The WHO Were A Sure Bet In Atlantic City

by Alex Lloyd Gross

If you like classic rock, you should have been in Atlantic City New Jersey this past weekend. The WHO made up their canceled show from August. It was worth waiting for. Most of the crowd was from 40 to 70 years old and most have seen this band before, either at the Spectrum or perhaps they were at JFK Stadium on September 25, 1982 as The WHO headlined a show, supported by Santana and The Clash.

In Atlantic City the show was at Boardwalk Hall. People wanted to see a high energy rock show and they got one. When the lights went down, Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend took the stage. They are the only two founding members of The WHO that are still alive. The rest of the band were fantastic players and deserve credit. They are Simon Townshend – Guitar Loren Gold – Keyboards Jon Button – Bass Scott Devours Drums Jody Linscott – Percussion John Hogg – Backing Vocals. They are, for the most part hired musicians but not full band members.

From the opening notes of Can’t Explain, the majority of this crowd was on their feet.

Frankly, this was a rock show, and rock shows are best enjoyed standing. Substitute was up next, followed by Who Are You. Granted, Pete was not doing any of his legendary jumps, but he did several windmill guitar moves. Daltry swung the mic just like it did in the 1970’s. Often copied, but he was the originator of that move.

The backdrop was a screen that showed images of The WHO from their past, or even scenes around London. When people think of the British Invasion, there are five key groups that make that up and this band are right at the top.

There was no running around on stage, there was walking and stopping in between songs for a sip of tea. Past shows from The WHO in this are were marred by fights and drunks. People are 40 years older now and perhaps they got that nonsense out of their system as there was none of that mayhem in the crowd.

The set list apparently does not change much from city to city. I can See For Miles, Pinball Wizard, Eminence Front , My Generation are all included. Sadly, The Punk and the Godfather and Dr. Jimmy were not played.

Roger and Pete did not really interact except during the last song of the night, where Pete sat down and played an acoustic guitar. There was no encore.

Opening the show was Leslie Mendelson. An unknown songstress. Her 45-minute set was greeted by polite applause. She is more of a folk singer, not at all the kind of music The WHO plays. It was a mismatched bill , reminiscent of the early 1970’s Spectrum show when Patty LaBelle got booed off the stage when she opened for the WHO.

This is said to be the final tour of The WHO. They have said that before, but you never know, there is hope that these guys can tour again.