The Who Acoustic @ Royal Albert Hall

Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit

View: Right Down The Front (Arena F)

Royal Albert Hall, March 25^th 2022

A more accurate description would be Townshend/Daltrey Unplugged, albeit with a band featuring Who stalwarts Simon Townshend and Billy Nicholls on guitar and vocals plus bass-player Phil Spalding, Charlie Hart on fiddle, Andy Cutting playing the accordion, Geraint Watkins on keyboards and longtime collaborator Jody Linscott exuberant on percussion. The opening salvo of Substitute and The Kids Are Alright demonstrated how many of the early Who songs work really well  when played only on acoustic guitar. Repeated attempts at Squeeze Box in a variety of keys suggested that the two hours rehearsal time claimed by Townshend was  generous, but the version of Tattoo that followed was gorgeous. From then on it was a mixture of the well known (Who Are You, Behind Blue Eyes, Pinball Wizard, Eminence Front) and the more obscure (Let My Love Open The Door, Real Good Looking Boy). Beads On One String received its live debut, dedicated to the people of Ukraine. The double whammy of Baba O’Reilly and Won’t Get Fooled Again brought the capacity crowd to their feet, the latter performed by Daltrey and Townshend as an intimate duet. A fascinating sidelong glance at the Who, which devoid of the Sturm und Drang of their normal electric performances demonstrated the strength of their songbook.

This review written for Record Collector magazine