The Who in review . . .

Saturday night I headed up to LA to meet my friend Mike for the Who show at the Hollywood Bowl. I got up there early, so we could grab some appetizers and drinks before the show. Traffic in Hollywood was crazy, and we ended up at Café des Artistes - a really cute little French place in a Hollywood neighborhood (pictured here). After some Pate, mozzarella with basil and tomatoes, grilled sausages and Apple Martinis, we headed to the show. I have no idea who the opening band was, but we got there just as they ended their set. Grabbed a couple beers and headed to our seats, which were pretty good - the second row of the section behind the boxes.

The Who came out without much fanfare and opened with "Can't Explain". Roger still has a powerful voice, and looks great. He gets my vote for the sexiest 62 year old on the planet. Pete also seems revitalized on this tour. When Pete first announced that they were going to play something from their new album, I took NFL Adam's advice and headed for the beer line. If I'd known it was the start of a 5 song mini rock opera, I might have gone to the bathroom too. Without the benefit of liner notes, my best guess is that the opera is about rock and rollers who have had hit songs and are now dead. I'm sure the story line is a bit more complicated than that, but that is my 2 martini and a beer interpretation.

So the Who have a new album out . . . The good news is that most of the new songs they played sounded pretty good. The bad news is that they cut some old classics from the set list to make room for the new stuff. They played nothing from Quadrophenia, my favorite Who album, and I was disappointed not to hear "Love Reign O'er Me".

The did play many old classics - Who Are You, My Generation, Baba O'Riley, Won't Get Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes, See Me Feel Me/Listening to You, and Eminence Front (thought of you la), all of which sounded great. The video screens were also amazing - beyond high definition, they were almost 3D they were so clear.

I can't give the boys an "A" since they neglected Quadrophenia, but I'd give the show a solid "B".