The Who - The Vegas Job (2003)

Rock legends the Who have managed to soldier on despite the tragic loss of founder members Keith Moon and John Entwistle. This concert was shot before a relatively small audience--just 3000 people were in attendance--in Las Vegas on October 29 1999.Track Listing:1. I Can't Explain2. Substitute3. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere4. Pinball Wizard5. See Me Feel Me Touch Me Heal Me6. Baba O'Riley7. My Wife8. 5:159. Behind Blue Eyes10. Who Are You?11. Magic Bus12. Won't Get Fooled Again13. The Kids Are Alright14. My GenerationSystem Requirements:Running Time: 90 minutesFormat: DVD AUDIO Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS Rating: NR UPC: 025493165296 Manufacturer No: PIP-DV1652 Product Description

Cheap DVD

As much as I like the Who and as much as I believe that they have really come back from the dead recently, this is a really crap DVD of a really good band. It comes across as a quick cash-in with low quality-control. If you are a Who completist why not. Otherwise the Albert Hall DVD is better as is the Isle of Wright or the Kids Are Alright. Avoid this one. July 29, 2008

Rough Boys

This is a somewhat lackluster performance from one of my favorite groups. Sometimes bands have an "off" night, and this seemed to be one of them. Unfortunately, it was captured forever on video.

The Who seem to struggle through the set, at times looking tired and panicked. John fights to hit the high notes in "My Wife" (after Pete seems to introduce the wrong song) and doesn't lend any backing vocals on "My Generation", Zak Starkey plays on after everyone else correctly hits the ending of "Baba O'Riley", Roger forgets the first verse of "5:15". These little stumbles would normally be forgivable if the performance had the incredible energy of "Concert for NY" or "Royal Albert Hall". Unfortunately, it doesn't.

Technically, this disc is far inferior to Albert Hall. Sound quality is average, and the video was not shot in HD. Much of the time the image is blown out by the lighting. The camera angles are limited, and the only motion comes from one jib arm.

Bonus features are not even listed on the box. These include a brief interview with Roger, and an almost inaudible interview with John Entwistle. Between his accent and the background noise, I could barely understand any of it. There are also incredibly painful interviews with the audience (who cares?) including an awkward moment where the host asks a woman to get on the floor and simulate the birthing of her child. The host of "Double Dare!" also pops up in a pointless remote from backstage. We never get to see The Who approaching the stage, though.

The box mentions that this show was part of a huge hoax on the part of the company "Pixelon". Apparently they conned everyone into thinking they were beaming the show out to the entire world via the internet. It would have been interesting to include a bonus feature explaining exactly what happened, but alas, they didn't bother.

This disc is really for Who completists only. June 9, 2008

In the future...

I understand how true Who diehards will nitpick about some videos over others, but if you think about it, there are only a relatively few preserved moments of greatness of any rock band of the "classic" era (1964-70), and this video is one of them. The Stones and the Who are the last bands standing from so long ago, and I'll put Pete and Roger right up beside Mick and Keith as keepers of the flame of the best music ever written and performed in the history of rock. Too legit to quit! Can you imagine living through the chemical excesses of the 60's, 70's and 80's (not everyone did), and still perform as the Who do in 1999 in this great concert? Any performance is worth keeping, if for historic purposes only. Collect them all, and marvel at the longevity of these seminal bands. Can you stand the test of time? These guys are giants. Long live rock!
April 7, 2008

wow, they really phoned in this performance...

If you like seeing a band at less than optimum capacity, with warts and all then this one should be in your collection. Townsend and Daltrey really seem to be bickering back and forth about something. This Who DVD doesn't seem to have the "fire" of their other work. September 2, 2007

Just buy it

The vocal work is a little rough around the edges and there are times when the camera work looks like it was done by public access TV amateurs, but the sound is well mixed and it's one last chance to see just how amazing John Entwhistle was. He lurks over there in far stage right, out of the spotlight and mostly off camera, but he's a huge presence in the music. I saw the Who in concert a week ago and Entwhistle is conspicuous in his absence.
(It was still the best concert I've seen in 30 years, though.) March 21, 2007

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