RAH RAH RAH !

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. Childish things like The Who's Pete Townshend. Now is my summer of discontent with one of the greatest rock n' roll icons.

Last week, with all the caché of doing this from Old East Berlin, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, 41 years after they sang the refrain "I hope I die before I get old", announced to tepid media coverage that they will be touring "select" cities in the United States in September.

When I was 14 years old, I went to my first of hundreds of rock concerts. I have had the good fortune of seeing some of the genre's most recognizable artists since that Fall evening of 1974 including The Who who I've seen about six times. Many of the acts that I saw, many times were at the peak of their popularity. My regrets of never having seen an act that I wanted to have seen are few: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles (I was too young and my parents were not that cool) come to mind. Truly, there are very few.

In addition to that, before Wifey decided to shed the business suit, she was the Promotions Coordinator for VH1. For many years before we had children, I attended many events associated with her job that people only hear about in the press or on television. Unplugged sessions, awards shows, mega shows and small club performances.

I could not attend every event since I have a job myself. These concerts were many and often and from an insider's perspective. One day Wifey had to travel to Los Angeles for some awards show and begged me to go with her, but I could not. She called me at work from Los Angeles that time to tell me that she was sitting at the end of the piano that Elton John was playing and singing at and Tina Turner was singing and dancing just a few feet away at a rehearsal. She put the phone up so that I could listen and then I put it on the speaker at work and called some fellow workers in. They were all awed as I was. That was wayyy cooool.

So, I feel like I've been-around-the-block regarding music pop culture through my generation. And my CD collection reflects that. I am very fortunate to be able to say that. I got my Ya-Ya's out some years back in more ways than one.

So it was with great consternation that I received the news of the "terms" that Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, half of what "The Who" used to be, will be selling tickets to their performances. In the New York City area, those two will be doing three shows: Madison Square Garden, The Jones Beach Amphitheatre and The PNC Arts Center.

Regrettably, they have ratcheted up the price of their tickets way too much for my tastes and level headedness the last couple of times that some incarnation of The Who has arisen.

I think about it this way: I do not want to sit in the sticks for some fifty dollars because the crowd there would not be weeded-out of the burn outs and jerks because of the price. The 100 dollar seats are a palatable amount, but if Wifey wants to go and we get a baby sitter (since we have no family in the area to burden), that's a $325 evening after it's all said and done with no souvenirs.

The $160 and $260 tickets are for the Wall Streeters wanting to woo someone. If not for the Wall Streeters spending as a business expenditure, then that requires no mortgage and no children. So that kind of expenditure is reserved for teenagers or adults my age still living at home with their parents. The same kind of repugnant losers I do not want to sit next to at $260 samolians or $50 dollars.

The New Jersey gig prices:
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/243099

The Madison Square Garden gig had a presale to American Express card members. That's three days before they went on sale for the general public. I used to have an American Express card for years, but I found no need for it except until I heard about these gigs. By the time tickets became available to the general public last Monday, practically everyone was shut-out of the MSG gig.

Do I not earn enough? Do I feel inadequate because I won't spend that kind of money for half The Who? Am I turning into a geezer myself?

Absolutely not. Pete and Roger are just squeezing and wringing all the fools, all the wannabes and all the never beens these days.

The Sun of London legitimizes my feelings this Saturday morning with this quote from Roger Daltrey: "It’s a great feeling to be on stage again after all this time. It’s a terrific band and the audiences are a really exciting mix of young and old. I’m delighted that a lot of our younger fans are now coming to the shows and it feels almost like 1965 again when you look at the front row and it’s all teenagers."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2006140003-2006330751,00.html

Teenagers? The "band" have not released an album of original material since 1982 and are content with teenagers in the front rows? Folks born after 1987? Wuz up wit dat?

There are many bands playing those three venues mentioned above and do not charge those prices. So, it is not a question of inflation or the cost of doing business these days. No, these two jebronis have turned their back on the people that made them who they are. It doesn't matter that The Who are my favorite rock band of all time. No to Pete and No to Nissan every time I here "Magic Bus" plugging their "Quest" mini-van recently. It doesn't matter that a variation of a lyric to the song "Bargain" is inscripted on my wedding band. It doesn't matter that I haven't seen you perform in many years. I doesn't matter that friends and Wifey can't believe that I won't pluck down the money for old time sakes.

A very big F-You power chord!

I won't get fooled!!

*!*

posted by JerryNJ @ 12:20 AM