Reporter's Notebook: The Who . . . not too old to rock

Who’s too old to play rock and roll? Apparently, not The Who if this past week’s concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall is anything to go by. It featured the two core members of the group, 81-year-old lead singer Roger Daltrey and soon-to-be-80-year-old songwriter and lead guitarist Pete Townshend.  

Unlike other "senior" musicians and groups like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, who have well-oiled touring machines around them, this was more of a one-off (well, two-off, there had been another concert a few days before) for the respected UK charity Teenage Cancer Trust.  

And so it had more than its share of "bumps," which only made the moments of rock and roll heaven that much more enjoyable.

Guess what? These guys can still rock, sixty years after their first top-ten hit, if a bit tempered by age.

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Daltrey had a few of his memorable hand-mic air throws. OK, instead of hurling the microphone in the air vertically for thirty feet, they were more sideways for ten.

And Townshend, yes, did his windmill guitar stroke movements. I did count eight in a row at one time, but for the most part it was more like one or two at a time.

Nothing was tempered about Daltrey’s voice, despite problems and surgery in the past. It still sailed over the rafters on a range of songs. The high notes of the tune "Love Reign O’er Me" were done with blockbuster bombast.

And Townshend’s guitar licks could stand up to Clapton’s any day. (The latter also just turned 80, by the way.) Unique, stylish, no flubs.

The Who (with a good backing band) played a few of their very early stand-outs. Especially ironic: "My Generation." (Key line: "I hope I die before I get old." Well . . . maybe not.)

The rock opera about the deaf, dumb and blind pinball wizard, Tommy, got a bit of a gloss-over, perhaps because of Daltrey’s recent admission that his vision is beginning to go (along with his hearing).

The follow-up, urban rock opera Quadrophenia, was treated with a deeper dive, maybe plugging the ballet version running in London later this year. It never ends.

But what many consider their finest album, Who’s Next, got the full treatment. From "Bargain" to "Baba O’Reilly," from "Behind Blue Eyes" to "Won’t Get Fooled Again."

The synthesizer parts might have been pre-recorded . . . but the forceful Daltrey-Townshend duet on the key "Blue Eyes" line was utterly telling: 

"And if I swallow anything evil, put your finger down my throat. And if I shiver, please give me a blanket. Keep me warm, let me wear your coat."

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So . . . the "bumps" noted earlier: Townshend acknowledged that he had had knee-replacement surgery a month ago. Aside from a few whinges ("I’m in agony,’ "I can’t breathe"), he seemed to take it in his stride. Actually, he took it sitting down through half the songs. (No Woodstock-style jumping scissor kicks for him.) But he admitted that it helped him play better.

And Daltrey’s earpiece (which, despite that spotty hearing, helps him stay "in tune") was acting up throughout the night. At one point, he stopped the entire band. "I’m not hearing the Who," he said good-naturedly, "it sounds like I’m hearing the Troggs," referring to an old '60s British pop band. Townshend said in an aside " . . . it was going so well."

In fact, the two of them, known to have had their ups and downs over the years professionally, often resembled on stage an odd couple, snapping at each other from time to time but also warm to each other . . . and the audience.

Townshend (not necessarily known for his bedside manner) at one point thanking the 5,000-plus Royal Albert Hall crowd for sticking with them all these years, and calling The Who "geriatrics who pretend to be young."   

The demographics of the crowd, I must admit, were somewhat on the senior side. But enough sons and daughters were present and getting into it to give one hope, if not for the future, then at least for the present.

For we indeed are seeing, sad to say, the tail end performances of the second great generation of rock and rollers.  After Chuck, Little Richard and Elvis, came The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan . . . and, yes, The Who.

That’s why it’s more than just fun; it’s an honor to catch these final farewells.

Along with their punchier later hits like You Better You Bet and Who are You, The Who played a song Townshend said they’d never played in concert before. Incredible, as it was recorded 54 years ago. Amid high critical acclaim.    

Called "The Song is Over" (also from the Who’s Next album), it was nothing less than extraordinary. And appropriate.

As Townshend worked through the riffs and lines. And Daltrey was literally completely slumped over and supported by the standing mic, as if he could go no further, it ended with them singing:

"The song is over, the song is over. Excepting one note, pure and easy, playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

Except, I take exception. The song, hopefully, is not "over" . . . yet.