Phew, how good was that?! I Can't Explain.......no, I mean I really can't explain! Here's a couple of photos I took, not great but had to avoid detection by the camera police.

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whitem8
SLIP KID!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I can't believe they pulled that one out. Very rarely played live, and that was a song Pete bitched about Roger wanting to do, but Pete thought it would be to difficult to do live. WOW! How did it sound? That is a great set list!! AMAZING!

Wow, Slip Kid. Love that song and always wanted to hear it live. Lucky bastards! Hopefully there will be a bootleg.

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leteyer

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paulywaul
God, I'm in panic mode again for the second time in two days, what the f*** are we gonna do when giants of the game like these guys are finally gone ? Go and see Coldplay ? Don't bloody think so !!

Now I'm also scared. Really something to think about.

It is grim situation. I'm even considering going to see Bob again now even though I went off his live performances as his voice is so shot now. Still, the Stones will keep rolling and there are some good bands out there like Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub to keep the rock flag flying.

Hello,

First up,sorry for the delay in posting this drivel-blame a combination of being on the move,Photobucket crashing and general Luddite-minded behaviour i.e. not having a lapdancer er,laptop.Just as Jimmy has raised the bar for gig reviews,I feel it is my duty to lower the bar once more.

Monday night was a special,special show.It began for me in The Pilot Inn again where I met some other lifers by happy accident.We were a undeniably charming but mixed bunch from Glasgow,Gravesend,Swansea,Louisiana,London and some berk from Ireland.There was a mix in the ages too,ranging all the way from old to very old:included were veterans from the glory,glory years and shows such as both Charltons,Glasgow Apollo and Celtic Park.Bastards,hah-hah!

Into the venue again and it was a case of deja-vu seeing some familiar faces (I'm beginning to see how PT feels when he strides out each night),including the soon-to-be Mrs. Starkey,who was right on the rail about 4 people ahead of us.You wouldn't believe the anticipation and longing from those around me-I have that effect sometimes.
On cue at 8.45pm PT leads the band out to what seemed like thunder:we're loud!No words are spoken to the audience and we're off and running with "Can't Explain" and general delirium breaks out.Short-lived as it goes when PT turns his back on us and stops playing after about 60 seconds or so.He strides over to a perplexed Rog and shakes his head in such a manner that leaves you in no doubt that he isn't pissing about.The rest of the band stop too,Rog says something along the lines of "We'll be back...soon" and PT walks off-stage followed by the rest.What the @#$%&?We're a bit stunned initially but pretty soon the shouts of encouragement start-up.After about 5 minutes I can see a good sign when Alan Rogan is talcing-up a Strat and Bobby Pridden is bracing himself for a bollocking!

Sure enough,massive cheers welcome the band back again and PT explains that he has a cold which affects his already shagged lugholes-he thought it was something more serious,perhaps involving his inner ear but in no way did he want sympathy and under no circs were we to stop heckling him on account of him being deaf.Just to get the ball rolling he then called us a bunch of @#$%&.Ah,the panto is back on again...joy!
And we get the full version of "Can't Explain",heh-heh-heh!

If only the unconverted and disinterested could've seen what I saw on Monday:Who's better,Who's best indeed.

The other surreal moment came towards the end of the show after a rowdy "Magic Bus" (although is there any other kind?) when PT announced a super-duper,world first,never played live before tour,nay career premiere!I did guess that it would be something from '...By Numbers' but before I could rationally narrow it down he wentr and announced "Slip Kid".What the @#$%&,part two!
Only himself,Rog and Si remained onstage (younger brother providing the handclap percussion) for this entertaining trainwreck.This being the Who means that things aren't meant to run smoothly.Well,what do you expect from The Worst Rock'n'Roll Band In The World.Young Rog couldn't remeber the first line!
Much corpsing and abuse followed with Rog asking us how it should go-see if you know it-anyway the lyrics were recalled and away we went.After it he half-joked "...Now you know why we don't try new songs!".
PT admitted that perhaps a rehearsal might've been an idea,hah-hah-hah!

We also got ourselves another lovely "Tattoo" too:after the houselights went on at the end we were hugging,shaking hands and high-fiving it left,right and centre:it was one of those nights alright.I'm almost dreading tonight's show because I'm going with a couple of mates who've never seen these clowns before,but you just know that that sort of peak cannot be repeated.It isn't 1975.

