I’m sitting here watching half of the The Who play the Half-time show. Somewhere, Keith Moon is spinning in his grave. I find this to be one of the saddest things I’ve seen in a long time, but I guess they needed the money. Teenage wasteland indeed.
Anyway, I’m glad they talked Nigel Tufnel into playing drums. That was a nice touch.
Think of this as a Half-time Open Thread.
Cheers
Oh, and by the way: Go Saints!
chopper
i don’t know what’s more surprising, that daltrey can still belt out something resembling a who song or that townshend has gotten past the whole caught-with-kiddie-porn thing and is playing the super bowl.
GP
Sad Sad I wished I had never seen it
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
In fairness, the surviving Who have been fairly consistent in moving on from the untimely death of a bandmate. After about five minutes.
dave anderson
That was bad, I’m sorry for a band who created some amazing riffs blowing it in front of a billion people.
Now onto a side question, when will either Pearl Jam or Green Day be invited to play the Super Bowl? I am betting 2023 or later.
catatonia
I don’t think it was as bad as Springsteen last year. Daltrey can sing better than Springsteen at this stage, and the Who were never that great in concert to begin with.
Townshend looked like something …
what the hell was that?
FormerSwingVoter
wait what huh?
Onside kick. Ballsy call.
Dan
Was that Bonham’s kid?
Ridge
I’m glad I didn’t watch it. Lots and lots of much better on Youtube.
Anyway listening to WWOZ in NO with the game sound turned off. No need to listen to blowhards drone on and on.
Ridge
FormerSwingVoter
Ho. Lee. Shit.
GO SAINTS!!!!
djork
The drummer is Ringo’s kid, Zac Starkey.
BSR
Was that Adrian Belew playing guitar over to the side of Daltrey?
Napoleon
@Dan:
Ringo Starr’s kid Kak Starkey. He played with Oasis for a while. Story is Keith Moon gave him his first real drum kit and he has played for years and years with the Who.
xjmueller
Moonie could play drums better in his current condition than the dud they had up there. On the plus side, a song about a screwed up fatherless child, a guy so drunk he doesn’t know who or where he is, a song about wasted teenagers, and a classic aboutthe shit side of the politics of revolution. At least there weren’t any nipples shown.
Raznor
I saw The Who play live 10 years ago, before Entwhistle died. It was an amazing show. This, this was just sad.
General Winfield Stuck
Yea, they need to hang up the guitars. That was pretty bad.
Cat Lady
This whole Super Bowl so far has been cringeworthy – the ads are scary awful, the game isn’t very interesting, and The Who are Teh Suck.
Maybe they’ll have some clowns on between the 3rd and 4th quarter.
Morbo
Yup, i muted it in favor of Therion.
Napoleon
@Napoleon:
Duh, Zak Starkey
Anonsters
This just in:
Ronald Reagan was a twat.
That is all.
Steeplejack
Another group fulfilling the prophecy: “Dead at 30, buried at 80.”
Grumpy Code Monkey
@Dan: I thought that was Ringo’s kid; he’s been touring with them for the last couple of years now.
I only wish I’m doing half that well when I’m in my sixties. If they’re still willing to play, I’m willing to listen.
KyCole
Just got home and was glad to miss it. Had our big Super Bowl Sunday sale at the shop, then went out to eat. Now I’m just waiting for Masterpiece at 10. Go Saints- especially since the ex loves the Colts.
Violet
Nigel Tufnel FTW! The Who were awful.
Geaux Saints!
Alex Milstein
Yes, I know that Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry have been the face of the Who, but seeing them up there today I thought…McCartney and Ringo would never perform as The Beatles.
McCartney once said that he was glad the Beatles broke up, because it put a beginning and an end to their contribution as a group, and there was no string of endless reunion and farewell tours. And I agree with him.
Although, now that I think of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing Paul and Ringo join up with Julian Lennon and Dhani Harrison…just once…for charity, perhaps.
adolphus
I missed it. I was watching the Puppy Bowl.
This year they had bunny cheerleaders and hamster blimp pilots. What’s not to love?
