A Townshend of a Different Color

As Roger Daltrey tours America with Tommy, Townshend aims to branch out on his own. But we're not talking about Pete. His younger brother, Simon, is currently touring as the guitarist in Daltrey's band, giving fans a taste of what supposedly will become a Quadrophenia tour in 2012. Simon, who also tours with The Who alongside Pete, is not just riding on the coat-tails of his elder brother's success. In his own right he is an excellent musician, songwriter, and singer, and recently he used the current tour to promote his own material.

Simon Townshend appeared in a small lounge in New York City, Dominion, on September 22 to perform solo material without the help of Daltrey's band or his brother's discography. And yes, there were many rabid Who fans in attendance, but if the audience's reaction was anything to go by, Townshend has built up quite a following that shouldn't be credited to his being a rock sibling.

At the start of his set. The hot lounge forced him to lose the jacket, cap, and sunglasses quite early.

The performance itself was extremely casual. Treating the audience like old friends, he seemed relaxed and, having made a few mistakes with brand new material, was able to brush off the errors with a smile, laugh, and lighthearted obscenities. The audience didn't mind at all. Like old friends, they laughed along and provided shouts of support. Who needs a famous brother when you have such a large extended family of music lovers at your disposal?

Simon Townshend's set was a mix of new material – still obviously in their infancy as the guitarist struggled to remember how the some of the songs progressed – and old fan favorites. Having recently released an EP titled Something New, available on iTunes and for fans to purchase at the Tommy concerts, Townshend seems to have already converted some fans as they continually shouted “Looking in Looking Out” throughout the show. The EP track was obligingly performed later in the show. Older songs in his repertoire, such as “Comeback” and “Time the Healer” excited the lounge goers who shouted approval at their immediate recognition of the tunes. He certainly isn't an unknown talent.

In the moment with his playing.

As I spent much of the show observing his playing technique, Simon has obviously learned a thing or two from his brother. Okay, let's be honest, watching him play is nearly like watching Pete's rather iconic style of playing, especially when he strums with a flamenco-esque flair, but Simon has molded his playing to still seem completely unique to himself. And perhaps also reminiscent of Pete was Simon's apparent ability to put a great deal of genuine emotion into his lyrics, as he explained that his wife was the inspiration for one of his latest songs. Possibly the most daunting reminder of his brother's fame during show came from a presumably inebriated fan who enjoyed shouting “Captain Walker” between every song, as if to make sure Townshend didn't forget the path through which his fan-base had come to him. But if the heckling affected Townshend in any way, it didn't show. He was in good spirits throughout and thanked the audience for coming and made sure to push his EP and an expected studio album to arrive early next year.

Townshend's playing technique upclose and apparently personal.

For those only familiar with the more well-known side of the Townshend family, I suggest picking up a copy of simontownshendis, a compilation of Simon's work that should set you off in the right direction. And if you find yourself unable to disconnect from the “Pete connection” and wish to know Simon's feelings on being related to one of the most famous figures, if not noses, in rock history, check out the track “Highness.”

Celebrating the Life of George Harrison

When I go to concerts, I've always ever gone to see an actual "favorite artist" live, never imitations and tributes. But last night I made an exception to go to a special tribute show, of sorts, at B. B. King's Bar and Grill in NYC. It was a celebration of the life of George Harrison, who was and still is my favorite Beatle (because, let's face it, everyone has a favorite Beatle). I also made this exception because the band performing in this tribute is one of my personal favorite live NY bands, about whom you've heard me discuss before on this blog: The Godfrey Townsend Band.

The show was part live narration by Joshua Greene, author of Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison, with musical interludes of Harrison's most beloved tunes as performed by the band. There were also lovely clips shown of Harrison, discussing the power of spirituality in his life and music.

The show started off a bit rocky, as some inebriated audience members frequently announced their displeasure that the show was not 100% music by shouting rudely in between Greene's narration. "Play some music!" and "God forbid you play a song!" were common interruptions, to the annoyance of the rest of the crowd who were enjoying the show. Finally, GTB bassist John Montagna took the mic and sternly, but politely, reminded the audience that if they were incapable of reading, the bill did advertise that there would be narration as well as music, and to please keep their mouths shut so that everyone else could enjoy; he was greeted with an enthusiastic applause from the rest of the crowd and the remainder of the show carried on without a hitch. There were corny jokes and interesting facts about Harrison that I personally found intellectually stimulated. For instance, we were told that it took the Royal Mail seven trucks to deliver Harrison's fan mail to him on his 21st birthday. What a great little tidbit and view into the Beatlemania craze!

