Earlier in July, the North East was treated to The Who at Chester-le-Street’s Riverside stadium. For those who couldn’t make it, or those who did and needed another fix of classic early rock, Europe’s greatest Who tribute band, Who’s Next, were at the Forum Music Centre, Darlington, and gave a phenomenal performance.
Stadium rock played in such an intimate venue meant everyone in the 200+ audience was treated to perfect view of the band while being enveloped in the sound of a generation (My Generation in fact). Playing a set comprised of plenty of early Who tracks, some great album covers and of course the much expected Teenage Wasteland, Who Are You, Pinball Wizard and many more hits, Who’s Next are completely deserving of all the accolades and praise heaped on them over the years.
With perfectly rehearsed improvisation we were treated to hypnotic jams, scintillating bass, Townsend windmill power chords and the Dawltry-esque microphone swinging, smouldering vocals. Despite having had over 2 hours of rock the crowd greedily wanted more and the encore sent everyone away buzzing, no doubt ready to dig out their old Who LPs and relive it all again over the weekend.
As a venue, The Forum is a match made in heaven for such a night, once the lights dim and the band begins you feel like you are surrounded by thousands; such is the brilliant sound system and light show you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the middle of Hollywood Bowl or the Isle of Wight in the early 70’s.
Find out more about The Forum, upcoming gigs and their regular monthly Jazz & Blues nights at theforumonline.co.uk