What would I really,really want for Christmas?
A pro-shot DVD of that show,warts-and-all,that's what!





















"Slipkid"...and the aftermath...











Cheers,

Si.

Simon,

You hero, these are great. Thank you SO much for posting. Yeah, I'm kind of dreading tonight, how the hell do they top Monday ?

Hi P.W.,

To be honest,unless PT offs a Strat over my head then it can't happen,hah-hah-hah!

Off to The Pilot shortly!

Cheers,

Si.

Well that's it then ... three Who shows in four days !! Now what the f*** am I gonna do for the rest of December ?

So how was the show last night Paulywaul?

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paulywaul
Well that's it then ... three Who shows in four days !! Now what the f*** am I gonna do for the rest of December ?

Rollin' Stoned??

I think if you'd been there for all three, you'd probably have gone with night number two as tops, and then in all fairness very little to choose from as far as putting nights one and three in order. I discussed this at length after last night's show with Beast and SonicDreamer, and that's what we came up with. I think night three was characterised by slightly less banter from Pete, and possibly the first part of the show was a litle less powerful than night one, but only up to the point where they did 5:15. After that ... the WHO took off and soared. Roger's voice if anything was at its best on night three, unreal. To be honest, very little in it, even between all three nights, but if I had to give top spot to one ... it would be Monday 15th, second night. We got a few bars of Boris the Spider before Pete went "well you voted for it ... top spot in fact, but ... we ain't gonna do it", and then we got Magic Bus instead. Priceless. What was very touching I think at the end of last night's show was the profuse thanks that Pete in particular gave the crowd, especially "all those faces I recognise" down the front, lots of acknowledgements going on to people he obviously recognised, lots of waves, lots of kisses being blown ... it was really nice to see.

I only wish the Stones would scale down this corporate bollocks and just pretty much do the same kind of thang, namely make themselves accessible to their fanbase, at a decent price, in a small venue ... if the WHO can do it, why the f f f f foxtrot couldn't they ?

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Adrian-L

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paulywaul
Well that's it then ... three Who shows in four days !! Now what the f*** am I gonna do for the rest of December ?

Rollin' Stoned??

Adrian, yep ... see you there Saturday 20th.

..tinsel and mince pies at the ready

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Adrian-L
..tinsel and mince pies at the ready

I know ... can't wait. Love these guys to death !!

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paulywaul
I think if you'd been there for all three, you'd probably have gone with night number two as tops, and then in all fairness very little to choose from as far as putting nights one and three in order. I discussed this at length after last night's show with Beast and SonicDreamer, and that's what we came up with. I think night three was characterised by slightly less banter from Pete, and possibly the first part of the show was a litle less powerful than night one, but only up to the point where they did 5:15. After that ... the WHO took off and soared. Roger's voice if anything was at its best on night three, unreal. To be honest, very little in it, even between all three nights, but if I had to give top spot to one ... it would be Monday 15th, second night. We got a few bars of Boris the Spider before Pete went "well you voted for it ... top spot in fact, but ... we ain't gonna do it", and then we got Magic Bus instead. Priceless. What was very touching I think at the end of last night's show was the profuse thanks that Pete in particular gave the crowd, especially "all those faces I recognise" down the front, lots of acknowledgements going on to people he obviously recognised, lots of waves, lots of kisses being blown ... it was really nice to see.

I only wish the Stones would scale down this corporate bollocks and just pretty much do the same kind of thang, namely make themselves accessible to their fanbase, at a decent price, in a small venue ... if the WHO can do it, why the f f f f foxtrot couldn't they ?

Sounds good Paul - I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the Sunday/Monday shows and totally agree with your comments regarding the Stones. The Who were performing as if it was back in their early days and both they and us didn't mind about a forgotten lyric or missed note here or there - we all just had FUN!!
If Pete and Roger enjoyed it as much as they appeared to, maybe it will become an annual fixture.......

