From Radio Hauraki weekly email. Radio Hauraki is the major station sponsor of The Who in New Zealand
It took them FORTY years to make their way back to our shores but the pioneers of maximum r’n'b are delivering up an amplifier blowing set of rock n roll that will leave you with no doubt as to what made The Oo’famous. Tickets sales have been excellent, so if you lot on the Northern Embankment want a decent pozzie I’d get in early to stake your claim!.
Here’s how the evening shakes down:
5pm Doors open. Get a bevvie or two in…
6.00-7.00pm Hello Sailor
Changeover (30 mins) Get five beers in…
7.30-8.30pm Counting Crows
Changeover (30 mins) Pee five beers out and get ten more…
9.00-11.00pm THE WHO!
No donuts on Vespas will be permitted in front of the stage area…
{Needless to say between the hours 7-9 I’ll be in the bar (sorry Counting Crow’s fans – I just don’t get them).}
I don’t read much, but I do read Non Fiction, and of course I love reading about The Who.
So here’s a couple of Who books that I have and can recommend to anyone.
Vinyl Frontier – The Who and the Making of Tommy – Nigel Cawthorne
2005, Unanimous Ltd
ISBN 1-90331-876-9
But my fav is by Matt Kent, who used to live blog for the band while they were in rehearsal or on tour, alas no more (such a shame they were great posts and pics).
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere – The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958 – 1978, Matt Kent / Andy Neill
2002, Freidman Fairfax
ISBN 1-58663-591-3
There is nothing more definitive on the history of The Who – it’s simply brilliant. It costs about $100NZD so I was stoked to get it in Vancouver on a $10 table – despite the weight in my bag on the way home. Get this book it’s bloody brilliant.
Better still go to this site and look through the stunning collection of books on The Who.
Here’s the only other Who concert programme I have, from the infamous 2002 Hollywood Bowl concert, just a couple of days after Johns premature passing.
But here’s a good little site for ya, dedicated to all things printed about the Who, here’s a cover of the 2008 O2 shows that they did in London.
It didn’t take long, only 41 years, but New Zealand finally gets to see the genius of these guys again.
Let me state from the start, I love rock, I love 60s rock, I love it a lot. There was the most incredible music revolution going on then. 50s Rock n Roll had kicked it all off, then came the safe period after that initial revolution, and then it all went crazy again. Garage Rock, Mod, Blues, British Invasion etc all played their part in the sound that can’t really be lumped together as 60s rock.
And as much as I love these bands, I’m of a generation that wasn’t around then, thank god for music tv, dvd compilations and youTube as a way to get not only to hear but see stuff from back then. However, as much as I love that music and admire bands from back then still plying their trade on the retro-revival circuit, it’s so cringe making to see them completely wrap their great songs in a nice cardigan and more or less pitch it at the level of the grannies who grew up with it.
This is why I love the Who. Apart from the odd exception, bugger all of their music has been recomposed, and it’s certainly not mellowed. I loved Roger’s voice in the 60′s, whatever accolades I try to give it now will seem inadequate, suffice to say, the raw power of a boy from London with an accent as his really wasn’t supposed to sound that good. Of course it wasn’t until Tommy that Roger really found his voice within the band. It was at this stage in the 1970s that the Who completed some of their more iconic post 60s Anthems – Won’t get Fooled Again being my all time favourite (closely followed by the entire Quadrophenia Album).
Possibly their best reinterpretation is The Kids Are Alright and the best rendition of it can be found on the live DVD, Live at the Royal Albert Hall.
However apart from that, there is no harmonising of their tunes, no comforting of the guitar and certainly no weakening of the rhythm section (despite the original rhythm section now departed). The Who still thrash out their songs, and god only knows how Roger manages to (without being disrespectful) at his age hit those notes and push such forceful tones out, it’s quite astonishing and bloody pleasing. I’d love to see some more of those old Rock bands from the 60s, but thank god for YouTube alerting us to who is just literally putting a tea cosy over their careers and raking the cash off the oldies who can’t remember just how bloody good these songs were.