EDIT: I did see a little of the show. Was it me or did the stage look like a giant game of Simon?
catatonia
BTW, I’m sick of the deification of (I’ll never be like Walter) Payton Manning. I’d not necessarily be rooting for the Saints, because the whole theme its-good-for-new-orleans-morale grates, since most of the people who blather about that could give a s**t about the dispossessed of New Orleans. I have to root for the Saints regardless, because of Manning and the fact I”m still sore from the Colts’ move to Indianapolis. I believe in holding grudges, and that’s entirely consistent with the best traditions of professional football.
policomic
I agree that the performance sucked, but I wish people would be a little less cavalier with the “Townshend is a child molester” stuff. Not everyone who is accused of a crime is guilty. He was tried (not on charges that he did anything to any actual child, but that he looked at something on his computer) and acquitted.
Accused≠guilty. Except in the case of Michael Jackson, of course.
Legalize (iPhone)
Yikes. Townshend’s gut was on my tee vee for some reason. That Saints drive to open the second half was pretty hot.
Nylund
I thought the performance was pretty bad. And, I couldn’t get over the fact that it really felt like CBS just turned the whole half-time show into a commercial for their CSI franchise.
RedKitten
OT, but who the hell wrote that gibberish about Bush being some sort of misunderstood genius who would be vindicated by history?
mclaren
Let’s just hope the onstage stonehenge doesn’t crush the dwarf. And the drummer doesn’t explode.
A Mendoza
Roger Daltrey looked like Mr Costanza from Seinfeld with his curls and barrell-like jacket.
Dennis G.
@djork:
But you have to admit he looks like Nigel.
EnfantTerrible
Note to Super Bowl producers: no more geezer rock, ‘K?
NeenerNeener
@RedKitten:
Redkitten: You might be thinking of John Hindraker, aka “Hindrocket”:
“It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.”
PanAmerican
Shrug. It’s the Superbowl half time show. Be happy they didn’t wheel out the Jonas Brothers or other assorted Disney-bots.
And what’s with the 14 year old fanboy fixation that group X can’t change lineups or soldier on after somebody croaks? It’s fucking juvenile. They “needed the money”, snort. Yeah that’s it….um, I think they make the decision to go down for the bucks sometime in 1962.
Quiddity
Anybody know how the stage lighting was engineered? I couldn’t tell if the white (and other color) patterns were from light shining down onto the spokes, or if the spokes were the source of the light (which would be much harder to program and coordinate).
Osprey
After the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ they’ve gone completely PC the last number of years with Petty, Springsteen, and Teh Who.
Taking bets on next year. I got 20$ on Led Zeppelin.
Bob In Pacifica
Anyone remember Diana Ross being dropped from a helicopter in the early nineties? That was BAD. Springsteen actually didn’t look too bad. And in the Who’s defense, either they got better or I got used to them.
I wish they wouldn’t get acts two or three decades past their prime. But who would you want to do the halftime show? Up With People?
PanAmerican
@Osprey:
Zep next year? That’s easy money. The problem is the format and the setting. Maybe they should go with something more Olympic like, fireworks, banners, dancers, stuff like that. Enough with the dinosaurs of rock.
Zuzu's Petals
@Alex Milstein:
Well, maybe three out of four ain’t so bad. (Best begins about 23:00)
Common Sense
Next year’s game IS in Dallas
The Jonas Brothers ARE from Dallas.
I’m just sayin…
Osprey
@Common Sense: All the more reason for Texas to secede. Or get bombed.
Tracy
@catatonia:
I’m afraid you’re wrong on both counts. Bruce was great last year, and until about 1982, the Who were an awesome live band.
tinat
Oh how I long for a superbowl performance from someone who isn’t a teeny bopper or an AARP member….or worse teeny boopers singing with AARP members (Aerosmith and Brittney Spears, I hope the dude who came up with that idea now works the drive thru at Burger King)
It’s always so sad to see a singer you enjoyed years ago come out on stage and prove that good old rock and roll cannot be sung live by 60 year olds. Your diaphram just ain’t got it anymore Roger. Now go live off your royalties.
