WHO CARES if Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey are a combined 130 years old? They still rock, and they were the best thing about Sunday's Super Bowl.
The Who played at halftime with bombs and lasers and blinding lights going off on a spaceship stage. Sure, this is band adapting to the times while churning out timeless classics, but remember -- The Who used lasers and pyro 40 years ago, and Who can't forget original drummer Keith Moon's exploding drum kit "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Show" in the mid-60s on ?
It was particularly awesome in light of forgettable performances last week. Taylor Swift, who apparently is the "voice of today's generation" and the PPP (Pretty Pop Princess) of music today, was criticized after she botched a performance at the Grammy Awards while singing the Fleetwood Mac classic "Rhiannon" with Stevie Nicks.
Wait a second. Stevie Nicks is still alive? If she is, she should not be allowed to sing "Rhiannon" without automatic vocal tuning technology.
You know, the stuff they use to record Taylor Swift albums.
Apparently Swift blamed not being able to hear for her woes. Woah!
Just before the Super Bowl started, something called Queen Latifah tried to sing a patriotic song and was seen removing her ear monitors. That's when I turned the channel (and then missed another PPP moment when Carrie Underwood "sang" the national anthem. Sorry. The Food Channel had a riveting special about squash pancakes).
I play in a band, and I don't think I've ever been able to hear onstage. Some say it shows. We do it for fun and couldn't care less, so there's a huge difference. But if you can't play live, you shouldn't be out there.
Enter The Who, still churning after nearly 50 years of blowing out speakers and eardrums. I was a high school geek just getting into music when I got a copy of 1971's "Who's Next" album on cassette tape, and I wore it out sticking my head between the cheap boombox speakers.
I saw The Who from near the front row in 1989, and it was an awesome experience, even in a bad Pontiac Silverdome venue. Geezers like Townshend and Daltrey want to put on a good show and care about sounding good, but they realize it's more about energy and connecting with the audience.
I didn't like the band squeezing five classic songs into 12 minutes, but they warned everybody they were going to do a medley. So be it.
No lip-synching here. Daltrey had vocal issues during the end of a tour several years ago, but he sounded awesome Sunday. Sure, he didn't run in place, and except for exposing his belly button a few times with some guitar windmills, Townshend remained grounded, too.
Hey. I used to be able to dunk a long time ago. And I'm 20 years younger than The Who.
I appreciate one of my favorite bands still cranking it out after all these years, and kudos to Townshend and Daltrey for putting on an actual live rock 'n' roll show.
-- rhart@whig.com/221-3370
