Live Review: The Who - 8/30/25 Madison Square Garden, NYC

The Who 

8/30/25 Madison Square Garden NYC

On a pleasant summer Saturday Night in New York City, rock and roll legends The Who played Madison Square Garden on their supposed farewell tour titled The Song Is Over. Before the band started up Pete Towshend stated that The Who had played MSG 36 times and that this would "probably" be the last time, so the door is still open to a return. 

Live Review: The Who - Madison Square Garden 5/26/22

Hey all, got a review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!

It is of The Who's live show on Thursday May 26th at MSG in NYC.

I went in not knowing setlists or what The Who Two were doing this tour and was simply blown away. RtBE have written about The Who in our Masters series and hold them in super high regard, but seeing them live these days has not been a major priority...this show might have changed that.  

Starting with a half hour straight of Tommy and ending with Quadrophenia?! 8,395 person orchestra??! Amazing. Daltrey was in fine voice and Pete was engaged throughout, this was a killer night of wide ranging rock. 

Support the band, catch them live, read the review and peep some video below:

The Masters: The Who - Best Live Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For September The Masters focuses on The Who.

A band that was a force of nature. In their prime The Who were a must catch live act. From the magical timing of the sun coming up at Woodstock as if it was a light show to the story about Monterrey Pop and the rift between Jimi Hendrix and The Who which is a classic...

Townshend says “I’ve heard Roger talk about it as a jam session, but it wasn’t a jam session. It was just Jimi on a chair playing at me. Playing at me like ‘Don’t f—k with me, you little sh-t.’” 

The musical quarrel came down to Townshend’s insecurity over The Who playing after Jimi Hendrix at Monterey, a gig that he considered to be a “critical concert.” Attempting to negotiate with Jimi didn’t go well, as Hendrix said “that’s not what you really mean. What you really mean is that you don’t want me to go first. You want to be first up there with the guitar smashing,” to which Townshend replied “Jimi, I swear, that’s not what it’s about.” 

In the end, the discussion cooled down and Hendrix suggested a coin toss to determine who would go first and The Who came out on the winning side of that toss.

Watching Hendrix’s performance later from the crowd with Mama Cass, she told Townshend, “he’s stealing your act” and Townshend said “no, he’s not stealing my act – he’s doing my act.” Explaining further, Townshend says “for me, it was an act and for him, it was something else. It was an extension of what he was doing.”

They have memorable live moments, both good and bad and as a band continue to tour with two of the original members. While their hey day is clearly behind them, their recent past gets some love on our live albums list below. RtBE was not alive to catch the group as a four piece but we have caught them a few times as well as variations of their work and love every minute of it. 

So let's get to their top five live albums below. As a reminder this list is meant to start conversations, not end them....

Full Show Friday: The Who Live in Houston, TX 1975

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Who!

For September The Masters Focuses on The Who

This is a killer recording from The Who's 1975 tour in support of their Who By Numbers album, That one didn't make our top five studio albums and only three songs from this night come from that (and only one from Quadrophenia) as the tour was more of a Tommy Revisited adventure as the movie just came out. 

This is a ripping show from Houston. Just listen to Entwistle's bass on "I Can't Explain"...loose booty rockin'. The band is in fine form. I don't think it is pro shot, but sound is dynamite. Full set list below, Enjoy:

Recorded at The Summit in Houston - Texas, on November 20th 1975 All rights to the copyright proprietors! 01. Substitute 02. I Can´t Explain 03. Squeeze Box 04. Baba O´Riley 05. Boris The Spider 06. Drowned 07. However Much I Booze 08. Dreaming From The Waist 09. Behind Blue Eyes 10. Amazing Journey 11. Sparks 12. Acid Queen 13. Fiddle About 14. Pingball Wizard 15. I´m Free 16. Tommy´s Holiday Camp - (We´re Not Take It / See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You) 17. Summertime Blues 18. My Generation 19. Join Together 20. Naked Eye 21. Roadrunner - REMOVED due copyright claims!! 22. Won´t Get Fooled Again - ( Stills ) 23. Magic Bus 24. My Generation Blues Due copyright clains the - Won´t Get Fooled Again - motion picture is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9rX...]

The Masters: The Who - Best Studio Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For September The Masters focuses on The Who.

When RtBE hears the term 'Rock Band' (not rock and roll mind you) The Who are always the band who jumps to mind. The group were heavy/hard before there was punk/metal. They were over the top, before there was prog. They were in touch with their feelings like folkies, but would make you start a mosh before that was a thing and they never backed down from a fight. 

Pete Townshend, Roger Daltry, John Entwistle and Keith Moon were the perfect rock quartet.  Each played their roles, were amazing at their craft and produced some of the greatest albums in rock history. They were not prolific in the studio, but each record we talk about today could be in talks for best ever.    