Speaking of rhythm sections, I have always been a fan of Drummers, and of course Keith Moon is without peer as both a performer and entertainer. Watching old Who stuff on DVD (I think I have them all), it almost defies logic and technique the way he played, and of course he was the template for all of the great 70s arena band’s drummers to have massive kits. But his replacement sine 1994 has been one of the best things that has happened to the band over the last couple of decades. Zac Starkey (yes son of Ringo Star) was given his first drum kit by none other than Keith Moon, and has more than carried the mantle of the greatest drummer to play behind Pete, Roger and John since Keith. It would be hard to argue that his influence on the band hasn’t been great. But then again this is The Who and the sum of the parts is greater than any individual. On their own they are all stunning if not genius musicians, but in that strange chemistry that is The Who they are in my opinion the greatest rock band to ever have graced the stage.
So bring on this weekend, I’m flying up to Auckland (from the bottom of the country) to see these buggers, having the privilege only once before at the infamous Hollywood Bowl concert in 2002 (just after John’s passing). Those reading from North America, won’t understand how big an event this is for Kiwi’s, after all you have had a regular dose of The Who more or less since their first tour, for us 41 years between gigs is too long, but thankfully we can now say those words, between gigs.
So see you all up in Auckland this weekend, to the poor bugger getting married, hope it goes well, do the scene from Bend it Like Beckham, sneak out from the reception for a couple of hours and see you there, the rest of you, enjoy the spectacle, you are in for one of the musical treats of you lives.
In light of the fact that I missed the whole National Radio playing of the BBC Who Doco, I went investigating. The show was made in 2002 just after the OX departed this earth (means just after the only Who concert I have ever been to), and it seems that it’s not available at RNZ or the BBC, doesn’t mean I can’t find it though…
Every good thing has a beginning, and for those of us not old enough to be around at the start, and considering they have only been here once ever 41 years ago, here’s a quick visual primer of where The Who started.
Before The Who, there was The Detours, from 1962-63 with Roger, Peter and John the nucleus of the band. They in turn became The Who, but at the suggestion of their new publicist Peter Meaden become The High Numbers, taking them away from their Skiffle and early rock sound to a Mod band. They didn’t stay as The High Numbers very long, but two morsels from that era remain with us. The first is the track by the High Numbers on the Quadrophenia Soundtrack, Zoot Suit, a Mod classic, and the other is the film footage from the Railway Hotel in 1964. Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp (yes brother of Terrence Stamp), had been looking for an unknown group to be the subject for a movie of their own. Thankfully they stumbled upon The High Numbers and filmed this small set from mid July 1964.
The band soon reverted back to The Who and adopted all of the mod imagery, with the art school mod looks, arrows on the band name etc. It was shortly after this that Maximum R&B became The Who’s catch phrase, and the iconic b&w poster with Pete, arm in air performing at the Marquee club was made. Within a very short time, Pete was smashing guitars, and the rest as they say is history.
How awesome would have it have been to have been there with The High Numbers pumping out “Ooh Poo Pah Doo”, RnB music pumped out by white art school boys in the very early 60s. But talk about serendipity, how fantastic that Lambert and Stamp wanted to be the next Brian Epstein and wanted a subject to film.
Maximum R&B indeed, raw at it’s best.
If you are looking for a great source for all things MOD, then this is your blog, link
Local TV talk host John Campbell of TV3 interviewed Roger Daltry about coming to NZ. Finally got hold of a copy of the interview and here it is for you folk. Thanks to TV3 and all must bow to their genius for this interview (or I may get told off).
The Who have added another concert in OZ after they come here for a one off concert.
From their web site
“The Who have added an additional show at the Hope Estate Winery in Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia on 28 March! There is a ticket pre-sale for members of thewho.com from Wed., 17 December, 9AM – 11PM local venue time. “
Actually bloody lucky anyone who lives in the vicinity of Hope Estate Winery. March 7 Eric Clapton, March 21 Chris Issak then March 28 The Who.
Now what winery could be tempted to bring The Who to the South Island?
