Roger Daltrey and The Who Play Tommy with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center
Roger Daltrey, The Who Band, and the Cleveland Orchestra
Tommy
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
July 8, 2018
Roger Daltrey, The Who Band, and the Cleveland Orchestra masterfully played Tommy under a picturesque evening sky, with lightning bugs and dragonflies abuzz. The beautiful music entered the listeners’ ears, rocked their souls, and provided a powerful representation of lasting relevance, longevity, and youthfulness.
Roger Daltrey at Blossom Music Center
Overture
When listening to Roger Daltrey and The Who Band on July 8, 2018, one might wonder, what does it feel like to play the songs of Tommy nearly 50 years after the original release, and realize that the music still has so much relevance? The songs played that night are nowhere near disappearing into obscurity as the music and lyrics clearly resonated with the audience members as almost all were singing at some point in the night. Adding the Cleveland Orchestra, as the finale to a thirteen-date tour commencing in June, to the fundamental power of The Who’s songs, elevated the music even further.
The Kids Are Alright
Roger Daltrey fronted the band in a white button-down shirt, jeans, and behind-blue-eye-shades, singing with his mighty voice, which was as powerful and wide-ranging as ever, inspiring the audience with his seeming agelessness and youthfulness. Guitarist Simon Townshend rocked the crowd in a white tee and skinny jeans while impressively belting out the vocals (and sounding so much like his brother, Pete). The harmonization of Daltrey and Townshend allowed the audiences to drift back in time to what it must have felt like at a 1970s concert of The Who. The music was absolutely incredible… sounding like the original songs, only intensified. Major kudos, as well, to the exceptional players in The Who Band, Guitarist Frank Simes, Bassist Jon Button, Drummer Scott Devours, and Keyboardist Loren Gold.
Roger Daltrey, Simon Townshend, and Frank Simes with the Cleveland Orchestra
“The reviews all over the world are spectacular. No doubt, you can say that we are one of the top orchestras on the planet.” – Ross Binnie, Chief Brand Officer, The Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland is Number One
Forget sports for a second. The reviews are in. Attendees and fans of the Cleveland Orchestra already know what the The New York Times brilliantly stated in a recent article, that the Cleveland Orchestra might be “America’s Best.” An ensemble of superbly talented musicians, the Cleveland Orchestra is simply top-notch and a perfect pairing, along with Guest Conductor Keith Levenson, to accompany Roger Daltrey and The Who Band playing Tommy. The Orchestra’s beautiful music added elevation to, and was a driving force behind, the classic songs of The Who that night.
Why Attend a Cleveland Orchestra Performance at Blossom Music Center?
Adventure Music Life spoke with Ross Binnie, Chief Brand Officer of the Cleveland Orchestra for some insight.
Currently celebrating a 100-year anniversary, the Cleveland Orchestra is able to maintain a steadily growing fan base by incorporating classical music with fresh perspectives. “The music director is the captain of the ship” says Binnie. By having guest conductors on a regular basis helps to “steer the long-term musical viability” of the orchestra and create unique sound. “Some conductors are better at certain things, whether it’s rock like Tommy or Pops or Baroque,” having a different conductor’s perspective each week “changes the whole field of dynamic” and helps to keep the sound of the orchestra vibrant, explains Binnie.Plus, adding special nights with orchestral music accompanying showings of movies like Star Wars and E.T., special tributes to bands such as Simon & Garfunkle and Led Zeppelin, and not to mention The Who’s Tommy with Roger Daltrey himself, allow orchestral music to reach beyond classical music fans, touching those not typically attracted to that genre of music. No matter what the draw might be, rock ‘n’ roll, movie music, Broadway favorites, or some serious classical music, hearing the Cleveland Orchestra play live at Blossom, “should be on everybody’s bucket list in this part of the country,” says Binnie.
