Day: March 19, 2021

I have a busy day of spring break travel prep ahead of me, so just a video for this week. We shall reconvene for our weekly listening party on Good Friday.

“A Quick One (While He’s Away)” – The Who
I’ve heard about this performance before, but had never watched it. Two different people referenced it over the past week which got me searching to find it. The hype was legit. I can think of several Who songs I would rather have seen them play live, in their prime, but this is an incredible performance.

The legend behind this is fun, too. This was part of the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus, an event that was recorded on December 11, 1968. The rumor was that the Stones, wiped out by their efforts to organize the show and impaired by hours of drinking and drugging, were ashamed that The Who’s performance blew theirs away. Because of that, they cancelled the planned BBC broadcast and sat on the footage for over 20 years before finally releasing it. Funny thing is, folks who have watched the Stones’ performance from that night say theirs was just fine. It did not match the perfection of The Who, but there was no need to hide them from the world for two decades.

As a bonus, I’ll throw in this 1970 performance of “Young Man Blues,” which should melt your mind. For an extra level of ass kicking, search in the music app of your choice and find the original, performed by jazz musician Moose Allison. Pete Townsend is a musical genius, but I’m not sure how he was inspired to go from that to what The Who played.