The Who have wrapped up their North American and European Tour for 2008 with 3 nights at the famous Indigo02 (the old millennium dome). Below is the set list for the last concert. Considering it’s hardly changed at all for the whole tour, and unless they change things for the trip down under, this is pretty much what we can expect to see. That is, not forgetting they haven’t been here for 40 years, there could be a few more nostalgic moments.
Dec 17 Indigo 02 London 2008
I Can’t Explain
The Seeker
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Fragments
Who Are You
Behind Blue Eyes
Tattoo
Sister Disco
Baba O’ Riley
Eminence Front
5:15
Love Reign O’er Me
Won’t Get Fooled Again
My Generation / Cry If You Want
Naked EyeEncore:
Magic Bus
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey
Sparks
See Me Feel Me/Listening To You
Tea And Theater
That’s one heck of a long set, and will be stunning.
Here’s the video of the closing number Tea and Theatre. This comes from The Who performance at the Roundhouse in October 2006. You can download the whole show at longliverock.org
Where were you the first time you saw The Who? For some it may even be here in NZ, but considering they haven’t played here for 40 years, it could be more recent, if at all.
I was on the very last leg of travelling about the globe, literally flying home to NZ the next day, having spent several months living in Vancouver. As soon as a Who concert was scheduled for LA around the time we were coming home of course tickets and schedules had to be changed just so I could catch the concert. And of course John Entwistle had to go and die throwing the tour in jeopardy. I remember waking up in Hollywood thinking, this can’t be true, he was a genius. But thankfully Rog and Pete wanted to go ahead with the tour – phew!
Figured I could walk from hotel to Hollywood Bowl, left really early so could get a drink in somewhere on N La Brea Ave Hollywood (I think), just down the road from Henson Studios, with the giant Kermit on the building – what else?). The bar man got me so rotten on tequilla, rum and orange concoctions that I almost missed the start of the concert. Best part of that was I got to miss The Counting Crows as support act, let’s hope I can do something similar here in Auckland.
Scary big black usher women kept chasing me all night long as I refused to go to my seat way in the back up in the clouds somewhere. Spent all night finding empty seats (everyone was standing anyway) negotiating to stand their till their friend/wife/partner got back from the toilets, till I was finally befriended by a gay couple who couldn’t stop laughing at the straight drunk kiwi.
Arguably THE greatest live band ever, The Who will make an explosive return to New Zealand for the first time in 40 years to perform a one-off concert in March 2009. This is the news Who fans have been waiting for since the band’s last visit in 1968!
The Who have sold over 100 million albums and been an inspiration to everyone from The Clash to The Ramones to Pearl Jam and have been honoured with every prestigious award going. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame by Bono in 1990 in the very first year they were eligible, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, the first annual Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, a Lifetime Achievement award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988 and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001. Their music still forms the backdrop to 21st century life featuring in television shows such as the hit TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and in many movies.
Their charitable work is legendary with millions of dollars being raised over the years for a variety of causes and this work being recognised by the award of a CBE to Roger Daltrey in 2005. In an honour many bands would crave, The Who also is recognized in the Guinness Book of Records as the World’s Loudest Band!
In spite of the loss of original members Keith Moon (in 1978) and John Entwistle (in 2002), The Who remain the standard-bearer for great live rock and roll and are still one of the most in-demand live acts in the business. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Simon Townshend (guitars), Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass) and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (keys) are currently performing in the US to rave reviews and are keen to continue on the road next year.
The 21st century has sparked resurgence in the creative collaboration between Townshend and Daltrey. The 2004 greatest hits collection Then and Now featured tracks Real Good Looking Boy and Old Red Wine and the band also released Endless Wire, their first new studio album since 1982, in October 2006. The album debuted at #7 on the US Billboard chart and #9 on the UK albums chart, won a rave four-star review in Rolling Stone and was well received by both fans and media.
The band then embarked on a year-long tour to support it, and is now continuing the trek with shows in Japan, Australia and New Zealand in early 2009.
