David Gates
The Who's back, again ... And what do audiences expect of The Who in 1989? »They expect us to be present,« he says [sic. Pete Townshend]. »We're just supposed to be there. It's not that it's unimportened what we play or how we play, but it's importent that we're present and that we want to be present. You don't invite people to celebrate your work and then look like you don't want to be at the party.«
If The Who weren't genuinely getting a bang out of this, they did a good job of fooling the crowd in Glen Falls. It's obligatory that Daltrey, 45 swing his mike on it's cord like a lasso, and that Townshend, 44, do his stony stares and synchronize his leaps with slashing guitar chords; his windmilling arm motions are even adcertised on the $20 T-shirts. But why bother to fake the little grins? And why not hire an opening act and do a quick and dirty hour of greatest hits, instead of a three-hour concert that began with numbers from »Tommy«, ended with »Won't Get Fooled Again«, introduced songs from Townshend's new solo album »The Iron Man« and threw in »Twist And Shout« for an encore? A brief moment, maybe for Pete Townshend, but a hell of a show for the money.
