Michael Elliott
Senior HTF Member
The Who: Live in Boston
:star::star:1/2/:star::star::star::star:
Studio: Rhino
Year: 2004
Rated: NR
Film Length: 121 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Standard (4:3)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Retail Price: $19.95
Forty years after first getting started, The Who struck out on the road and hit with a tragedy that would have crippled most bands. At the start of their tour bassist John Entwistle suddenly died but instead of canceling the tour the other group members decided to carry on and make this a tribute to their long time band member. On September 14th, Warner Home Music and Rhino will release The Who: Live in Boston, which was recorded at the Tweeter Center in 2002.
Set list:
I Can’t Explain
Substitute
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
Who Are You
Another Tricky Day
Relay
Bargain
Baba O’Reily
Sea and Sand
5.15
Love Reign O’er Me
Eminence Front
Behind Blue Eyes
You Better You Bet
The Kids Are Alright
My Generation
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey
Sparks
See Me Feel Me
Listening to You
Being a fan of classic rock and roll I’ve always enjoyed listening to the records by The Who but unfortunately I haven’t been able to see them in concert so I was really looking forward to this DVD. I spoke to a die-hard fan of the group and it just so happens he was at the Boston show when this was recorded. He had warned me that the show really didn’t show the band and their best and I couldn’t help but agree with him after going through the disc. My friend seems to still be living in the 1970’s and swears up and down that rockers need to retire instead of carrying their old glory to newer times but I really don’t agree with this.
Over the past few years I’ve seen numerous older acts from Aerosmith to Paul McCartney to Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. While many will argue that these guys should have retired long ago I personally feel each of them keep getting better with age so the oldness isn’t an issue with me. While watching The Who: Live in Boston I certainly wasn’t bored but I couldn’t help but notice something was missing. I’m not big enough of a fan to know what was missing but it seemed there wasn’t enough energy to really push this show into the greatness category, which is where The Who belong when you talk about explosive live concerts.
There were many wonderful moments in the concert including a hyped up version of My Generation that sounds as powerful as ever and an extremely hot version of Baba O’Reily. Pete Townsend seems to be in top form pulling out all the punches and doing a very nice job all around. Roger Daltry on the other hand seemed a bit worn down for some reason and you can see this at the start of the show with the opener I Can’t Explain. I personally think it’s the lead singers job to get the energy flowing and it just didn’t happen with that track. Another missing was the crowd who just seemed way too laid back for my liking, although this doesn’t have much to do with the band (I don’t think).
I’m sure fans of The Who might feel differently about this tour but in the end I just really wasn’t feeling much for the concert. It was certainly worth watching and I’m glad I did but I’m sure there are many other better concerts out there for newbies or veterans to start with.
VIDEO---The concert was filmed in the Standard (4:3) ratio, which is a shame because I feel a widescreen image always gives you more to see but oh well. The video quality is very good throughout and considering the light show going on at all times the image is all the more impressive. Black levels were very rich at all times and the flesh tones are perfectly captured to the point of seeing every drop of sweat dripping onto the floor. The image itself is crystal clear throughout with no noticeable problems.
AUDIO---We get a Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a PCM Stereo track. I compared both tracks and the major difference between the two is in the vocals. On both tracks the actual music sounds wonderful with the guitar perfectly mixed between the left and right speakers giving you a perfect feel as if you were really at the concert. I always judge these concert DVDs on the basis if they make you feel as if you’re actually there and this one succeeds on that level. When it comes to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track the vocals are often hidden in the background behind the guitars, which could be distracting to some. The 5.1 mix does show off the guitars a bit more but I was somewhat distracting that the vocals were pushed so far into the background. The PCM track is my preferred choice because the vocals and instruments are mixed very well together with both getting a balanced airway.
EXTRAS---Up first is a small photo gallery with the works of bassist John Entwisktle. This section is devoted to some of the art by John, which features various drawings of the band, their fans and other quirky things. Also included on the disc are two new interviews with Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey. The Townsend interview runs just over thirteen minutes while the Daltrey one runs just over eight. The main topic of the conversation is John as both members talk about him and about his death. This leads up to why they continued the tour as well as their thoughts on their mostly male fan base.
OVERALL---I’m not the biggest fan of The Who so perhaps fans might enjoy the concert a bit more than I did but I still felt like something was missing. Rhino has delivered a nice DVD with a couple impressive audio tracks and a nice transfer. The extras are small but a nice touch anyways.
Both the concert and the interviews feature Spanish, English and French subtitles. I also noticed another small problem with the chapter skip. On my Toshiba and JVC the chapter skip wouldn't work. However, on my cheaper, region free Daewoo the chapter skips would work so I guess this could be a problem with some models.
Release Date: September 14th, 2004