But just in case, if they have Led Zepplin next year I take all back…I still love Robert Plant with all my heart ;)
Dan
Better drummer- Keith Moon or Bonham?
Alex Milstein
To PanAmerican…
I’m no 14-year old fanboy. I’m 62. Get it straight.
I’m not saying a group can’t soldier on, but…
That wasn’t the Who. It was half-Who. Without Moon and Entwhistle, it’s ‘Townsend and Daltrey.’ Would you be fine if Paul McCartney soldiered on calling himself The Beatles?
A few weeks ago, Conan O’Brien (gosh, remember him?) announced at the beginning of his show that Foreigner would be on. It was kind of funny to see a grey-haired geezer (and at 62, I use the term lovingly) on guitar with four kids -including the lead singer – who weren’t even born yet when Foreigner was in its heyday. It was kind of sad.
Anyway, I know people have to make money and pass their time, so I dont begrudge what they have to do. But as a potential audience member, I will pass. A couple of years ago, when Simon and Garfunkel were on their 17th reunion tour, a friend asked if we wanted to join him and his wife, and tickets were only 150 bucks each.
I said, “I saw Simon and Garfunkel on my college campus around 1966 and I paid five bucks to see them…and that was when they actually mattered.”
Neither Simon nor Garfunkel would now see my contribution to their retirement fund.
chopper
@policomic:
well, he was doing ‘research’, that’s true. just like when i was caught smoking grass, i said i was just doing ‘research’ into the effects the shit has on you.
K. Grant
Time for the three gentlemen from Canada to play. Rush has always put on a tremendous show, although they would need to extend halftime a bit for them to get even a few of their songs in. It would be worth it.
General Winfield Stuck
How about that./ Go Saints!!
Bernie
This discussion reminds me of The Who’s third album from 1967….
“The Who Sells Out“
Liberty60
@djork:
I didn’t see it, but that’s pretty brave of him- wasn’t he afraid he might spontaneously combust or something?
Badtux
Alex, I generally agree with you about these old dinosaur acts, but will add one exception: Leonard Cohen. His tour last year was stunning. But then, he wasn’t a rock-and-roller to begin with, his well-aged croon now fits his songs that popped out well-aged to begin with forty years ago and his backing band was tighter than tight.
I’m glad I don’t own a television. Watching “The Who” live would have made it a sad day for me…
Hiram Taine
@Alex Milstein:
That wasn’t the half-Who, it was The Why?
Steph
@Dan: No question, Bonzo.
CalD
The Superbowl half-time show is usually the single ten minutes of the year that I’m most embarrassed to be an American. Exceptions would include the Statue of Liberty rededication “ceremony” with the 200 Elvis impersonators and from 2001 – 2008, any time our president opened his mouth in public.
JoeC
It is rather to see them considering what they once were as a live act. I think Pete said: “We were like a machine”. Said that the only bits left of the band that once sang “Hope I die before I get old” are the guy who wrote it and the guy who sang it.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Been reading lots of condemnation of the Who on the internets and I honestly don’t understand why. This is approximately how good they’ve been live for several decades now, so why is anyone disappointed? Same deal for Bruce and the Stones. At least the light show was a welcome break from the phony crowd of teenagers swarming the stage.
Richard Salsbury
“The Who” lip-synced the entire show. Their message has always been very progressive – ” I tip my hat to the new Constitution” etc. Yes we know the progressives are taking the country by force but did you have to put “The Who” back on stage? They sucky suck sucked! The Ole Dicker Memphis
Germane Jackson
I thought they were pretty good. And Daltrey looks/sounds good for being +60. What was anyone expecting?
Ed in NJ
Alot of music snobs on this site, so the reaction was expected.
I mean, c’mon. AC/DC didn’t stop being AC/DC when Bon Scott died, so I think the Who have a right to continue on when the surviving members are the lead vocalist and the primary songwriter. Entwistle and Moon were great, but Moon died in 1978 for Christ’s sake. It’s Hard, Athena, Eminence Front, You Better You Bet were all from the post-Moon era.
drkrick
Keith answered that question years ago: “I’m the best Keith Moon-style drummer in the world.”
