The Who Strike Back arena 2022 tour hits the Honda Center in Anaheim with full orchestra performing a retrospect of nearly six decades of music.
The Who, (Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend) accompanied by a full orchestra and openers Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, made a visit to Orange County, CA with a stop at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Upon arrival, the first thing that stands out is the age of the crowd. It was most definitely a more mature crowd. The two surviving co-founders of The Who, Messers Townsend and Daltrey are 77 and 78 respectively and credited in the minds of many music historians as the godfathers of punk rock. Of the many septuagenarian and octogenarian crowd filing into the Honda Center to see The Who, many could’ve been some of the original fans that started a movement and an attitude in 1964.
Opening for The Who was Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. Campbell, the former member and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, came out and dedicated their set to “The Killer” Jerry Lee Lewis who passed that day. Campbell wore a very Killer-esq animal print jacket in his memory. The Dirty Knobs played a short eight-song set, half of which were Heartbreakers hits. Noticeably missing was a festival crowd sing-along favorite, and one of the Dirty Knobs’ biggest songs, “F**k That Guy.” Maybe better saved for a warm festival day. Campbell’s enthusiastic set was over in a flash, giving way to the orchestra immediately preparing for the headliner portion of the show.
The Who’s set was broken into thirds, opening with the full orchestra highlighting some familiar tunes “Who Are You,” “Pinball Wizard,” and Townsend’s solo hit “Eminence Front.” The middle portion of the set was the band stripped down without orchestra, highlighted by “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” This rendition of the iconic song was not as angry and frenetic as in years before. The 51-year-old call to arms still called the fans to their feet and still carries water. This song causes Townsend to give his most enthusiastic iconic guitar striking windmills, and Daltrey to whip his microphone into the air and swing it around his body by its cord as best he could, attempting to revive his iconoclastic style. Proclaiming “This is hard for me,” prompting the obvious self-deprecating humor from his 77-year-old friend and bandmate Townsend, “it very rarely gets hard for me.”
The third act of the set saw the return of the orchestra. This final portion saw the band fully exploring songs from their groundbreaking, genre-defining rock opera Quadrophenia. The night ended with the band and orchestra performing a rousing version of another iconic song “Baba O’Riley” from 1971’s album Who’s Next culminating with a triumphant center-stage solo by lead violinist Katie Jacoby.
The Who may no longer perform at ear-splitting volumes, driven by aggressive instrument-destroying frenetic energy and an all-out no holds barred attitude. Roger may not be able to scream his familiar “YEAH!” in “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and he may forget a lyric here and there with his massive blue eyes may be hidden behind tinted glasses. But he still moves with all the confidence and swagger that is their brand and can summon the charm, grace, and vocal style he is known for. Pete may wear the surly and prickly attitude on his sleeve that propelled the band in its youth and middle age, but he still plays his beloved Fender Strats with virtuoso skill, smiling on stage occasionally, and speaking warmly with his crowd. Both these iconic elder statesmen of rock n roll seem to be genuinely enjoying this chapter f their careers. Both have aged gracefully and still have what it takes to perform and entertain an audience.
So kudos to the band and credit to those OG early punks, mods, or rockers in attendance, who, in many respects, were carrying on the punk tradition and attitude by doing the unexpected of them and coming to see and support the band that once screamed the lyrics of the infamous “My Generation.”
“People try to put us d-down (talkin’ ’bout my generation)
Just because we get around (talkin’ ’bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin’ ’bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (talkin’ ’bout my generation)”
The “Ox” John Entwhistle and the wild man who was Keith Moon may have lived up to that credo. In the end, the world is fortunate that the rock icons that are Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend, are still around for us to appreciate.
The Who end their 2022 Strike Back North American Tour November 5th in Las Vegas.
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