Roger Daltrey and The Who play Tommy with the Cleveland Orchestra
A Perfect Setting
So many anniversaries, so much time to celebrate. Blossom Music Center, too, is celebrating 50 years in 2018, and was visually and audibly a perfect location for the Tommy experience. The venue’s location and beauty are beyond comparison as the site was built into a natural location amidst trees and rolling hills within the gorgeous Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Per Binnie, fifty years ago, the board of the Musical Arts Association, the non-profit organization that oversees and promotes The Cleveland Orchestra, “had the foresight to build one of the most acoustically fantastic outdoor venues in the country.” Visually stunning, the pavilion of Blossom Music Center, designed by Peter van Dijk, allows for the sound to carry throughout the site. Per Binnie, “It’s so wonderful… the setting, the acoustics, the design, everything about [Blossom] was built for orchestral music… and the rock ‘n’ roll side, too. It’s a special place in our hearts obviously.”
“Listening to you, I get the music. Gazing at you, I get the heat. Following you, I climb the mountains. I get excitement at your feet. Right behind you, I see the millions. On you, I see the glory. From you, I get opinions. From you, I get the story.” – “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” Pete Townshend, The Who
Simon Townshend at Blossom Music Center
Getting In Tune
Throughout the night, listening to songs live that most people have only heard on the radio over the decades was positively goosebump-inducing. Hearing Townshend’s tremendous vocals on “The Acid Queen,” singing along with Daltrey to “Pinball Wizard,” listening to the harmonization of Townshend and Daltrey in “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” and with the famous lyrics, “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me,” was certainly powerful and awe-inspiring to the audience. Whatever the originally conceived outreach might have been when Pete Townshend wrote Tommy fifty years ago, the result at Blossom Music Center in 2018 was the production of one of the greatest rock operas, representing a culmination of appreciation of the music that was created a half of a century ago.
Encore
“I can’t leave you without a couple of songs that you know,” said Daltrey after playing the classic songs of Tommy. The band then played “Who Are You,” with Daltrey on guitar, Daltrey’s song “Always Heading Home” from his new album As Long As I Have You, and of course, one of the greatest and most recognizable rock songs of all time, “Baba O’Riley,” particularly with the incredible violin finish. Daltrey explained that he had played harmonica during the violin portion of the song when played live in years past. For this special experience, however, Touring Violinist Katie Jacoby was brought on stage to perform the amazing finale to “Baba O’Riley,” which elevated the energy of this great song even further. And the crowd went wild. In closing, after Roger introduced the band, he left the audience with heartfelt words, “May you all be healthy and lucky!”
Photo By William Snyder: Violinist Katie Jacoby plays with Roger Daltrey and The Who Band performing Tommy with The New York Symphony at Forrest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, NY on 6/17/2018
Who Is Electric Violinist Katie Jacoby?
Adventure Music Life caught up with Katie Jacoby, Electric and Acoustic Violinist to get the skinny on this talented musician.
“It was just a complete honor and a total thrill” to play “the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll violin solo” in Baba O’Riley onstage with Roger Daltrey, says Jacoby. Katie Jacoby, Violinist, on tour with the thirteen-gig Tommy experience since early June, has been playing violin since age six. She took intensive classical violin training and then discovered rock ‘n’ roll in junior high. Thankfully, falling in love with The Who, she mastered playing the ever-famous electric violin finish to Baba O’Riley, and even won a battle of the bands contest playing the song in high school. Performing with The Who became a dream and she contacted the band’s management at age 15, but without any success in landing a gig at that time. “All these years later, my dream came true,” says Jacoby in reference to the eventual attainment of the desired role of key violinist in Baba O’Riley; “The way life works out and how one thing leads to another is always quite surreal.” For anyone reading who desires playing an instrument alongside an admired artist one day, “Pursue dreams with intensity and passion,” says Jacoby, who is a successful freelance violinist in New York City. She also creates original music and is part of a gypsy jazz trio.
Interesting Final Note: The close-up of Katie Jacoby featured above was captured, and used by Adventure Music Life with permission, by the official photographer of The Who, William Snyder. For fans of The Who and concert photography, Snyder has a soon-to-be-released book, Join Together (With the Band) containing priceless photos of The Who from the last nearly twenty years, as well as a foreword by Eddie Vedder.
Wonderfully written article that encompasses such a wide variety of topics! I listened to familiar songs and a powerful new one. The pictures capture the performers and the very essence of our beautiful Blossom.
Thank you so much!! This means the world!