Reporter's Notebook: The Who . . . not too old to rock

Who’s excessively aged to play stone and roll? Apparently, not The Who if this past week’s performance astatine London’s Royal Albert Hall is thing to spell by. It featured the 2 halfway members of the group, 81-year-old pb vocalist Roger Daltrey and soon-to-be-80-year-old songwriter and pb guitarist Pete Townshend.  

Unlike different "senior" musicians and groups similar Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, who person well-oiled touring machines astir them, this was much of a one-off (well, two-off, determination had been different performance a fewer days before) for the respected UK foundation Teenage Cancer Trust.  

And truthful it had much than its stock of "bumps," which lone made the moments of stone and rotation eden that overmuch much enjoyable.

Guess what? These guys tin inactive rock, sixty years aft their archetypal top-ten hit, if a spot tempered by age.

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Roger Daltrey of The Who performs during the Teenage Cancer Trust payment performance astatine the Royal Albert Hall successful London, Sunday, March 30, 2025.  (James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)

Daltrey had a fewer of his memorable hand-mic aerial throws. OK, alternatively of hurling the microphone successful the aerial vertically for 30 feet, they were much sideways for ten.

And Townshend, yes, did his windmill guitar changeable movements. I did number 8 successful a enactment astatine 1 time, but for the astir portion it was much similar 1 oregon 2 astatine a time.

Nothing was tempered astir Daltrey’s voice, contempt problems and country successful the past. It inactive sailed implicit the rafters connected a scope of songs. The precocious notes of the tune "Love Reign O’er Me" were done with blockbuster bombast.

And Townshend’s guitar licks could basal up to Clapton’s immoderate day. (The second besides conscionable turned 80, by the way.) Unique, stylish, nary flubs.

The Who (with a bully backing band) played a fewer of their precise aboriginal stand-outs. Especially ironic: "My Generation." (Key line: "I anticipation I dice earlier I get old." Well . . . possibly not.)

The stone opera astir the deaf, dumb and unsighted pinball wizard, Tommy, got a spot of a gloss-over, possibly due to the fact that of Daltrey’s caller admittance that his imaginativeness is opening to spell (along with his hearing).

Fox News Correspondent Greg Palkot astatine The Who's performance successful London.  (Greg Palkot/Fox News)

The follow-up, municipality stone opera Quadrophenia, was treated with a deeper dive, possibly plugging the ballet mentation moving successful London aboriginal this year. It ne'er ends.

But what galore see their finest album, Who’s Next, got the afloat treatment. From "Bargain" to "Baba O’Reilly," from "Behind Blue Eyes" to "Won’t Get Fooled Again."

The synthesizer parts mightiness person been pre-recorded . . . but the forceful Daltrey-Townshend duet connected the cardinal "Blue Eyes" enactment was utterly telling: 

"And if I swallow thing evil, enactment your digit down my throat. And if I shiver, delight springiness maine a blanket. Keep maine warm, fto maine deterioration your coat."

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Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the stone set The Who execute connected signifier during the Teenage Cancer Trust payment performance astatine the Royal Albert Hall, London, Thursday, March 27, 2025.  (Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

So . . . the "bumps" noted earlier: Townshend acknowledged that helium had had knee-replacement country a period ago. Aside from a fewer whinges ("I’m successful agony,’ "I can’t breathe"), he seemed to instrumentality it successful his stride. Actually, helium took it sitting down done fractional the songs. (No Woodstock-style jumping scissor kicks for him.) But helium admitted that it helped him play better.

And Daltrey’s earpiece (which, contempt that spotty hearing, helps him enactment "in tune") was acting up passim the night. At 1 point, helium stopped the full band. "I’m not proceeding the Who," helium said good-naturedly, "it sounds similar I’m proceeding the Troggs," referring to an aged '60s British popular band. Townshend said successful an speech " . . . it was going truthful well."

In fact, the 2 of them, known to person had their ups and downs implicit the years professionally, often resembled connected signifier an unusual couple, snapping astatine each different from clip to clip but besides lukewarm to each different . . . and the audience.

Townshend (not needfully known for his bedside manner) astatine 1 constituent thanking the 5,000-plus Royal Albert Hall assemblage for sticking with them each these years, and calling The Who "geriatrics who unreal to beryllium young."   

The demographics of the crowd, I indispensable admit, were somewhat connected the elder side. But capable sons and daughters were contiguous and getting into it to springiness 1 hope, if not for the future, past astatine slightest for the present.

The Who airs for a property call, July 1971, Surrey, United Kingdom: John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey.  (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

For we so are seeing, bittersweet to say, the process extremity performances of the 2nd large procreation of stone and rollers.  After Chuck, Little Richard and Elvis, came The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan . . . and, yes, The Who.

That’s wherefore it’s much than conscionable fun; it’s an grant to drawback these last farewells.

Along with their punchier aboriginal hits similar You Better You Bet and Who are You, The Who played a opus Townshend said they’d ne'er played successful performance before. Incredible, arsenic it was recorded 54 years ago. Amid precocious captious acclaim.    

Called "The Song is Over" (also from the Who’s Next album), it was thing little than extraordinary. And appropriate.

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As Townshend worked done the riffs and lines. And Daltrey was virtually wholly slumped implicit and supported by the lasting mic, arsenic if helium could spell nary further, it ended with them singing:

"The opus is over, the opus is over. Excepting 1 note, axenic and easy, playing truthful free, similar a enactment rippling by."

Except, I instrumentality exception. The song, hopefully, is not "over" . . . yet.