THE WHO: Saddest decline of any band ever?

Once the best band in the world but now reduced to hackdom since 89 or so... Last album 83. Sold songs to hawk everything and anything. Toured days after founding member and foundation did.

every time I hear a Who song, I think "shit, another CSI show is coming on"

Are they kidding?

They sang about 20 seconds of a couple of great songs and then kept going back to that piece of crap.

Soooo overplayed on classic rock radio and now TV.

:rofl:

"The CSI Theme Band" - cruel, but funny

They gotta eat, you know. But yes, I assume the lion's share of their profits went to record execs.

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The Hooters and Santana and The Clash opened for them. We got
there too late for The Hooters, leisurely partied in the parking
lot rather than rush in for a coupla songs by Santana... and got
in just as The Clash was coming on.
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I had never been a big fan of The Clash until I saw them live.
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Unexpected pleasures can be some of the best.
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Most of the crowd was ear-blind... and kept calling "W-h-o-o-o,
W-h-o-o-o!!!" during their entire set.
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At one point, I developed a HUGE man-crush on Joe Strummer when
he stepped up to the mike and said, "This is OUR fucking show for
now, so PISS OFF!!!"
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The kids were alright, btw... in fact, pretty damned incredible.
It's just that they didn't have a prayer following The Clash.
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The beginning of the end. Same set lists. nothing new....

I have seen the Who a lot. my first concert was The Who and the Hermans Hermits. Hated the Who (got over it). The Keith moon pass out show at the Cow Palace where Moon passed out and thy asked for someone out of the audience. Winterland shows,the two days swth the Grateful Dead in Oakland, and every tour till JE died. That was it for me.

because even in 80-whatever the Mods and Rockers still fought at their concerts. They were in fact really good.

both in the studio and in live performances. Behind Blue Eyes was a good song, though.

That's all a musician really can ask for.

They can ride on that forever for alla me, if nothing but for the line "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss."

Their music is great--Behind Blue Eyes, Baba O Reilly, Substitute...great music. But with all the drummers and reunion/farewell tours they may as well be Spinal Tap.

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I can see that.
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great movies, great songs, great performances, all in the past.

When i first heard they were playing I thought, well, as much as I love Townsend, despite his confusion, it's just not the same. But the songs are still really good.

I think of old shows - like Dance Band (or whatever the fuck it was called) or Merv Griffin or whatnot, when The Who would come out do wall of noise, guitar-smashing, set-shit-on-fire or whatver random awesomeness - and now they get the Super Bowl, and in 15 or 20 minutes, Townsend plays 4 seconds of a guitar solo and they all go home to their Saville Row tweed suits, some port, and a plate of meat and 2 vegs.

it could be much worse. I didn't think they were that bad and the light show was good. At least it was rock...believe me they have had a ton worse!!

:)

at least we're not reliving that shitstorm of stupidity.

They did a fine job.

But they were herds better than they are now. That was a dreadful performance. Dull and uninspiring.

Don't think so. Give "Endless Wire" from 2006 a listen. That is their last album.

The Rolling Stones were pretty pathetic too.

I explained to my kids, who asked who those old farts were that they were pre-embalmed.

Your theory is a FAIL.

When the Who came on, watching them were like.. man! These guys need to retire...

It's uderstandable (from a performer's standpoint) to want to still play, but the really sad thing is that the dissapointed their old fans, and I seriously doubt they sparked the interest of any young ones.

To paraphrase ZZ Top's "Goin' Down To Mexico": "They were a faded mess, in that beaded dress, still clinging on to fame".

It's not possible to continue on that particular pedestal for this many decades.

No hate from me for replacing Entwistle on a tour.

I do take issue with Kenny Jones being taken seriously as a substitute for Moon--but Zak Starkey sounded like the Master on the 2000 tour.

so "decline" is not an accurate word from my point of view.

...then listen to "Sticky Fingers" or "Exile On Main Street." Note to Jagger: When you can no longer hit the high notes, retire the song from the set list.

so IMHO the decline happened decades ago.

I REALLY want to know...




Laura

when I was in high school, and everybody in the Hartford area being royally pissed about it. I didn't even realize the Who were still a band.

I think if I didn't watch them, they would have sounded okay... but, Roger Daltrey is 66 and Pete Townshend is 65 and really look out of place out there on stage singing about 'teenage wasteland' and the like.