“Saturday Night Live” was fairly wretched this past weekend, with two notable exceptions;
First, Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup featuring Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, performed. The songs — “New Fang” and “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” — were ragged affairs, but I love this sort of swaggering rock ‘n’ roll.
The other skit — a reunion of a punk band at the wedding of the singer’s daughter — brought back fond memories of the Electric Banana. I especially loved the Black Flag riffs. See it here: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/band-reunion-at-the-wedding/1199711/?__cid=thefilter
The Who’s performance at the Super Bowl has also drawn some criticism, especially by those who say Roger Daltrey can’t sing anymore. Maybe he doesn’t have the range he did 40 years ago, but Daltrey was never Placido Domingo. He can still do a credible job on a rock song. It was also a pleasure to see Pete Townshend so energized. Forget that this shirt came open exposing his belly. The man still has chops at 64.
For those who say it’s not The Who without Keith Moon and John Entwhistle, get over it. It’s not the fault of Daltrey and Townshend that their bandmates died prematurely.
I wasn’t too keen on playing the songs as a medley, and it did sound a bit like a commercial for the CBS ”CSI” franchises for which The Who contributes every theme song. But one can’t quibble with truncated versions of ”Baba O’Riley,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Who Are You” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” They’re great songs even in their (and the musician’s) dotage.
