Concert Review:  ROGER DALTREY
                               “Use it or Lose it Tour”
                               Cleveland, OHIO
                               House of Blues

     LONG LIVE ROCK…..To call THE WHO just another band that was part of the British Invasion would be an injustice to the Hall of Fame Bands accomplishments; they are as much a part of the fabric of the Blues based Rock ‘n’ Roll genre as the BEATLES & STONES.

     Their music has had an unprecedented influence on their peers, aspiring musicians and fans alike for generations; judging by the diversity of the sold out crowd at the House of Blues there’s no end in sight to the impact of the music of THE WHO.

     Without question a crucial component to the success of THE WHO is the mountainous voice of iconic frontman ROGER DALTREY.

    DALTREY is in the midst of his thirty city “Use it or Lose It” tour which is packing small venues across the country as fans flock to see the legendary vocalist in an intimate setting.  

    The home of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame was just one show shy of the half way mark of the tour and the crowd was restless with anticipation.  

      Finally at 8:50 DALTREY took the stage, with the physique of a man half his age he was all smiles sporting his decked out pecs and wavy grey mane.  The English chap was quite chatty as he sipped from a cup of tea as if he were engaging with the crowd one on one explaining that until PETE TOWNSHEND was ready to hit the road once again it was time to either Use or Lose his eminent voice. 

       DALTREY wasted no time delving into the DNA of THE WHO catalog opening the set with “Who Are You” as the crowd would emphatically “Join Together with the Band”.

   As expected DALTREY surrounded himself with a group of paramount players on the “Use it or Lose it” tour.  Lead by Guitarist/Musical Director FRANK SIMS, Bassist JON BUTTON, Drummer SCOTT DEVOURS, keyboardist LOREN GOLD; last but certainly not least there was blood evidence of a TOWNSHEND in the band as SIMON TOWNSHEND, brother of PETE TOWNSHEND, who has toured with THE WHO since the mid 1990’s rounded out the ensemble.  SIMON was part of a surprise selection in the set as he amply took lead vocals in lieu of PETE on a stirring rendition of “Goin’ Mobile” to the delight of the crowd while DALTREY tore into the tune with his patented harmonica.

     DALTREY would have to dig deep vocally all night long coming off consecutive House of Blues performances pulling it off for over 90 minutes.  As he hit the home stretch of the set he began to run out of steam at an unfortunate juncture of show as he was at the beginning of a JOHNNY CASH medley, which has been garnering rave reviews throughout the tour . 

     After apologizing profusely to the more then forgiving & satisfied crowd, the veteran performer and his band called an audible in the set tearing into the CREEDENCE classic “Born on the Bayou” which was a perfect fit for his raspy roar.

     The only downside to seeing ROGER DALTREY in such an intimate setting was his inability to display his legendary mic brandishing skills, although the crowd was treated to a little teaser as the band stormed through “BABA O’RILEY” at which point DALTREY could no longer contain his mic twirl to the delight of the singing crowd.

     To see the living legend perform in such a snug setting was surreal  despite the Hall of Fame frontmans vocal distress late in the set.  The Rock Rapport was glad that we could once again join together before we get much older.

SET LIST: CLEVELAND OHIO - HOUSE of BLUES
 - WHO ARE YOU
 - PICTURES OF LILLY
 - BEHIND BLUE EYES
 - DAYS OF LIGHT
 - FREEDOM RIDE
 - GIMMIE A STONE
 - GOIN’ MOBILE
 - TATTOO
 - MY GENERATION
 - MANNISH BOY
 - WHO’S GONNA WALK ON WATER
 - SQUEEZEBOX
 - I CAN SEE FOR MILES
 - YOUNG MAN BLUES
 - SHAKIN’ ALL OVER
 - BABA O’RILEY
 - JOHNNY CASH MEDLEY (Shortened)
 - BLUE, RED & GREY (Shortened)
 - BORN ON THE BAYOU