The Who play live concert in Hove

THE WHO – THE 1st CENTRAL COUNTY GROUND, HOVE 23.7.23

We spent the weeks leading up to this monumental event, checking our weather apps, hoping that this concert wasn’t going to be a wash out. Would it be short or long trousers? To wear a raincoat or not to wear one? Those were the hot topics leading up to The Who’s grand appearance at Hove’s very own 1st Central County Cricket Ground.

I had never been to the ground before, so when this gig was announced, it was a great opportunity to check out the place. It turns out that the Gods had been kind to us this afternoon and had dished us up a serving of some lovely warm weather, with a side order of occasional blustery wind. My mum saw The Who way back in the 60’s and I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the band, so today was a great opportunity to check out these Mod Rock legends once and for all. Today was to be the final date of the band’s nine date ‘The Who Hits Back!’ tour, where they promised to treat us to 60 years worth of their back catalogue with the added extra of an orchestra in tow.

As we took the Magic Bus to the ground today, the closer we got to the venue the more Vespa’s came into view (I didn’t spot Jimmy though). We got to our entrance gate all in good time, but it didn’t take long for big queues to form around the street. Once we had entered the ground we queued up for our obligatory over priced festival beer and headed to our designated bum numbing plastic seats. It was soon apparent that the Mods were out in force along with most of their family members. People seemed in jovial high spirits and the sun was being enjoyed by a big crowd that were not expecting to see it.

It was almost zero hour. The Modfathers (The Who) were about to take to the stage, but not before we would queue for an hour to buy ourselves a beer. The band did indeed take to the stage while half of the field was queuing, so we lined up and performed a strange backwards walk to the bar, making sure we missed none of The Who’s introduction from the stage. Pete Townshend talks us through the musical menu tonight and informs us that the first section is a bit of a slow burn. They would be accompanied by the orchestra and would play us selected choice cuts from ‘Tommy’.

As you can see, quite the band! They started with the intro that was ‘1921’ and followed that with ‘Amazing Journey’ which got things off to a flying start. They played ‘The Acid Queen’ which sounded great with orchestral accompaniment , followed by the classic ‘Pinball Wizard’ which got everyone to their feet, singing along and mimicking Townshend’s trademark windmill guitar stance.

They built up this momentum with a loud and boisterous version of ‘Who Are You’ which had everyone chanting along to the chorus and punching the air. The sound was crisp and loud but it would sometimes fluctuate as the wind took it in different directions. Roger Daltrey still had the power in his voice and Townshend had lost none of his swagger. Zak Starkey on the drums (Ringo’s son, no less) was dressed head to foot in yellow and played in a slightly different style to Keith Moon but pins it all together seamlessly. Pete Townshend said that he’s so happy to be playing a date on the tour that doesn’t involve rain for once. He also gave a shout out to the peek-a-boo neighbours as they enjoyed the show from their balconies.

The 2nd section of the set was a stripped down one (minus orchestra) and would feature a lot of old favourites, played in the way they used to play them. They kicked off with ‘The Kids Are Alright’ which rated very highly on the Mod Richter scale. ‘You Better, You Bet’ was up next which was another favourite of mine, followed by the 60’s classic ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’. It was at this point that I felt like I had walked into a Mod Rock Opera as people were dancing and smiling and generally not giving a damn. When this song started playing, I saw a guy freak out to his girlfriend when the opening chords rang out. He then proceeded to sing every word with his arms outstretched, running around and singing to any stranger that would join in with him. Joyous scenes….

Somehow, I had forgotten about ‘My Generation’ but when they played the song, it sent shivers down my spine. Surely, an early Punk song? Roger Daltrey was swinging his microphone around like a ballistic missile and if I was one of the other band members, I would be tempted to wear a crash helmet on stage. The last song of the set was the poignant ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ that is a fan favourite and easy to see why.

The third act of their set tonight was dedicated to ‘Quadrophenia’, which I was really looking forward to (I wonder if Jimmy was in the audience?). The orchestra took to the stage again and played ‘The Real Me’ along with the band to great effect. It was definitely a family gathering today and you could see different generations of family members singing every word to every song which was really nice to see. My wife, earlier on in the day, noticed that there were more shouts heard of “Mum!” or “Dad!” from the crowd than the usual “The Who, We Love You!” that you normally experience at these events.

The Quadrophenia songs did not disappoint and the band had really warmed up at this point. The night was nearly over, but not before The Who played ‘Love, Reign O’er Me’ which is my all time favourite song by them. It put a shiver down my spine (and not for the first time tonight). The Who ended the night with ‘Baba O’Riley’ which featured a great violin solo courtesy of Katie Jacoby, and it was a sure-fire way to end an explosive set that we were lucky enough to witness tonight.

Pete Townshend thanked the orchestra and his fellow band members and said farewell to us with no encore to send us home with. It turns out, we didn’t need one. Considering The Who played a two hour plus set, I didn’t get bored once. Testament to a top band that’s appeal is multi generational, which was really evident from the watching the crowd today. A great atmosphere was experienced and it was nice to see so many people having fun and letting their hair down. It was now time to leave this post-Teenage Wasteland and head for home. We didn’t get the Magic Bus home tonight (we got a taxi instead) but tonight was definitely a night to remember. And don’t forget…”We are the Mods, We are the Mods, We are, We are, We are the Mods!”.

The full concert version with more photos of The Who and reports on the support artists (including UB40) can be found HERE.

www.thewho.com