January 3, 2009

Listening to You

The wife gifted me a DVD of The Who Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 for Christmas. All I can say is WOW. In this film The Who are at their pounding best. In the days before light shows and dancing, the music was the show.

I am reading a book about one of my favorite bands, the progressive rock group YES. At the first meeting of the band legendary drummer Bill Buford showed up with the words 'Fuck Moon' written on his shoes. The jazz-influenced Buford thought Keith Moon a simple pounding hack.

I am not nuanced enough to make a judgement, but there is no doubt Keith Moon attacks his drums with abandon in the concert. From the first note he plays with an intensity only matched by John Bonham from Led Zep. In the middle of the set, Moon broke the head of his bass drum and plays side-saddle while the tech replaces the head. Townsend does not miss a beat and launches a seamless solo to cover the repair. I am glad the producers did not edit this out, this is what live performances are all about and makes the footage even better.

If you are even a casual fan of The Who, like I am, this is a DVD you do not want to miss.

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