Oddly enough, Moon named Led Zeppelin. He and Entwhistle, tiring of the Daltrey-Townsend drama, discussed putting a band together with Jimmy Page. Moon said something about it probably going over like a lead balloon, “in fact a lead zeppelin …” The band obviously never happened, but the joke stuck with Page.
NovShmozKaPop
There are forms of music in which you can still play your ass off and convince an audience after 60 but rock isn’t one of them. The new sidemen were good (I think that was Pino Palladino on bass, an excellent and versatile player) but the old guys were remarkable only in that they could still do anything on stage. There is such a thing as knowing when to stop.
drkrick
As one of the “this was a tribute band” contingent – exactly.
I’ve heard the half-Who era band do better than this, though – Townsend sounded drunk. Maybe the controversy took a toll.
They were way better than the Stones a few years ago. My mother-in-law actually called me during the performance to complain about that one (apparently I was personally responsible for all rock’n’roll as far as she was concerned).
Germane Jackson
What I mean is, obviously this wasn’t 1/10000 as good as the Who in 1969, but it certainly was approximately as good as the Who since the last two decades. I thought they sounded pretty good/convincing.
True, they probably should’ve stopped forever ago, but absent that, didn’t they sound pretty good? I thought they did.
Nick
“Talkin’ ’bout my degeneration …”
JSpencer
At halftime I went to the store to buy milk and got back in time for the second half of the game. The whole idea of watching a geriatric who set seemed too disturbing.
Mo's Bike Shop
Word. At least Springsteen sang some stuff he had written in the last thirty years. I did find it an appropriate metaphor for our still-not post-boomer society.
You nailed it on Nigel, though I was thinking of somebody else’s vomit at the time.
canuckistani
There was something about seeing Keith flail around like a drunken maniac and yet you get those amazing beats coming out that has to put him on the top of any list. But without him? The Who died before they got old, but the corpse still hasn’t stopped twitching.
Germane Jackson
HEY WOW, THE WHO ISN’T THAT INSPIRING IN 2010, SURPRISING
MelodyMaker
Entwistle was a dick when I saw him on stage with Rundgren and Ann Wilson. Dick. Then he died. dick.
Alex Chilton was there too. MN state capitol. no shit.
This is the last MelodyMaker comment. I’m going to be Restrung. You’re welcome. dick. (smileyface)
Restrung
ahh. that’s better. Sorry if I called you a dick. Or if you took it that way. You know what? ….
Stooleo
You are all entitled to your opinions, but I think a number of you are being ageist. Nobody wants to see rock stars get old, but nobody seems to have a problem with an aging Muddy Waters, Bo Diddly or Howling Wolf. These guys (Daltrey and Townsend) are over 60 years old and I thought they put on a pretty good show for what it was. I hate it when they play the songs as medleys though.
JGabriel
@MelodyMaker:
Dude, that should be: Alex Chilton was there too.
.
Jeff Fecke
I’m okay with old acts soldiering on if they can still soldier on. The Rolling Stones will be able to rock until they’re 193, mainly because Keith is full of preservatives. Bruce Springsteen still has it.
The Who is not one of these acts.
madaprn
@catatonia:
October 9, 1976. Oakland Coliseum. Best live show I’ve ever seen despite the size of the venue. The Grateful Dead opened up for the Who. The Who amazed me.
“Goodnight, Keith Moon”
Siddhartha
I’m sorry. I have to chime in here. I know that The Who is a shadow of their former selves (especially the two dead ones), but I gotta say…you punks need to show some respect to the man who wrote Tommy, Quadrophenia, and the hundreds of other incredible songs Pete has penned in his lifetime (we can forgive him for Iron Man and Psychoderelict). Also…to the guy who said The Who were never good live…you need to listen to Live at Leeds.
Svensker
@Common Sense:
Nu,uh. New Jersey. My kid was in HS with them and they always performed at all the assemblies. Their dad was a local pastor
Alex Milstein
Badtux posts: ‘…one exception: Leonard Cohen.’
