could have been John but any Who fan will know that this is the legendary Keith Moon keeping up with his loved jester reputation.
Opening with 'Heaven and hell' it's easy to see why the Who are infamous for their live performances. Pete shouts "Smile you buggers!" at the crowd, they begin cheering and clapping at his order and not long after they kick into a classic version of 'Can't Explain', I've always preferred this song sang live - any early Who song is usually better sang live, the reason being that no instrument is lost within the mix, everything is much clearer but the quality of early recordings is the fault of the mid sixties' poor recording equipment.
I was accompanied by my dear mam (or mum, to Southerners) whilst watching the concert. She always has something to say when the Who are involved, and here are some of her best from today;
"Oh look Samantha, he's a skeleton!"
"Oops, your mate lost his drum stick"
and my favourite; "No, I don't like Uncle Ernie. He's not very nice, is he?"
And there I sat explaining things to her as she sat with a blank expression on her face, I told her why, for around ten minutes, Pete slowly plays the same guitar riff on repeat as he watches Keith, this being because Keith has broken his bass drum and is getting it fixed. But she's never been one to understand the world of live music, and so I just let her get on with her odd comments.
I could watch Keith Moon drum all day, I don't care if I mention him too many times or not; he's fantastic. I love how his body just seems to never stop going as he spreads himself along his kit, never being able to keep time but bloody hell he makes up for it with his drum rolls and his wonderful skill of being able to play with two bass drums. The guitar and drums, for me, are the most prominent factors of this whole concert, throughout any live Who performance Keith is just trying to be louder than any other member so that the audience will watch him - and you know what? I couldn't take my bloody eyes off of him. A comic behind a drum kit, pouring water in his mouth, then proceeding to spit it back out and catch it in the cup, getting up halfway through the set claiming that he was going home, singing with dramatic arm actions whilst Roger took the audience away.
A drummer that should have never been taken away.
Pete was the other superstar for me throughout the set, during their Tommy medley he kept everyone as one - ignoring Moonie's obvious attempts to steal the show. I love how he handles the Gibson SG (the '68 model, if one wants to get technical), he holds onto it so tightly like this is the only thing keeping him safe from this crowd of hippies. Yes I know more about the workings of a guitarist than a drummer, but Pete Townshend has always been a mystery to me - the way he will rock back and forth with the music, how a London boy could have gotten such a flamenco style rhythm in his wrist, how one note is never played wrongly with him, the way his riffs screech and sing beautiful tunes to keep everyone's attention on the music. I've been to plenty of gigs before where I've turned around to watch something else (like at Evolution where I watched a condom fly through the sky), but I know that if I was in the presence of such a Godlike genius I would never avert my glare.
I'm sorry, I've not spoken much about Entwistle and Daltrey but, for me, this was Townshend and Moon's show. I could watch this show on repeat all day just for these two amazing musicians, for they carry the whole performance, and you know what? I'd never have it any other way.
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