Sean Spillane On Music

Fans of The Who were treated to a walk down memory lane with the group’s singer, Roger Daltrey, who brought his solo tour to the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Saturday night.

It seemed more of an episode of VH1’s “Storytellers” than the expected concert, as Daltrey managed to transform the 4,000-seat venue into an intimate club. Each song was introduced with anecdotes about its recording or its performance history and, in the case of a few numbers, Daltrey had to explain just what the heck song he was about to play.

Of course, he satisfied The Who’s more casual fans by singing a bunch of hits, but there were also enough obscure or rarely played songs to thrill the fans that had seen the band numerous times.

The show kicked off, appropriately enough, with “Who Are You,” which was a solid warm-up for the band and the crowd.

Daltrey led into the next number, “Pictures of Lilly,” with a story of how The Who used to do the song live, with “wonderful three-part harmonies,” but it was soon abandoned from the live shows as bassist John Entwistle could no longer hit the needed high notes.

Next was “Tattoo,” a rather obscure song from 1967’s “The Who Sell Out,” with singer-guitarist Simon Townshend handling the vocals his brother, Pete, normally would have supplied.

Though he described “Behind Blue Eyes” as “his favorite Who song,” Daltrey also said he had tried many times “to drop this from the set, but every time I hear howls of protest.” The performance, though lacking The Who’s powerful punch, did receive howls of appreciation from the audience.

It took five songs for Daltrey to finally perform one of his solo songs, “Days of Light,” from the 1992 album “Rocks in the Head.” He would re-visit that album later in the show for “Who’s Gonna Walk on Water,” but those were only two of the three songs he would perform that came from a proper Daltrey solo album.

That’s a shame really, because there is some fine work to be found on his albums and some very good songs to choose from — “After the Fire,” “Under a Raging Moon,” “Let Me Down Easy,” etc.

Perhaps the oddest song selections were “Freedom Ride” and “Gimme a Stone,” which came from an album created by members of The Hooters that was based on Dvorak’s “New World” symphony. The songs were OK, but with decades of Who songs and an overlooked solo career, they were wholly unnecessary.

Simon Townshend took the lead vocals on “Going Mobile,” from 1975’s “Who’s Next,” and did an admirable job. If you closed your eyes, you might even have been able to picture Pete singing, although Daltrey said in the song’s intro that Pete continuously kept the song out of the band’s set lists.

Daltrey then talked about The Who’s earliest days and how the band got its start thanks to a mutual love of the blues. He started playing an acoustic version of Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy,” before segueing into The Who’s “My Generation.” He performed that classic as a straight acoustic blues — no stuttering — and it was actually quite entertaining.

After “Who’s Gonna Walk on Water,” Daltrey led his band through four Who numbers that was definitely the highlight of the evening. “Squeeze Box” had the crowd up and moving and wrapped with an audience sing-along and they stayed on their feet for “I Can See for Miles.”

Daltrey, who played acoustic guitar and some harmonica, finally ditched the guitar for “Young Man’s Blues,” allowing him to assume his rightful position as the microphone-slinging frontman.

As with any Who concert, “Baba O’Riley” was a show-stopper, with Daltrey, now with his shirt opened fully to his waist, twirling the mic and delivering whatever power left in his voice, which he admitted was limited by a cold.

Daltrey eschewed the ritual of an encore — calling it “complete (bull)” to walk off the stage only to re-appear moments later — and launched a salute to the late Johnny Cash. Nothing magical about the medley, which included snippets of songs such as “I Got Stripes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and “Ring of Fire.”

After The Who’s “Naked Eye,” Daltrey again went to a song by the band that Pete Townshend refused to play live, “Blue, Red and Grey.” Townshend shunned it, according to Daltrey, because he thought he’d “look like a (bleeping) idiot standing on stage with a (bleeping) ukulele.”

Luckily, Daltrey had no such problem and the song proved very poignant and his voice held out just fine, even though he expressed worry that it might not.

The evening’s final song was Daltrey’s thank you to the fans.

“I know it sounds like (bull), but I’m eternally grateful for all the love you’ve shown me.”

With that, he closed with “Without Your Love” from his 1980 album, “McVicar.”

The set list

Who Are You/Pictures of Lily/Tattoo/Behind Blue Eyes/Days of Light/Freedom Ride/Gimme a Stone/Going Mobile/Blues medley/Walk on Water/Squeeze Box/I Can See For Miles/Young Man’s Blues/Baba O’Riley/Johnny Cash medley/Naked Eye/Blue, Red and Grey/Without Your Love

