The Who, Live at O2

It was billed as The Who Plays Quadrophenia – a 40th anniversary celebration performance of their epic 1973 rock opera, with an encore of “greatest hits”. If it looked promising on paper, it worked even better in reality. The band hit the stage running with the prologue piece ‘I Am The Sea’ and while we knew exactly what was coming up, the songs and narrative still managed to draw fire from the bulked-up 10-piece unit that is The Who in 2013.
Accompanied by video montages of everything from mods fighting on the beach at Brighton in the ‘60s to clips of the Vietnam war, 9/11 and a cast of political figures we were treated to a fast-moving visual history of the last 50 years. Early highlights included an incendiary, ‘The Real Me’ which saw Pete Townshend “wind-milling” his Fender Strat.
Another standout was the impassioned, ‘I’m One’ with Townshend on vocals and acoustic guitar. However, it was a blistering ‘5.15’, surely one of the Who’s greatest songs, that provided the climax of the evening. This elongated version featured the punchy brass section and was punctuated by a stunning bass solo (from the grave on video) by the late John Entwistle – a camera strapped to the head of his guitar focusing on his fancy fretwork. It might have been gimmicky but it gelled seamlessly with the action on stage. ‘Bell Boy’ saw a similar cameo from the late Keith Moon.
It was all over too soon with Daltrey hitting the climactic high notes of the finale, ‘Love Reign O’er Me.” After a few brief words from Townshend who said if they were a little out of practice on what we’d just witnessed then what was about to come didn’t need any practice at all. Then we were treated to the big ones – ‘Who Are You’, ‘Behind Blue Eyes’, ‘Pinball Wizard’, ‘Baba O’Riley’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ – all delivered with the kind of visceral power and glory that only a band like The Who can summon up. While there was no room for any their earlier classic singles (‘Substitute’, ‘Can’t Explain’, ‘Kid’s Are Alright’ or even a ‘My Generation’) few complained and they finished just as they did in Marlay Park back in 2007 with the reflective ‘Tea & Theatre’.