Concert review: The Who Show - A Tribute to The Who at House of Blues in Dallas (June 18)

by Kyle Scheumack

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No instruments were smashed, but it was still a damn good time.

DALLAS — Baby boomers with beer in both hands were out at the House of Blues in Dallas on Friday for The Who Show - A Tribute to The Who. The venue seemed to be a perfect setting for the California-based band.

The Who Show

The crowd went crazy as the lights dimmed and the fog machine came on. Lead singer Jim Ferguson (as Roger Daltrey) was swinging the microphone over his head, around and around and around, until the rest of the band joined in with, “I Can’t Explain,” to kick off the show.

The music was rock solid and the crowd must have enjoyed being reminded of the days of hippies, acid, and flower power, because it never seemed to loose energy. Throughout the band’s set audience members joined in, playing air guitar, drums, bass, or lip synching, depending on their invisible instrument of choice. Some even managed to do it without spilling their beer.

The Who Show went all out to try and make the crowd actually think they are watching a real Who show. The lead singer was dressed in bellbottoms with white tassels hanging from them, and even had similar curly blond hair as Daltrey once had. “Can you feel the love in the house?” Ferguson asked the eager crowd.

Joel Pelletier, the bass player, was a splitting image of John Entwistle.

And it might be possible that when Keith Moon (drummer for The Who) died in 1978, he was reborn as France DiCarlo (drummer for The Who Show). DiCarlo’s drumming was suspenseful, dramatic, and fast as hell.

The band kept the show as vintage as possible by using similar equipment to The Who. Guitarist Chris Propper (as Pete Townshend) used an old Marshall amplifier similar to the one Townshend used at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The band covered almost all of The Who’s main hits like “Who Are You,” “I Can See for Miles,” “Pinball Wizard,” and “My Generation.” During “Behind Blue Eyes,” a crowd favorite, the audience was glowing as listeners held up lighters and swayed.

There was no instrument destruction, but Propper threw his Gibson Les Paul at least 10 feet in the air a couple of times to end the show in true Who fashion.