The Who - Live In Swansea, June 1st 2007
Fate is a funny thing.
I post a not too complimentary review of a Pete Townshend solo album on Thursday and go about my day as usual.
At around 9.30 pm a final check of my e-mail before going to work produces one message that I’m copied in on between the boss man at Get Ready To Rock / Classic Rock Newswire and a PR company exec. about the possibility of GRTR sending someone to review The Who and Swansea based opening band Killing For Company the very next evening!
A couple of email messages later it appears that there will be press access available if I can make it. Much grovelling to my work and the promise that I’d go and complete my shift post-gig and it’s all systems go.
Finish work 6am as usual on the Friday morning and get very, very little sleep at home as calls and emails tie up the final arrangements and at 4pm I’m off into Swansea for my first taste of concert attendance as a member of the press corps. Arrive at the venue, the new 20000ish capacity Liberty Stadium about 45 minutes later to be directed to a parking space and ushered into the press area for drinks and buffet - all very nice for someone who went around in a mood for a day when ticket sales were announced as I couldn’t afford one!
As each of the bands came on I was escorted to my seat in the press area of the main stand where I had a great view of proceedings. My reviews of both the Killing For Company and The Who sets will appear on the Classic Rock Newswire service and on their Forum in the next day or so and it would be wrong of me to give too much away here but despite some power outage problems my first ever experience of The Who in concert was a delight. What a powerful band they are still and in Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend they boast two of the most commanding presences that will ever be witnessed on a UK stage.
Saturday has been a little bit of a blur. Finishing work at 5.30am I slept until 2pm and havn’t really done much since. A day to recover and let the ringing in my ears subside a little.
My sincere thanks to Jason at GRTR Classic Rock Newswire for coming up with the goods on this one!!!
—–
Edit : 3rd June 2007 : Some video footage of the show captured by someone at floor level and nicely edited together….
June 2, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Congratulations! That’s hell of a gig to score first-time press rights to. Can’t say I got the buffet treatment when I covered Maiden last fall. Can’t say I got see the whole show either, because the venue fucked myself and other photogs out of their full show ticket. 2.5 hour drive to see 20 minutes of the show, but the photos will last me memories for a lifetime. I’m sure you’re proud, man. That’s very impressive.
June 4, 2007 at 12:49 am
To say I was delighted would be an understatement Ray.I’m a huge Who fan and was gutted that I couldn’t afford a ticket when they went on sale. I checked before hand if I could take my little digi-camera with me and they said as long as it wasn’t a professional job that’d be no problem.
The pro-photographers at the front were allowed just the first 3 songs of The Who before being moved out. My picture of the stage was taken from the press seats up in the stand and the pics of Roger and Pete were off the big screens but I’m quite pleased they came out.
My review for The Who is now up at :-
http://www.atfreeforum.com/crnewswire/viewtopic.php?t=460&mforum=crnewswire
and for the opening act Killing For Company at :-
http://www.atfreeforum.com/crnewswire/viewtopic.php?t=459&mforum=crnewswire
June 4, 2007 at 4:03 am
I think it’s crappy that everyone can’t take pictures at shows. We pay for tickets, we buy their albums (sometimes even the bad ones) and they kick us in the teeth by not letting us take home a memory. I can see cracking down on people selling stuff maybe, but there’s nothing but greed behind the ban on pictures. I actually feel the same about recording the show. Have you ever heard a non-soundboard recording that someone would buy instead of the official live album? It’s lame.
June 4, 2007 at 6:44 am
I probably didn’t make it clear here Bob. There seemed little effort to stop the general public taking pictures with camera phones etc. Its just the pro-guys with the huge lenses etc that were moved from the front of stage after 3 songs. Some good audience pics and video from the gig have shown up this weekend on various websites and the video I added after my blog entry came from a user on youtube who put together some decent clips.
I totally agree with you comments re: sound recordings. I have many non-soundbourd cds but would prefer an official release in every case. The Who do make a CD and DVD of every performance available via a web-site with profits going to charity. That negates the need for audience recording perhaps in their case as they do at least offer a way of getting the gig. Bit more cash I need to save now tho’! :-)
June 10, 2007 at 1:57 am
The Who in Swansea, Mostly Autumn in Cardiff, Danny Vaughn in Cheltenham and me sat home all on my lonesome. I’m not jealous Bill LOL. Anyway I’ve read your reviews of the night and have been trying to picture you sat in the press box trying to keep your composure and appear professional, something which you haven’t mentioned. I suspect that was fairly difficult!!
June 10, 2007 at 10:45 am
I failed to keep any composure during Won’t Get Fooled Again. On my feet, air guitar out and well away! I was on the front row of the press box and the row in front was general public causing one person to turn around and joke that I was supposed to be working! Lucky for her they never played ‘I’m One’ as I may well have cried!