“We don’t want to stop now,” Roger Daltrey told Billboard Magazine. “We don’t want those long hiatuses that we used to have. We feel at this time of our lives it’s too precious a thing to take liberties with time. When you’re young, you’ve got that time. When you’re old, you haven’t.” Over their extraordinary career, the band’s live performances have been matched by no other, with reviewers continuing to rave: “Clapped out, over the hill, past it, out of touch, devoid of energy, a bunch of wrinkly has-beens? Not The Who. They may be well into late middle age, but for a couple of hours they delivered a masterclass in mind-crushingly intense, but also wonderfully subtle power rock,” said London’s Telegraph.
“It’s not exactly a disadvantage to be able to draw on a back catalogue that includes classic songs such as My Generation, Who Are You and Pinball Wizard. But to deliver them with an urgent intensity, rather than as some dinosaur-rock self-parodying tribute band was something special.” Promoter Andrew McManus is thrilled to have secured the rock legends for this very special one-off concert.
“I had the opportunity of watching The Who headline the 02 Festival in Ireland last year and was blown away by not only Roger Daltrey’s vocals but also the sheer magic coming off stage collectively from Pete Townshend and the rest of the band. This is a real coup for New Zealand and the band can’t wait to visit again. Forty years has been too long!”
Special guest support act will be Counting Crows, in their very first visit to New Zealand.
Tickets will be available from Monday 17 November from Ticketmaster in New Zealand on 0800 111 999 and from www.ticketmaster.co.nz.
When The Who return to Auckland next year it will be more than 40 years since the band first played here. In 1968 – at a time when their music was expanding into high-volume art-rock – they toured here with fellow mods the Small Faces and former Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones.
It was one of the last old-styled package shows like the ones which had brought the Beatles and Rolling Stones here in previous years.
But the bands arrived in New Zealand under a cloud. They had been harangued by the Aussie media and there had been a booze-related incident on a flight from Adelaide which saw them escorted off the plane and then on to their connecting plane to Auckland.
And the troubles didn’t stop there as this edited extract from Andrew Neill’s book about the ill-fated tour A Fortnight of Furore explains…
The humiliated, disillusioned and exhausted entourage slept through the flight across the Tasman, landing at Auckland airport at 11pm on Sunday January 28.
“New Zealand was enjoyable,’ the Small Faces’ Steve Marriott recollected later. “That was a lovely country. The people were lovely and it was totally different from Australia. More compatible with the English, I guess. Once again, this is how nice they were. We got to the airport and Pete Townshend immediately smashed one press guy’s camera. Throws it. Oh, here we go again! But they kind of understood, because I don’t think they’re too keen on Australians either.’
Reuters
WHO ARE YOU? Roger Daltry performs during Glastonbury in 2007. The band is coming to New Zealand.
Legendary rock band The Who, one of the biggest names in rock music history, have announced they will perform in New Zealand in March. Led by surviving members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, the British rockers will perform at North Harbour Stadium on March 21.
They last performed here in 1968. Their biggest songs include My Generation, Who Are You and The Kids Are Alright. The band’s original line-up included Keith Moon, who died in 1978, and John Entwistle, who died in 2002. The current line-up includes Zak Starkey – the son of Beatles star Ringo Starr – on drums.
Ticket details are yet to be confirmed.
In what is shaping up as the biggest single-headliner concert of the summer, The Who has confirmed a gig in Auckland in March.
The band, led by founding – and only two surviving – members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, last played on these shores in 1968, when they were one of the English bands changing the future of rock music. [continues]
Few bands can lay claim to being among rock royalty, but British rock gods The Who must surely feature on any list of the best bands of all-time.
The Who will bring the curtain down on what is shaping up to be the biggest Grand Prix in Australia’s history. With hits including Who Are You, Substitute, My Generation, Pinball Wizard and You Better, You Bet, The Who were a soundtrack for a generation.
Performing in their only Melbourne show, The Who will take next year’s Australian Grand Prix to a whole new level with a spectacular concert to herald the conclusion of the opening round of the Formula One World Championship.
