Long Live Rock…! – Roger Daltrey at The Bob Hope Theatre in Stockton
On Tuesday March 13, 2018, the Who faithful braved the non-stop rain in northern California, and some even made the pilgrimage fighting sometimes heavy traffic from the Sacramento area and other vicinities to the Bob Hope Theatre in Stockton to be treated to a night of pure rock & roll by one of the greatest voices in the genre, Mr. Roger Daltrey, singer of the legendary British band, The Who.
Rock fans who ranged from teenagers with good taste in music to people who followed the band from the early days and everything in between and even a toddler, were treated to a night of raw energy but with the sophistication of the music of The Who and its main composer, Pete Townshend.
Right from the first song, the energy level was on high gear as Roger’s backing band, which consisted of members of The Who’s touring band including, Pete Townshend’s brother, Simon, played a high voltage version of Tommy’s “Overture” followed by “Pinball Wizard” and “Who Are You”.
From the moment Roger and the band took the stage, there was a special chemistry among Roger, the band and the enthusiastic crowd that celebrated every move on stage and Roger seemed to really enjoy himself and felt relaxed as he often conversed and joked with the crowd.
Roger’s voice was on top form as it has been since the Quadrophenia tour a few years ago and it is simply amazing that a man that on March 1st celebrated his 74th birthday can still sing with such strength and can perform an energetic 2-hour show.
I don’t think there could be anyone that could complain about the set list as it consisted of bona fide Who classics; besides the previously mentioned, it also included: “Behind Blue Eyes”, “Baba O’Riley”, “I Can See For Miles” a raucous version of “The Real Me” and a thunderous “Young Man Blues”. Roger’s solo work consisted of “Days of Light”, “After The Fire”, Giving It All Away” and probably one of the most beautiful rock ballads ever, “Without Your Love; and of course, there were surprises in the form of special musical gems that rarely or had never been performed live by The Who, such as “Another Tricky Day” from Face Dances, “Athena” from It’s Hard, “How Many Friends” and “Dreaming From The Waist” from The Who By Numbers, “Going Mobile” from Who’s Next, which was masterfully sang by Simon Townshend and Roger on harmonica, “Naked Eye” from the compilation Odds and Sods and closing the show with a new track from Roger’s upcoming album, “Always Heading Home”.
Full Set List:
Overture
Pinball Wizard
Who Are You
Another Tricky Day
Behind Blue Eyes
Giving It All Away
Athena
I Can See for Miles
Days of Light
After the Fire
Dreaming From the Waist
Going Mobile
How Many Friends
The Real Me
Without Your Love
Baba O’Riley
Young Man Blues
Naked Eyes
Always Heading Home