Unlike a lot of other British Invasion acts, The Who didn't owe very much to the blues masters that came before them, they were much more influenced by the early American rock and roll inspired by those artists, almost a second generation influence. Unlike the Beatles and the Stones they kept the "roll" out of it and went more for a blasting, the already mentioned metal/punk/prog approach to their songs as they grew as a unit. 

Townshend as a songwriter also tapped into constant themes of childhood abuse, teenage angst and mental confusion. The best part about his songs is that he somehow managed to keep a sense of humor about him and his lyrics. The Who were fun, deep, exciting and a kick ass band so let's dig into their top 5 studio albums....As a reminder, this list is meant to start discussions, not end them....

Year In Review 2017- Favorite Live Show

The live show is a slippery thing. There are lots of variables at play, most having little to do with the performance itself. Does the venue have enough bathrooms? Is it going to rain? What day of the week is it on? Did I have a shitty day at work before hand? Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this effects one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason, but when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be than in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.

Live Music Has No Equal!

Taken By The Fantastic Megan Donohue

While we can't see every show that is out there, we try our hardest to see as many as we can here at RtBE. Sure there are a few left in the calendar year, but for now, here is a listing of of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have seen in 2017. There are links to show reviews in the titles, also because who doesn't love arbitrary rankings, one show at the bottom took the top prize as RtBE's 2017 Favorite Live Show. To continue our Best of 2017 just click that "Read More" button and get started

Live Review: Classic Quadrophenia Live 9/9/17 @ The MET NY, NY

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Pete Townshend's Classic Quadrophenia Live at The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. For those new to RtBE Quadrophenia holds a special place in this sites digital heart, it is our favorite album of all time.

We can write a book on the album and should probably do something based around that at some point, and we have seen the band do it in 2013 down by the Sea and Sand in Atlantic City. That show had some issues, but we had a fucking blast. Same with this show, it was goofy, over the top and not true to the original...but we had a great night anyway.

The venue was gorgeous, company was top fucking notch and the music was divine. Enjoy the review, feel free to catch it live if you can, buy the vinyl or DVD. Hey and peep some video below:

Classic Quadrophenia Comes To Metropolitan Opera House

One of the greatest rock and roll song writers of all time is partnering with a full on orchestra to bring his best album to life at a gorgeous venue.

Pete Townshend''s amazing Quadrophenia will be supported by a full orchestra and vocalists including Billy Idol this September for four United States shows. We are pumped to be hitting the September 9th show at the pristine Met Opera House.

We have talked about this before on the site, but this is our all time favorite rock and roll album. While we saw The Who play it by the Sea and Sand a few years back, catching it in this fashion will be exhilarating...and being able to walk up to the venue is a sweet touch as well.

Here is some video to get you prepped for the fall shows, and a full list of the mini tour is below:

Classic Quadrophenia Tour Dates

September 2 – Lenox, MA @ Tanglewood
September 9 – New York, NY @ Metropolitan Opera House
September 10 – New York, NY @ Metropolitan Opera House
September 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre

Full Show Friday- The Who Tommy USA 1989

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week..The Who!

After the frigid January Jazz month we usually like to go big names for February. The Who are one of our favorite rock bands, but Tommy was never up there as far as their albums go for RtBE. Quadrophenia is number one, by far. We would go Who's Next two then a big drop to, A Quick One three probably just ahead of Tommy.

That's not including live albums though and today's live performance of Tommy comes from the bands 1989 tour. Entwhistle on bass, but no Moon on drums. "The Who Three" so it be, with lots of guests including Phil Collins, Billy Idol, and Elton John. Pro shot, Pro Sound Pro Players...enjoy:
 

Year In Review 2013- Favorite Live Show of 2013

The live show is a slippery thing.  There are lots of variables at play most having little to do with the performance itself.  Does the venue have enough bathrooms?  Is it going to rain?  What day of the week is it on?  Did I have a shitty day at work before hand?  Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this effects one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason, but when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be then in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.

Live Music Has No Equal.   

While we can't see every show that is out there we try our hardest to see as many as we can (and more then most) here at RtBE.  Sure there are a few left, we may catch Phish at the Garden, but for now here is a listing of of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have seen in 2013, and one show at the bottom that took the top prize as this RtBE's 2013 Show of the Year. To continue our Best of 2013 just click that Read More button and get started

You Know What the Date and Time Are?

Out of My Brain........

We haven't touched much on Quadrophenia on the blog but anyone who knows me or Wilson (who contributes and edits sporadically) has heard us go on (at length) about the greatness of this album.

