Opening the show was British rock icon Liam Gallagher. Although better known as the former front man of the band “Oasis”. Dressed in his signature black trench and dark shades, Liam started his set with the Oasis hit “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star”. The remainder of the short 7 song set was performed in what most would consider very dark lighting conditions.. The next 4 songs were in support of his recent 2019 solo release, Why Me? Why Not. Songs like “Shockwave”, “Once” and “The River” remind us why we fell in love with his music in the first place. With quirky lyrics and catchy choruses, the new songs did not disappoint. Wrapping up his set with Oasis mega smashes “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova”, the crowd was brought back to life in one giant sing-a-long. Without much ado, Liam left the stage as mysteriously as he had taken it.
Playing to a nearly packed house at SDSU’s Viejas arena, The Who was here on their “Moving On” tour, partially in support of their upcoming release “Who”, due out December 6th. This was the Who’s first concert backed by a 51 piece full orchestra, comprised of mostly local musicians. The orchestra was given the music ahead of time and practiced together for the first time at noon on show day. Quite an impressive feet considering the arrangement and The Who would be fronting them. The musicians were told to “keep an eye on Pete, he will give you all of the cues you need”.
The band lead by original members Roger Daltry (75) and Pete Townshend (74) were backed by Simon Townshend (guitar), Zak Starkey (drums), Loren Gold (keyboards) and Jon Button (bass). The 2+ hour concert opened with a 30 minute symphonic montage of songs from the album “Tommy”. If one came expecting to see their favorite band from the 70’s with hard hitting rock vocals and memories galore, this was not it. The dramatic symphonic backing, although beautiful, gave the feeling of being at the Rueben H Fleet, watching spectacular nature footage with a dramatic sound score. That all-to familiar signature guitar intro into “Pinball Wizard”, (the one that gets our blood flowing) felt somehow anti-climatic substituted with violins and horns. Townshend explained that the idea for touring with a backing orchestra was born from Roger’s solo tour, which also featured a backing orchestra.
Daltry’s vocals shined with a rousing rendition of their signature hit “Who Are You”. Upon completing a Townshend sung “Eminence Front”, he joked about the audience and their age saying that at a recent show, he had asked if there were any millennials in the crowd. He stated one boy was “too shy because he was afraid the old people would eat him!” There was a stunning violin intro to a tune brought back from the 1975 album The Who By Numbers, “Imagine a Man”. The song was sung as a ballad and was a hi-lite of the night. Testing the waters on a new song “Hero Ground Zero”, the response was favorable, although it’s never easy to debut a new song in the middle of legendary tunes.
The orchestra retreated approximately half-way through the show. While they added a fresh and beautiful element to the songs that are the soundtrack to lives of most in attendance, it can be said that when the band got back to, well, being a band… suddenly all felt right in the world. Daltry himself stated, “They {the orchestra} deserve a break while we go back to being the little band we were. The little band with the big noise. That’s why we’re all stone fucking deaf!” He then sweetly apologized to the small child in the second row and stated, “We’re English, we can’t help it. We swear a lot!” A collective new found energy filled the arena with an old school rendition of “I Can See For Miles”.
A song that is already a beautiful ballad, “Behind Blue Eyes”, was performed with the return of Kate Jacoby on violin and Audrey Snyder on cello center stage. Another crowd participating moment filled with cell-phone flash-lights and fans singing along.
With the return of the orchestra, The Who would play an additional 7 songs, topping off the night with an undeniable crowd favorite, “Baba O’Riley”.
The concert was tantalizing for all senses, ages and fans with a little something for everyone. A softer, gentler The Who.. if you will.