Everyone with a valid Grand Prix ticket for Sunday 29 March* will be able to watch the concert, and for dedicated Who fans, a limited number of tickets named My Generation Platinum & Who Are You Gold will be available in two premium general admission areas at the front of the stage for $225** and $175** respectively, including general admission access to the circuit on Sunday. Click here (http://premier.ticketek.com.au/dbimages/sfx33022.gif) to view The Who concert map.
The My Generation Platinum area will be an exclusive area immediately in front of the stage. The Who Are You Gold area will be an exclusive area immediately behind this and in front of the general patron viewing area.
For grandstand, 4-day general admission and corporate patrons (and any person who has already purchased a Sunday Grand Prix ticket) an upgrade to Who Are You Gold is available for $76**#. Note My Generation Platinum will not be available to upgrade.
Tickets on-sale from 9.00am Monday 3 November, 2008 at www.ticketek.com.au or 131 931.
* Date subject to FIA confirmation late 2008.
The upgrade must be used in conjunction with a valid Sunday Grand Prix ticket.
Big hat tip goes to Philip for the comment to get this blog alive again.
The Who’s web site’s forum has links to it too. Fantastic, will keep all posted as soon as more stuff becomes available. Even better, if it is the line-up they say, Zac Starkey is the second greatest drummer in the history of the world/Who. Roger always said that Face Dances should be re-recorded with Zac on Drums, but I think that was before the Ox passed away.
Zac played drums with the following, some of my fav bands Oasis, The Who, The Icicle Works, The Waterboys, The Lightning Seeds, Johnny Marr and the Healers.
like they say all things have to start somewhere, and I guess this is just the beginning.
Like all Who fans, I am a dedicated and passionate fan of the Who, with my fav music being the early Mod stuff and Quadrophenia, but more of that sort of stuff later.
What is this blog about? Quite simply 40 years ago (within the month) The Who, Small Faces and Paul Jones made a some what ill fated tour of NZ and Australia. Things didn’t go so well in OZ, and the media were looking for some ‘juicy’ stuff even before The Who touched down in NZ 29th Jan 1968, and with Steve Marriot the inspirational singer for the Small Faces turning 21 while in Wellington, they got the ‘juicy stuff’.
Pete Townshend vowed never to come back to Australia, which was fine with the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, and the parting report by a NZ tabloid The Truth printed “they’re the scruffiest bunch of Poms that ever milked money from this countries kids.” The reporter continued “All the kids got for their money was an ear-splitting cacophony that was neither musical nor funny”.
Seems time can heal, and The Who toured Australia in 2004. This was 2 years after the death of legendary bass player John “the ox” Entwistle, and 2 years after my one and only Who concert, the strange and wonderful Hollywood Bowl July 2002 concert (a couple of days after John’s death). The Hollywood Bowl concert was stunning, one of my musical highs and quite simply unforgettable, but more about that concert later.
So with rumors galore about a possible Japan/Australia tour in the offering (seemingly dashed at this stage), I thought it was time to stop wondering if they will ever get back to these shores again, and start doing something about it. As Pete has always acknowledged (and forsaw) the internet is a wonderful tool. Lets use this tool and it’s remarkable social networking capabilities and see what we can do about getting The Who to New Zealand in 2008.
Over the next week I will be giving this place a look and feel, and hope in fostering some sort of community here, to have images and memories of The Who’s time in NZ plastered all over the place. There are some 8000 kids (and how many adults) who were at these concerts in Auckland and Wellington in 1968, some must still have memories of these. I want to hear these, post away.
More importantly, if you just happen to be playing golf with a concert promoter or the director of some place like AMI stadium, the cake tin or Vector Arena and the like, tell them about this place and our plans, we need to all be talking for anything as crazy as a Who tour of NZ to happen.
Cheers guys and come back again soon.
(in 2004 a world record (for a Who concert poster – 20,000 UK pounds or approx $50,000NZD) was sold by Christies for an original New Zealand (Wellington) poster from the ’68 tour) Do you have one of these in good nick in your wardrobe.
