"The Who Hits Back Tour" - Golden One Center, Sacramento, CA, October 26, 2022

I remember in 1970, my younger sister Michelle joined the Columbia Record Club. Soon, she was receiving cassette tapes in the mail. Some of her choices I didn't like all that much - she was my sister, after all - but we both agreed that "Tommy" was the best. 

I love "The Who," but I ad given up on ever seeing them perform live. Time had moved on. But fate intervened. Friend E.M. caught Covid, and she and G.M. couldn't attend the scheduled Sacramento performance. E. was gracious enough to hand the tickets to me. I invited Joe the Plumber to come along. 

I was really surprised to hear "The Who" were touring at all. Pete Townshend is 77; Roger Daltrey is 78. Zak Starkey on drums (Ringo Starr's eldest son) is 57. Townshend reminisced that he had been playing with Daltrey for 60 years. They were onstage for 2.5 hours with just one break. I think the music keeps them young. 

We really do form our musical taste in our tweens. “The Who” played a crucial part in my youth, especially in the calamitous years of 1970-71, and I kept tearing up, for example, hearing “Tommy” as it should be played, with an orchestra (featuring many NorCal musicians), plus other tunes as well. Here are some of the tunes played at Golden One Center, Sacramento, Wednesday, October 26, 2022.  

I made a YouTube playlist of these videos:

"The Who" - Overture From Tommy/ It's A Boy

 

"The Who" - Tommy - Amazing Journey/Sparks

 

"The Who" - Tommy - Pinball Wizard

 

"The Who" - Tommy - We're Not Gonna Take It

 

"The Who" - Won't Get Fooled Again

And the finale! 

"The Who" - Tommy - Baba O'Riley

Plus, a few pictures: Opening act was "Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs." Mike Campbell was a member of "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers," and so his band is essentially the successor to the Heartbreakers, and they even played the Heartbreakers' "Refugee."