Without John Entwistle, it’s not the band of the past, but The Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will still rock the house Wednesday in Seattle.
The official release of “Endless Wire” is set for Oct. 31, but expect plenty of songs from their first album in 24 years. Yes, 24 years; those releases in The Who’s discography have been compilations and repackaging efforts since “It’s Hard” in 1982.
“Endless Wire,” recorded in bits and pieces over four years, includes nine Townshend compositions, but half of it is the miniopera “Wire and Glass.”
The Who has had to move on.
“John Entwistle died and that changed the balance in the band,” Daltrey said. “Pete and I are at two opposite ends of the globe, if you like, and John was the equator. Now it’s very, very different. Not sure what it is but something’s happening and it’s giving us a whole new edge.”
The English rock band, which has had a couple of five-year retirement interludes, long ago cemented its place in rock ‘n’ roll history despite never scoring a chart-topper in the U.S. or Great Britain.
The Who’s rock operas have been made into movies (“Tommy,” “Quadrophenia”), and Sirius Satellite Radio currently has a limited-run 24-hour channel dedicated to music and interviews of The Who.
Jazz and blues nights: Vocalists Steve Tyrell and Marta Topferova and guitarist Jody Williams perform their brands of jazz and blues in separate concerts this week. Tyrell’s latest CD is “Songs of Sinatra,” which you can expect to hear by the Grammy-winning producer and three-time Emmy nominee. Topferova is a Czech singer whose heart is in Latin music. Blues guitarist and songwriter Williams relaunched his career in 2002 with “Return of a Legend.” Since then he’s collected awards from Comeback Album of the Year to Best Guitarist. Tyrell, Friday through Sunday; Topferova, Tuesday and Wednesday; Williams, Thursday, all Seattle.
Roger Waters: Still known best for his 1965-85 career as leader and creative genius of Pink Floyd, the British bass player is on tour performing the band’s 1973 album “The Dark Side of the Moon,” which defined the band’s sound and thematic approach. The believer in concept albums recently released his opera “Ca Ira.” Wednesday, Seattle.
Betty Lavette: A classic soul singer, Lavette made a lot of fans at this year’s Bumbershoot. In 2004, she won the W.C. Handy Award for Comeback Blues Album of the Year, “A Woman Like Me,” and was Living Blues pick as Best Female Blues Artist the same year. She’s been expressive, reflective and recording for four decades but has been overlooked. Tonight, Seattle.
Todd Snider: The country-folk singer-songwriter allows that most of his friends are out there on the fringes, the underdogs paying for their mistakes. It gives him a real grasp of hard-luck narratives that are found in “The Devil You Know,” the ones that grab a truth and condense it into phrases to which we can relate. Thursday, Seattle.
Regina Carter Quintet: Pop, jazz and R&B fans share space in Carter’s fan club. Whatever the violinist touches is enriched by her approach to dynamics and harmonics. She’s recorded with a variety of musicians and she’s on Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” soundtrack. Give her a chance and she’ll make you a fan. Two shows Sunday, Seattle.
The Hotel Cafe: The Hotel Cafe in L.A. went from a coffee shop to a hot singer-songwriter venue to backers of a nationwide tour in a relatively short time. For the second year, 25 singer-songwriters are poured into one bus with one band and one crew on a six-week ride with at least six artists at every show. Saturday, Seattle.
Joseph Arthur: The singer-songwriter was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-1990s. He sang below the radar for a while but has been picking up momentum with his country-rock-Americana approach. His album “Come to Where I’m From” was praised by Entertainment Weekly in 2000 and made many top-10 album year-end lists. His latest is “Nuclear Daydream.” Thursday, Seattle.
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