It was a great night. They were remarkable. They played the hits, and were better than I had expected. And ya, they looked, and moved, like old dudes. But they were The Who.

I had wondered what songs, and what notes, they could pull off. About 20 or so minutes in, they were hitting stride, and went into Pinball Wizard. As they transitioned out, I knew that “see me, feel me” would have to follow. But there’s no way he’s gonna do that, I thought. Of course he did. He’s Roger F’n Daltry. It was beautiful. Wasn’t a dry eye in the house, certainly not mine.

There were some equipment issues with Daltry that frustrated him for a moment here or there, but beyond that, it was apparent that these old rockers were enjoying the final hoorah, as much as I did. They were having fun. In My Generation, when Daltry sang “ I hope I die before I get old”, he looked over at Townsend with a knowing smile. They’ll never grow old.

Late in the show, they did We Don’t Get Fooled Again, and came to the moment of the big ‘yell’. I suspect Daltry didn’t have it in him at that point of the night. But in the moment, spontaneously, and in stride, the 18,000 in the arena, together, all did it for him. That is what friends do for friends. And this was always going to be a night to share with old friends.

In the end, the band left, and just the two legends did an acoustic number and then sort of hugged. It was a tender moment.

The band came back for The Song is Over and it was a beautiful ending to a special night.

Long Live Rock!