Fans React to the Who’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance
More than 100 million people tuned in to Super Bowl XLIV last night, and it seems like each one of them has an opinion on the Who’s 12-minute halftime performance. Readers flocked to Rolling Stone’s report on the Super Bowl set to leave comments praising and criticizing Daltrey and Townshend’s pyro-packed show. “The Who were an amazing band, but you gotta face the fact that they really didn’t sound good,” Bob wrote, while Redsox argued, “Everyone can say what they want, but I’ve seen them 28 times over the last 25 years and last night at the ripe age of 65 and 64 they were unreal, living the dream and spreading the genius of Pete’s music onto a new generation.”
Relive the Who’s halftime set in photos.
Many readers lodged complaints over the band’s sound issues — a common issue when rockers perform on impromptu stages in open-air stadiums. Some commenters remarked that their telecast of the performance suffered from a slight delay between sound and visuals. Others felt that the Who showed their old age in the performance, and a small minority claimed that the band onstage wasn’t the Who at all since they were missing drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle.
However, an army of Who devotees applauded the Who’s energetic performance and marveled at their ability to rock in their 60s. Of course, some used the hyperbolic “Best halftime show ever,” but most of the positive comments suggest that the Super Bowl performance was just the latest chapter in the Who’s ongoing legacy. Drummer Zak Starkey — yes, Ringo’s son — was credited with channeling the spirit of Keith Moon, and Daltrey’s scream on “Won’t Get Fooled Again” managed to scrape the same heights as it did almost 40 years ago. And there’s no one who can deny that […]
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