DETROIT, MICHIGAN – You heard all the cliché’s – “Ain’t
Nothing Like A Detroit Party” and of course the classic – Detroit Rock City
shout outs. But the truth is there really is nothing like Detroit for a rock
and roll experience and that goes from the small stage to the big arenas. You
can get close to your rock idols no matter if its Van Halen, Queen, Oasis, Dave
Matthews or who ever. For a couple hundred bucks you can get up in the front
rows on just about any venue. You certainly cannot do this at Madison Square
Garden or in Chicago. If you want to literally touch the music and become one
with it…. This is your place.
In a small club setting this type of experience is amplified
times ten. That is exactly the kind of intimacy I was looking for when I
tracked down, LIVE THE WHO at the Magic Bag. I knew a little bit about the band
and that they had a the mannerisms down to a science as well as the sound. They had a Keith Moon like drummer who looked
and played like the real thing but that
isn’t what impressed me the most. LIVE THE WHO, might actually be the most
ambitious out of all of the Metro Detroit rock tribute bands because of their
musical range. These guys tackled some of the most complex rock operas ever
recorded. This bar band actually does, “Quadrophenia” !!.... YES !!! That Quadrophenia !!!
AUGUST 1, 2014 SHOW – MAGIC BAG, FERNDALE
I caught the show at the Magic Bag, in Ferndale, Michigan
and the room was fairly crowded but not overly crowded. This meant I got to go
right up to the front of the stage, (remember what I said about Detroit and
being able to become one with the music?). The bassist, John Entwistle
character, ( I don’t know his name off hand) came out wearing the famous
skeleton leather jacket like the one worn in the famous Isle of Wight concert.
The Keith Moon character, (the drummer) comes out with a white t-shirt like the
one worn in the Isle of Wight and Tommy performances. The lead singer comes out
as Roger Daltrey and is kind of scruffy with his raggedy jeans, simple sneakers
and his trademark mic that was taped at the end. Get the picture? The details
were in place.
To the untrained eye this doesn’t look like much but to a
WHO scholar the details revealed all of the history of the WHO. The Pete
Townshend guitarist had a big number 3 on the face of his guitar like in his
instrument destroying period. The bass tune up was straight off of the album, “LIVE
AT LEEDS” and I knew this was going to be the real deal.
They leaped right into, “I Can’t Explain”, “Substitute”, “My
Generation” and it was note per note with the singer screaming on key and
whipping his mic around in a full arc. The Pete Townshend guy was jumping around and doing all of the trademark
moves from classic performances seen on the movie, “The Kids Are Alright” and, “Woodstock”.
The jumps were well timed and very careful. There wasn’t too much room on that
stage to do all the moves that THE WHO is famous for but these guys did it. A
rock journalist once said that the WHO was it’s own best special effect.
Being in the front row put you at about as close as you can
get to the experience. I thought I got close before when I saw the band
perform, Quadrophenia at Joe Louis a couple of years ago when I got into the 10th row. But this time I am watching a tribute band and standing right at the edge
of the stage and feeling the full energy of the band. This is as close as you
can get. The guy who plays drummer Keith Moon is incredible and you cannot take
your eyes off of him. He even looks like him with his facial features and the
way he has his hair cut. He even grins and carries on the same way Moon used to
on stage. When they excused themselves to take a break he took off his shoe and
pretended he was taking a phone call. Man I got a big charge out of that. Other
times he would nod or grin to the side as if he was talking to somebody…. But there
was nobody there. Moon was always doing things like that and for more interesting
insight as to why that is try picking up Tony Fletcher’s book, “MOON”. Trust me, it will blow your mind.
This is no small deal – it is a full on show. This went on
for a couple of hours and they did everything from, “Can You See The Real Me”, “Sea
and Sand”, “5:15”, “Pinball Wizard” and more. These guys really delivered and
the best part about it was being this close to the energy of THE WHO in a small
club setting. That kind of experience is ultra rare. Getting this close to a
real Keith Moon experience is even more rare…. Try impossible.
Other details are interesting to note like when the Pete
Townshend guitarist goes into narrative explanations about what is happening in
the Quadrophenia story. Pete actually had to do that when they came to America
to promote the album on a tour. This was an awkward bit of history because
nobody really knew what Pete was talking about. He was trying to explain the
deal between mods and rockers in 1963 to a US audience. The sound system was
very bad and add on top of that Pete’s British accent the whole thing came off
clumsy. Yet, LIVE THE WHO actually recreated that on stage… that is the level
of detail that I am talking about. Its freaking spellbinding.
Somewhere in the show they actually did, “Drowned” and, “Bellboy”
which was performed note per note. The emotion is raw and it carries through in
blood curdling cries, “I wanna drown !!! In cold water !!”. Then of course
they took on, “Love Reign O’er Me” and brought it to life note per note. There
is a note where singer Roger Daltrey does this loud cry like warble near the
end of the song and it captures all of the hopelessness and despair of the main
hero of the album – Jimmy. And these guys nailed that sound… and brought arena
rock into a place that can maybe hold 400 people – if that. We’re talking about
a seriously intimate setting here.
I stood at the foot of the stage near the ground speakers
transfixed and mesmerized by the band. I took full audio blasts to the chest
with every thump and crash of the Keith Moon drummer. Now I am going to work on
getting the names of these phenomenal musicians for you in the very near future
because this is one show you should not miss. Right now I just want to make you
aware of the incredible musicianship of this band and the high level of rock
artistry that this band is capable of.
You gotta check them out.
LONG LIVE ROCK !!
| |
UPDATE: On LIVE THE WHO
Now I have seen my share of tribute bands and they all have
their own little moments here and there. But this band is killing it note per
note and delivering a real hard rock experience. If you are into THE WHO you
have to check them out.
As promised I got the names of these amazing musicians….
·
Darren
Lolk as Pete Townshend
·
David
James as Roger Daltrey
·
Curt
Traynor as John Entwistle
·
Joe
Bologna as Keith Moon
Here’s an
interesting side note. I want to tell you why Keith Moon is my favorite drummer
of all time. I believe that he had the same problem that Kung Fu master Bruce
Lee experienced. Lee was so quick and fast with his moves that he had to slow
them down just a bit so the camera could pick them up. A film camera only
operates at 24 FPS, (frames per second).
Check out
some of the early videos of Keith Moon playing in the WHO and you’ll see what I
mean. Some of the footage in the black and white films are so grainy and blurry
it is literally impossible to see where his arms are. Now for you rock and roll
purists and Keith Moon fans you now have a unique opportunity to partake in
that wild, crazy and manic experience.
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
 |
Don't Miss Our Review Of THE PURPLE XPERIENCE - Featuring Dr. Fink of The Revolution >>>>
|