Wow - really glad I picked the Monday night at Indigo. I have a strong tradition of seeing The Who in December. My fave Who shows of all time that I attended were in December - Sundown Edmonton Dec 73 when they played a lot of the then just released Quadrophenia, and all three nights at Hammersmith Odeon Dec 75. Front row bang in the middle every night for those ones. Must dig out my photos. Pete was still wearing his Meher Baba photo/necklace.
Oh and also Shepherd's Bush Empire 1999.

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Silver Dagger
Wow - really glad I picked the Monday night at Indigo. I have a strong tradition of seeing The Who in December. My fave Who shows of all time that I attended were in December - Sundown Edmonton Dec 73 when they played a lot of the then just released Quadrophenia, and all three nights at Hammersmith Odeon Dec 75. Front row bang in the middle every night for those ones. Must dig out my photos. Pete was still wearing his Meher Baba photo/necklace.
Oh and also Shepherd's Bush Empire 1999.

Yeah, I did the SBE as well, both nights - but I was up on the 1st level balcony. Not bad ... but as not as good as FOS on the floor. Still, blinding shows, which reminds me ... some kind WHO fan that I met a while later working offshore (would you believe) bestowed up on me the bootleg of one of those shows ... and WHAT a friggin' peach of a bootleg it is too !!

Ah yes, Shepherds Bush Empire 1999 - what a fine show that was! That was the occasion I met Liam Gallagher in the gents, still wearing his shades.......err, but that's another story!

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Manofwealthandtaste
Ah yes, Shepherds Bush Empire 1999 - what a fine show that was! That was the occasion I met Liam Gallagher in the gents, still wearing his shades.......err, but that's another story!

Well c'mon ... spill the beans !!

Wow!

What a great show last night. My first time seeing the Who, can you believe it.

Don't have much more to say that hasn't been said already, but was very impressed with all the people on stage. After hearing alot of talk about Roger's voice, I couldn't see any problems. Pete was fantastic on the guitar, and, what a drummer Zak Starkey is. I've seen him with Oasis but they don't get the best of him, these guys do!

As far as the Indigo2 was concerned, great sound, very easy to get around, nice quick service at the bar, generally the place is very 'efficient', but lacks soul. The decor is too bland and contemorary... But anyway, it's still new so over the years it will hopefully get sufficiently trampled on and generally wrecked in order to give the place some character!

_____________________________________________________

What's your favourite flavour?...........Cherry Red!!

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paulywaul

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Manofwealthandtaste
Ah yes, Shepherds Bush Empire 1999 - what a fine show that was! That was the occasion I met Liam Gallagher in the gents, still wearing his shades.......err, but that's another story!

Well c'mon ... spill the beans !!

He was at the gig with Patsy Kensit (she wasn't in the gents, obviously....), anyway, what do you say when you come face to face with a famous musician whilst at the same time maintaining an air of coolness and normality? So, in my beer-fuelled state I came out with "So when are you guys gonna play this venue?" to which Liam replied "We're not fookin' big enough to play here!". (This was the end of the 90's when Oasis were arguably at the height of their success.) The conversation continued along the lines of how great The Who were that night and we went back to our seats to enjoy the rest of the show.
Of course, Oasis did play the venue a few years later on their '10 Years of Noise and Confusion' Tour, complete with The Who's drummer on stage!

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paulywaul

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Silver Dagger
Wow - really glad I picked the Monday night at Indigo. I have a strong tradition of seeing The Who in December. My fave Who shows of all time that I attended were in December - Sundown Edmonton Dec 73 when they played a lot of the then just released Quadrophenia, and all three nights at Hammersmith Odeon Dec 75. Front row bang in the middle every night for those ones. Must dig out my photos. Pete was still wearing his Meher Baba photo/necklace.
Oh and also Shepherd's Bush Empire 1999.

Yeah, I did the SBE as well, both nights - but I was up on the 1st level balcony. Not bad ... but as not as good as FOS on the floor. Still, blinding shows, which reminds me ... some kind WHO fan that I met a while later working offshore (would you believe) bestowed up on me the bootleg of one of those shows ... and WHAT a friggin' peach of a bootleg it is too !!

I was one of the lucky ones on the floor. Great gigs both. A portion of the things were released on the online only CD, Blues to the Bush (an innovative move back then). You could pick and mix which songs you wanted. It's a terrific album.