There’s something reassuring about seeing a concert from The Pretenders. It’s almost like stepping back in time as singer-guitarist Chrissie Hynde seems ageless, as vital a performer today as she was when the group burst onto the scene in 1978.
And it’s always nice to see drummer Martin Chambers back on the kit, having sat out the recording of The Pretenders’ latest album, “Break Up the Concrete,” in favor of famed session drummer Jim Keltner.
But Friday night’s show at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford was not just an exercise in nostalgia as playing songs from “Concrete” was Hynde’s main objective. Eight of the night’s 20 songs were from the new disc and Hynde was far from worried about disappointing the fans that just came for the classic cuts.
“We’re going to be throwing some new songs at you,” she said early in the set. “I hope you like them; if not, tough.”
The tunes from “Concrete” fit in rather nicely with The Pretenders’ hits, thanks to Hynde’s passionate vocals and some inspired playing by Chambers and the three younger musicians comprising the current lineup – guitarists James Walbourne and Eric Haywood and bassist Nick Wilkinson.
“Concrete” has done very well for the group, cracking the Top 40 on the album chart upon it release late last year. On the record, the songs have more of a rockabilly feel to them, but in concert, that element was lessened so that the songs seemed like they could have been recorded 30 years ago.
It’s just an unfortunate fact of life that the new material was greeted with yawns for the most part by fans that come to the shows expecting to see a greatest-hits review.
Naturally, when those hits were played, the fans were on their feet, dancing and singing along to the songs they grew up with. In quite a few cases, parents brought along their kids, perhaps hoping the next generation will latch on to the music of a still-viable veteran band.
At one point in the 90-minute show, Hynde turned a bit wistful, dedicating “Kid” to founding members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, both drug casualties in the early ’80s, and musicians that, Hynde said, “without whom, we wouldn’t be here today.”
“Get the kettle on, boys,” said Hynde, soon to turn 58, looking upward, “we’re not far behind.”
Friday night’s opening act was Juliette Lewis, who is better known for her acting than for her music. She starred in blockbuster movies “Cape Fear” and “Natural Born Killers” and also was in the films “Kalifornia” and “Too Young to Die” with her former fiancee, Brad Pitt.
Lewis said she has been dedicated full-time to music for six years and it’s starting to pay off. She has ditched her former band, The Licks, for The New Romantiques
This was her first night on tour with The Pretenders and she actually showed she belonged on the same stage as Hynde. Her songs were more straight-ahead rock than the punk I expected and her voice was strong throughout her 45-minute set.
She has a natural gift for being in front of a crowd, always in motion, except for the time she flung herself to the floor at the end of one song.
Surprisingly, for an opening act, she had the audience singing along with her by the end of her set.
The showmanship is there; let’s just see how the songs hold up when her new album, “Terra Incognita,” comes out Sept. 1.

The Pretenders’ set list
Break Up the Concrete/Message of Love/Love’s a Mystery/Kid/The Nothing Maker/Rosalee/My City Was Gone/Angel of the Morning/Back on the Chain Gang/Almost Perfect/The Last Ride/Don’t Get Me Wrong/Thumbelina/Don’t Cut Your Hair/Night in My Veins/Precious/Boots of Chinese Plastic
Encore: I’ll Stand By You/Brass in Pocket/Mystery Achievement

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals just finished its set and sounded fantastic. A former colleague at the Connecticut Post always spoke highly of the band, but I had never head its music until today. Good stuff.

The great Buddy Guy is heading to the Main Stages now and he never fails to please. There are so few blues legends still with us, so it’s always good to catch them whenever you can.

Despite the finding of a dead body very early Sunday morning, the Vibes is still going on. It’s not like the festival-goers are callous, it’s just that it was discovered at a campsite far from the main festival grounds, so nobody realizes what has happened. Even most of the Vibes staff hasn’t been told of the death, as there’s debate about whether the body is that of a camper or that it may have been dumped there.

It was almost fitting as I drove to the press briefing about the body that the Harlem Gosepl Choir was performing on the stage. I certainly needed a dose of that uplifting, spiritual music as I went to talk about a fatality.

What a disappointment. It seems that Levon Helm is having throat troubles — not related to the throat cancer he battled a few years back — and is not singing tonight. It’s a shame because he has a crack band with him, including guitar virtuoso Larry Campbell. Any other time, I would be happy to listen to this band, but when you are eagerly anticipating hearing Levon Helm, it takes the wind right out of the sails. Helm is on stage, drumming and playing some mandolin, but the singing has been left to other band members. Bob Weir of Ratdog and Grateful Dead fame just came out and joined the band, but even that can’t lift my spirits.

Max Creek just finished its set and it was an eye-opener. I thought the band just covered Grateful Dead songs, but there is much more to the group than that. Of course, the Dead is at the heart of Max Creek’s music and the ubiquitous Donna Jean Godchaux joined the band for a couple of songs. The highlight of the set for me was the closing song, a cover of Talking Heads’ “Cities.” The band nailed it, too.

Max Creek played an extended set, filling some of the void left by the cancellation of State Radio.

I got to check out some of the show by Assembly of Dust, while an IT guy from the Vibes staff worked to get me back online.

AOD’s Reid Genauer is one talented man and he’s no stranger to the Vibes, which is good. Whether playing to a huge crowd at a festival or in a club, AOD is always worth the trip. Genauer’s solo shows aren’t half-bad either.

With the computer issues settled – for now – hopefully I can get back to concentrating on the music. I can’t miss The Levon Helm Band, which is the show I’m looking forward to the most.

Bridgeport’s own Deep Banana Blackout worked its magic on the Vibes Tribe, as it does just about every year. Actually, singer Jen Durkin has played the Vibes every year, even the first in 1996 when it was called Deadhead Heaven and took place at SUNY-Purchase.

DBB rocked hard and must be doing something right as I called my parents house during the band’s set and my father asked, “What is that noise? It sounds like a bunch of kids screaming.”

The opinion of a 77-year-old man notwithstanding, The band still sounds tight, even though it only plays a handful of dates each year. And Jen has been blessed with a healthy set of lungs, which is why it’s always a pleasure to hear her sing.