Apologies to all for my poor cell phone quality picture.

The band performed many of Harrison's most memorable songs from his days in the Beatles as well as his solo career. In particular I enjoyed "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and of course, Godfrey Townsend's searing guitar work on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," as he is always so apt at Eric Clapton's style. After Joshua Greene's presentation ended, the band carried on a bit longer with more of Harrison's early Beatle hits and even the Cream classic "Badge," famously co-written by Harrison.  "What do you do about the man who steals your wife?" the band asks the crowd. "You write songs with him! That'll show him!"

The band was in top form and the show itself was a beautiful tribute to a wonderful artist and human being. For anyone who is interested in the Godfrey Townsend Band, they will be performing at B. B. King's again on April 1st for the 10th Annual Eric Clapton Birthday Celebration. I urge everyone to check the show out.

The Happy Together Tour Comes to Peekskill

On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, I was fortunate enough to find myself at the Paramount Center for the Arts (a.k.a. the Paramount Theater) in Peekskill, NY for the Happy Together Tour 25th Anniversary show. This was the second show of the second leg of the tour, which had actually begun at the end of May and took a month hiatus before continuing.

The tour itself is comprised of several notable American bands from the 1960s, or rather the remenants of such bands. The stars of the show included the following former pop stars:
Carl Giammarese & Nick Fortuna of the Buckinghams
Rob Grill of The Grass Roots
Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders
Micky Dolenz of the Monkees
Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan (a.k.a. Flo & Eddie) of the Turtles

Backing for this "band of lead singers" was the Godfrey Townsend Band, with Townsend on guitar, who had once been a member of the John Entwistle Band (yes, that John Entwistle, the now-deceased bassist of the Who) and has worked with many other notable acts including Jack Bruce of Cream, Jeff Beck, and Alan Parsons. The rest of the band includes John Montagna on bass, Steve Murphy on drums, and Manny Focarazzo on keyboard, all excellent musicians.

The show itself was highly entertaining. The Buckinghams and Grass Roots put on great performances with their top hits (a favorite of mine was the latter's "Let's Live for Today"). Mark Lindsay brought amazing energy to the stage, bouncing around with liveliness that would be impressive for a man in his 30s, let alone Lindsay's actual age nearing 70. At one memorable moment during a rendition of the Kingsmen's legendary tune "Louie Louie," Lindsay led the band into brief spurts of more well-known 60s hits by their British counterparts: Townsend broke into the riff from "Sunshine of Your Love;" Montagna did a nearly perfect copy of the bass solo from "My Generation;" Focarazzo tinkered out "Gimme Some Lovin';" and Murphy beat out what my father lovingly refers to as "Ringo's only solo" from "The End."

Following a brief intermission, the show continued with Micky Dolenz, who put on an admirably cheerful performance of his former hits, although his voice was clearly not up to par and one particularly painful moment occured during his version of the Beatles classic "Oh, Darling" when he was unable to reach the high note and his voice obviously broke a bit. But his humor prevailed and he ended his set with "I'm a Believer," remarking "Tell your kids that I did this before Shrek." The final act was Flo & Eddie, whose humorous antics and jokes were an appropriate end to a show performed by men who have no problem performing for fans long after their brief stardom had settled into music history. These acts know they're not the mega bands of their generation, but continue to perform and bring back memories to America's baby-boomers with their hits. Anyway, a Turtles favorite of mine, "Elenore" made me bounce in my seat, much to my father's chagrin. What can I say? He just hates the word "swell." Naturally, the show concluded with a roudy rendition of "Happy Together."

But perhaps the best part of the show was watching the audience react to these legends from their past. Although I'm only a young woman (nearing 22, for anyone curious), the majority of the audience consisted of middle aged Boomers reliving their adolescence. There is a certain joy in watching a random woman dancing wildly in the front row, singing along to the men she likely admired on the covers of her Tiger Beat magazines when she was thirteen. For me, these songs are catchy songs that I appreciate as a lover of what has been deemed "classic rock" and "oldies," but for the older members of the audience, these songs marked key moments in their pasts (dates, concerts, dances, weddings, etc.) Or for someone like my father, who listened to these songs but was just slightly too young to have seen these bands live at their height, such an endeavor as the Happy Together Tour offers a second chance to see bands that had only formerly existed on 45s and black & white television clips (which are now available to the likes of my generation thanks to sites like Youtube.)

Overall, the show, including its cheesy moments (such as a feigned "heated rivalry" between Dolenz and Lindsay concerning the song "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone"), was a great escape and I'm hoping that the tour will come to the area again next year.