Daltrey performed The Who’s Tommy rock musical, where he was accompanied with The New York Pops. Steven Reineke served as musical director and conductor of the orchestra. The music and lyrics of the rock opera were written by Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist and main songwriter of The Who.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took his audience on a musical journey, kicking off his set with “Overture,” and immediately continuing with “It’s a Boy” and “Twenty-One.” They segued neatly into “Amazing Journey,” which was indeed amazing, and “Sparks.”
Other noteworthy selection of the rock opera included “The Acid Queen,” “Pinball Wizard,” the liberating “I’m Free,” and “Miracle Cure.” Daltrey commanded the stage the entire time, and interacted well with the New York crowd, all of which loved him in return.
In “Tommy’s Holiday Camp,” Daltrey tipped his hat to the late Who drummer and the song’s lyricist Keith Moon. Daltrey closed accordingly with “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “See Me, Feel Me,” which are the closing tunes of the actual rock musical, The Who’s Tommy.
For the encore, Daltrey returned back on stage to deliver the powerhouse performances of “Who Are You,” and The Who signature song “Baba O’Riley,” which was arranged as a true symphony. Virtuoso electric and acoustic violinist Katie Jacoby played a killer violin solo towards the end, which earned a tremendous response from the Queens crowd. This performance was sheer perfection.
Daltrey concluded the concert with “Always Heading Home,” which is the closing song of his latest solo studio offering, As Long As I Have You, which was released earlier this month.
As Long As I Have You is available on iTunes.
The Verdict
Overall, Roger Daltrey proved yet again to be the outstanding showman that he is, and that the songs of The Who will never go out of style. He played hit after hit, and sounded as powerful as ever. His live show with The New York Pops earned five out of five stars.
To learn more about The Who, check out their official homepage.
Read More: Roger Daltrey chatted with Digital Journal. This past April, The Who front-man was the recipient of the “Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award” at the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) GALA in New York.