Leonard Cohen is not just an exception. He is exceptional. And yes, the songs he wrote 40 years ago still hit me with the same power.
I spent the latter half of 1970 and all of 1971 bumming and working my way around Europe and North Africa. And Leonard Cohen’s music _ Suzanne, So Long Marianne, Sisters of Mercy – was the soundtrack of my life back He spoke to me then and he still speaks to me now.
And my daughter, who is just 19, loves Leonard Cohen. Of course, she was introduced to his music by Rufus Wainwright’s cover of ‘Hallelujah.’
A few years back, Cohen won a Juno Award – Canada’s version of the Grammy – as Best Male Vocalist. He humbly told the audience: If I’m the best male vocalist in Canada, then Canada is in trouble…
Yutsano
BTW I’m gonna stand up for Bruce Springsteen here. His Super Bowl halftime was pretty meh, but he did release a damn good album in The Rising in 2001. So he’s out there throwing new material.
Andy K
@Stooleo:
This about a conversation about a band who famously wrote and sang the line, “Hope I die before I get old”? I’m drowning in a whirlpool of irony here.
I don’t think they were too bad, btw, but everything has been denouement since Townshend’s solo Empty Glass, imo.
JK
Note to the NFL: Pete Townshend plus Roger Daltrey DOES NOT EQUAL the Who just as Paul McCartney plus John Lennon would not equal the Beatles.
The Who were Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwhistle, and Keith Moon and at their peak they were the 3rd greatest rock band of all time behind the Rolling Stones (#2) and the Beatles (#1).
Mike Schilling
What was Jack Gilford doing up on the stage with Pete Townshend?
Andy K
@JK:
Great. Wings gets the shaft again.
But, seriously:
So were the Rolling Stones no longer the Rolling Stones after Brian Jones got the boot? Or did they cease to be the Rolling Stones when Ron Wood joined? And, you know, Ian Stewart and Dick Taylor were founding members of the band, but they were both out of it by the end of 1963.
Then there’s Syd Barret/David Gilmour in Pink Floyd. And don’t even get me started on the Yardbirds….
So the question is: At what point does a band stop being the band we thought it was?
JK
@Andy K:
Very good existential question. The Rolling Stones produced great music with Brian Jones, Mick Taylor, and Ron Wood. Pink Floyd produced great music with Syd Barrett and David Gilmour.
In my opinion, the only great music the Who produced was with the lineup of Townshend, Daltrey, Entwhistle, and Moon.
The Beatles are inconceivable with any lineup other than John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Restrung
@JGabriel:
speaking of dicks..
and when did YouTube turn into everybody’s little Rock Band 2 bitch? Dude, that’s weak! Try searching for Alex Chilton’s “The Replacements.” I’m wore out.
Oh, and the Beatles? Wait; actually, I like the Beatles. OK.
new nym works.
Andy K
@JK:
Yeah, but only 3/4 of The Who were alive when they toured on Who Are You. And the band was still hot property with Kenny Jones drumming, even if they weren’t writing/recording material that was as memorable as the stuff with Moon. But when I saw The Who on their “farewell” tour in 1982, I didn’t hear anyone griping that the band should change it’s name. Sure, there was a little, “Oh man, I wish I’d been able to see Keith Moon. Too bad he died,” but it was most definitely perceived as being The Who.
At a certain point the creative spirit fades, ya know? While I’m certain that I saw The Who in ’82, I’d have doubted I was seeing The Who in ’02, just prior to Entwistle’s death (had I actually gone to one of their shows). But I might have had the same doubts about seeing Sinatra in ’93 or ’94, nearly a decade and a half removed from his last hit (that would be the Theme From New York, New York, released in ’80), and definitely not the same guy who crooned in the ’40s and sang his saloon songs between wisecracks from the mid-50s through the mid-80s.
See where I’m going with this?
debbie
The (alleged) Who were so horrible, they put me to sleep, and I missed the entire second half. While I appreciated seeing the windmill again, they are nothing without Moon and Entwistle.
If the organizers wanted to appeal to both older and younger generations, then they should have gotten Neil Young.
