“Looks like you’ve got a new house San Francisco,” exclaimed Liam Gallagher halfway into last night’s set at the Chase Center. The crowd erupted in cheer and confirmed their enthusiasm for the new venue, which has been at the center of everyone’s attention in big part because of the legends that have already graced its stage.
Last night was no different as the iconic singer of Oasis teamed up with The Who for a tour they’re calling “Moving On.” Although an unlikely pair at first glance, their obvious British and rock n roll connection made it work beautifully.
Liam, in his trademark hands-behind-the-back stance, kicked the show off with the classic “Rock n Roll Star.” The performance felt a little tepid but according to his Twitter account, his jet lag may have had something to do with it. He followed it up with a few cuts off of his solo albums like “Wall of Glass,” which reverberated like early Brit-pop throughout the venue. Sadly, the 25-minute performance felt way too short and hard to understand as the crowd had just begun to warm up by the time Liam got to the closer “Champagne Supernova.”
The Who were up next. And with singer Roger Daltrey’s recent voice scare in Houston had some wondering if he’d be able to perform. All worries were erased by the time the band kicked things off though. They lunged into Tommy from the get-go which began with the rock opera’s “Overture.” Then effortlessly transitioned to “1921,” “Amazing Journey,” and “Sparks.” But it wasn’t until “Pinball Wizard,” that the audience erupted, which in turn inspired some fancy mic acrobatics by Daltrey and of course the famous windmill guitar strumming of Townsend.
The band ran through their impressive discography that lasted two-and-a-half hours, mixing some old and some new including some unreleased material from an album due in November. They split the show into three parts. The beginning and end with a full orchestra to accentuate the operatic nature of some of their material. Then somewhere in the middle, the acoustic instruments made way for more of a rock show.
And let’s face it, they can still rock. Sure they’ve aged. That can’t be denied. But with both of the band’s survivors being in their mid-70s, it’s hard to argue that they’re doing what most of us can only dream of doing at any age. They not only sounded great, maybe a bit more seasoned, but looked fit in their display. Maybe just a little bit more grey while doing it.
Photos by Louis Raphael