They did After The Fire, which was great. And Pete trashed his guitar on one of the nights. Can't remember which.

[qoute] Yeah, I did the SBE as well, both nights - but I was up on the 1st level balcony. Not bad ... but as not as good as FOS on the floor. Still, blinding shows, which reminds me ... some kind WHO fan that I met a while later working offshore (would you believe) bestowed up on me the bootleg of one of those shows ... and WHAT a friggin' peach of a bootleg it is too !![/quote]

Sorry paulywaul - scratching my head but was is the FOS? Fillet of Soul in Live and Let Die? Sound like a great boot. The one I'm after is Watford 2001 - almost unreal and with Entwistle of course. One of the last shows he did. I swear it was the nearest I'd heard to Live At Leeds. They were very angry. There was violence in the air and a bunch of pissed up old mods/skinheads started fights donwstairs. It has been bootlegged. The version of Young Man Blues made my hackles stand up.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-18 15:01 by Silver Dagger.

Sure would be interesting to hear that Watford Colisseum gig again. A bizarre venue, but it was just a warm up gig. Apparently a dreadful sound from the band's perspective. I have a couple of grainy photos from that show somewhere....will try to find them.

Saw the Who last night at the Indigo. Just a great live band. Loud and in your face.


John Nicholls

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Silver Dagger
[qoute] Yeah, I did the SBE as well, both nights - but I was up on the 1st level balcony. Not bad ... but as not as good as FOS on the floor. Still, blinding shows, which reminds me ... some kind WHO fan that I met a while later working offshore (would you believe) bestowed up on me the bootleg of one of those shows ... and WHAT a friggin' peach of a bootleg it is too !!

Sorry paulywaul - scratching my head but was is the FOS? Fillet of Soul in Live and Let Die? Sound like a great boot. The one I'm after is Watford 2001 - almost unreal and with Entwistle of course. One of the last shows he did. I swear it was the nearest I'd heard to Live At Leeds. They were very angry. There was violence in the air and a bunch of pissed up old mods/skinheads started fights donwstairs. It has been bootlegged. The version of Young Man Blues made my hackles stand up.[/quote]

FOS ? It means Front Of Stage.

Hello,

Show number three then-did it disappoint?

No way,Jose!

Less banter from the chaps,but there were three moments that stand out.

No 'Slipkid' this time,but PT played the riff for 'Boris The Spider' as a joke.Then Rog sang the opening 2 lines as Zak lightly joined in on drums,and for a moment it seemed they'd play it.Then Pete said he was "channelling John" he took off his hat,struck a psychic/medium's pose and said a message was coming through:"Fffffuuh!" which Pete said was John's favourite expression as "...those who propped up the bar with him would know...".
Much guffawing.

They really did roll back the years with a fearsome 'Naked Eye',which was the greatest version that I've seen them play.Just astonishing in it's intensity.

The last song as per was 'Tea And Theatre',and Rog dedicated it to someone that he'd met earlier (possibly TCT-related?).However PT slightly messed-up the intro to it which really hacked-off Rog:it was like he really wanted this to be something special and by the song's end,instead of a hug with Pete and some farewells,he strode off-stage still clearly pissed-off at what had just happened.
Strictly no rock-star Bulls**t here.

I am aware of the law of diminishing returns,but I'd rather have these extra photos cluttering-up Photobouquet rather than my steam-driven PC!



























Most importantly for me,my two sceptical mates were steamrollered by the show.Thank Goodness that this band didn't let me down!

Cheers,

Si.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-12-20 13:25 by SimonN.

Glad to hear your two sceptical mates were not disappointed, SimonN! But how could they have been?! It was another great show last night. I always want to hear 5.15 and it seems to get better every time. And Zak Starkey sure is a fantastic drummer.

It sounds like the shows have been great, thanks to all for sharing the stories and photos.

Great stuff everyone. Thanks to you all who were there for sharing with us fellow fans. Great to live vicariously through you all. I would have loved to be there, by all accounts another classic legacy from the boys.
And so Roger's voice was good?
Great set lists and Naked Eye sound like it was done like the early 70's, true?

Max R & B!

No-one has commented on the support band on Wednesday, Sons Of Albion featuring Plant Junior - any good?