Chinn Romney
The other thing these songs have in common is that they all suck. Who By Numbers was the last album they ever did that was worth a damn. Who are You came out after that and sold alot more, but as far as I was concerned at the time they were toast. I think Moon was still alive then too.
But that was then. Last night I thought Paul Shaffer did a great job filling in for Peter Townshend. He had the windmill thing down cold. And hats off to the inspired genius who brought Harpo Marx out of his cryogenic state to play the part of Roger Daltrey. He always could lip sync really well.
Chris
Pete Townsend doesn’t need the money. He’s got the songwriting royalties.
Roger Daltry does, thus the drive to keep the band going.
The other factor is the charity thing, Daltry is into funding teenage cancer wards for the NHS, they both do other charity work. Townsend is pretty into tech/blogging/twitting kind of stuff left to his own devices.
To see how much of that band’s sound was Moon, listen to the BBC sessions disc, a lot of it from the time they were a James Brown/Motown/R’B cover band (whose early gigs were a few blocks from where I live between Chiswick and Shepherds Bush in London.
gelfling545
I shall always appreciate The Who as part of the sound track of my life but it is time for them to be heard and not seen.
tinat
@Stooleo:
Different styles of music Stolleo. Some styles age well like jazz, some don’t like classic rock and roll
Someone like Muddy Waters does not have to stand up while singing and certainly doesn’t have to hit the high notes.
John PM
I wish I had seen this thread last night. Personally, I think they should get rid of the half-time show. It is nothing but a waste of time. It is funny to think that at the time of the first Superbowl the Who would have been too controversial, but 40 years later they are fine.
For me, a band continues to be a band as long as it does not formally break up. Thus, the Stones and the Who are still those bands, but the Beatles could never be the Beatles again because they stopped performing together in 1970. Similarly, for my generation, Guns and Roses no longer exists, even though a geriatric-sounding Axl Rose is trying to front a band with that name.
BenA
FWIW, I really really like Pete Townshend solo accoustic versions covers of Who songs from his live albums…. I haven’t heard much of his solo stuff other than that.
And “Real Good Looking Boy” off of “Then and Now” is a great song.
I thought the biggest issue with the SB performance was when they tried to “harmonize” it was frighteningly bad.
All this stuff about not really being the Who… etc. is crap… bands evolve and change. I can come up with tons of bands that swapped out members… heck from album to album.
Anton Sirius
1) Super Bowl acts don’t actually get paid to perform at half time these days (not since Tom Petty’s back catalog sales tripled after his appearance), so those of you saying “They did it for the money” are just being jealous bitches. They did it on spec.
2) That was indeed Pino Palladino on bass. Like Zak, he’s been a fixture in the Who’s touring band for a while now.
3) They had 12 minutes to do a medley of some of their biggest hits, in an outdoor stadium. There is no band on the face of the earth who is going to sound great under those conditions.
The Super Bowl half time show is, and always has been, about spectacle first and not the music – but as far as the music went, the fact that the Who had the entire damn crowd singing along with them indicates that maybe it wasn’t as bad as you sad muso wannabes are suggesting it was…
licensed to kill time
It’s always vaguely embarrassing to me watching the Rock Gods of my youth still performing their ‘back in the day’ hits. I get this weird cognitive overlay – the young guys I saw live and on tv etc underneath the wrinkles and slightly stooped shoulders of these old farts on stage. Kind of like how you see the baby and the toddler and the teenager still in your adult kid – a kind of “all ages of man” thing.
That said, arenas suck, soundwise; they didn’t sound TOO godawful; their Songs Remain The Same – GREAT! (yeah I know it’s a led zep ref); and the crowd loved it.
I’m just glad as hell I got to see them live back in the day.
Dream On
It wasn’t THAT bad.
This is bad..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdFewuAjMT8&feature=related
Gus
@Dan: Mitch Mitchell and Ginger Baker never get the love.
MNPundit
Superbowl half time performers aren’t paid.
GKM
madaprn: “Goodnight, Keith Moon”
My sentiments exactly. http://www.goodnightkeithmoon.com