We even went to see The 2 Who (they aren't close to the original band) with Hottub and Jeff this Feburary when the tour rolled into AC.  What better place to go to hear Quad then by the Sea and Sand?

We didn't review the show because we could have written a book about the experience. It wasn't all roses but it was pretty god damn monumental personally for us. More will probably be recapped down the road regarding that, but for NOW on 5/15 at 5:15 please play that song up there as loudly as humanly possible and enjoy...   

Full Show Friday: The Who- Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Happy Friday! Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly.  That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.  These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can. As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Who!

After last weeks quick burst of punk rock we got a long one for you today.  We will be seeing The Who, live by the Sea and Sand in a few weeks playing what RtBE considers the best Rock and Roll album of all time live...to say we can't wait is an understatement.  Of course it isn't going to be life altering, 2 main parts of the group are dead and those parts are what we like the most on Quadrophenia...the bass and drum.  Anyway, that doesn't take away from this amazing video, with John Entwistle still alive and kicking...well thundering is more like it. This was a charity concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust where the Who had some friends join them, in what could be one of the last truly great live Who shows.     

Highlights are of course the Quadrophenia songs with Townshend doing "Drowned" acoustically (with a pump fake beginning), Entwistle slapping a mean solo in "5:15" and guest Eddie Vedder helping out on "I'm One"!!! I also dig this version of "Bargain", the explosive "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Gettin In Tune" a criminally underrated Who song.  Hell the whole facking show rocks!

Enjoy the Who from the Royal Albert Hall


0:00:00 - I Can't Explain
0:02:34 - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
0:07:14 - Pinball Wizard
0:11:13 - Relay
0:19:30 - My Wife
0:26:55 - The Kids Are Alright
0:34:36 - Bargain
0:41:30 - Magic Bus
0:51:32 - Who Are You
0:58:39 - Baba O'Riley
1:05:29 - Drowned
1:11:54 - Heart To Hang Onto
1:16:53 - So Sad About Us
1:21:14 - I'm One
1:24:31 - Behind Blue Eyes
1:28:20 - You Better Bet
1:34:12 - The Real Me
1:40:34 - 5'15
1:52:43 - Won't Get Fooled Again
2:02:24 - Substitute
2:05:48 - Let's See Action
2:11:10 - My Generation
2:16:39 - See Me Feel Me

Dylan Cover #5 Pete Townshend "Girl From The North Country"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from Pete Townshend and it is his live cover of "Girl From The North Country"
Thoughts on Dylan's Original:
A fun little number that connects Dylan with folk's past.  I heard Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" first when I was growing up so I have always been a bit more partial to that version of this old folk tune even though Dylan changed a bunch of stuff around (obviously) with his recording that appeared on The Freewheeling Bob Dylan.  His duet with Johnny Cash that highlights Nashville Skyline is something else entirely, a major sonic effort that I love.  On an album that saw so many massive tunes come flowing out of the bard this one can be overshadowed yet his first version of this track is just a sweet folk ditty that has aged very, very well.


Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Townshend is one of the greatest rock and roll artists ever...his band was epic, no one can talk about rock and roll with greater accuracy and his albums are some of my favorite of all time; safe to say he is a legend around RtBE parts.

Thoughts on Cover:
When Pete introduces the song he says it is based on a different cover of Dylan's tune and has "eerie parts"  Roy Harper's version was  bit more sped up then the original and Pete playing here at Woodstock 98 follows that route.  To be honest I wanted it to be eerie-er if that's a word.  The piano and string sounds are nice flairs, and Pete's picking on the tune gives it vibrancy, but it never really expands on the original a whole lot.  This is a simple song, this is an admirable cover, but nothing earth shattering.  I do really enjoy his singing on this one though so that pushes it up a notch getting a bit fired up towards the end. 

Grade - C+
 
Wilson's Take-
Over the years, "Girl From the North Country" has served Dylan's Neverending Tour well, proving to be the middle-set gem amid the croaking politics and token rockabilly of these late years. It's a haunting tune that embraces the timeless power of human sentiment - making it just as relevant in 2011 as it was in 1963.

It's easy to say "nothing will ever touch the original." But if you're going to take a classic tune for a ride down a new road, it's helps to be Pete Townshend. He injects creative flourishes into the song - adding new depth - and updates the emphasis sung over fifty-year-old stanzas. All too often on cover songs, we see an artist trying to do their "own thing," either to pay homage while avoiding a comparison with the creator, or simply to strike out on their own. Pete goes right after "Girl From the North Country" at Woodstock. He immerses himself in the original, and with an emotional depth one expects from the maestro of Quadrophenia and Who's Next, offers a rendition of the song in a way that suggests he understands it better than the guy who wrote it.