Review: Roger Daltrey proves age is just a number at the Piece Hall

It’s not often that you see a bona fide rock god, but Roger Daltrey more than lived up to the title at the Piece Hall on Wednesday (Jul 30).

His Alive and Kicking and Having Fun Tour is a celebration of his 60 plus years in the music industry and, still in fine voice at 81, he is obviously not hanging up the microphone yet.

The theatre seating of the Piece Hall Courtyard was perfect for the more intimate show than the Who’s massive arena gigs and the semi acoustic playing of Daltrey’s superb nine-piece band (minus the harmonica player this evening who had suffered a detached retina), lent itself beautifully to his laid-back anecdotal style.

Opening with Pete Townshend’s Let My Love Open the Door, followed by Who Are You and a cover of Freedom Ride, a rarely heard song from 1960’s band Taj Mahal, with whom the Who appeared on the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, set the tone for a mixture of The Who songs, solo work and well-judged covers.

They highlighted that his voice hasn’t lost its tone and power, even though he persuaded a very willing audience to do Won’t Get Fooled Again’s iconic scream instead of him and showcased the individual skills of the band to fine effect, particularly Katie Jacoby’s violin, and Pete Townshend’s brother Simon’s superb guitar and vocals.

Solo hit, Giving It All Away, penned by Leo Sayer, took on a world-wearier edge than on record and Squeeze Box included an audience singalong with Daltrey, perhaps moving more gingerly with age, proving to be an adept master of ceremonies.

His good humoured banter with roadie Binky throughout kept everyone amused and his stories from his youth, particularly his days in a sheet metal factory, leading up to Days of Light, were well judged.

Songs from the film McVicar in which he starred and a bouncy cover of Paul Simon’s Boy in the Bubble showed Daltrey and the band’s versatility, and it was a nice touch to play Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Have You Ever Seen the Rain, so that John Fogarty would get some royalties after losing and regaining the rights to his songs.

The audience though had really come for The Who songs and were dancing in the aisles, much to the consternation of the venue’s security, who were told in no uncertain terms by Daltrey to leave them alone.

Squeeze Box was a singalong, as were Substitute and Won’t Get Fooled Again.

Simon Townshend’s vocals on rarely played Going Mobile were a delight, matched with Daltrey’s excellent harmonica playing.

The final straight was of course Baba O’Riley, allowing Katie Jacoby to really let rip on the violin before Daltrey stayed on stage alone with his guitar to play the Kinks’ Days – a lovely moment to end a night in the presence of a fabulous musician who more than lived up to his reputation.

Long may he continue!