Saturday, February 6, 2010

Behind Blue Eyes . . .

While it feels like the whole world is snowed-in today, I have been forced to find things to entertain me while I put off the inevitable need to venture outside. Right now I am listening to a cassette tape of the Final Who Concert, which I listened to and recorded on my Sony boombox before they were called boomboxes in my bedroom on a night in 1982. Because of my notes on the cassette, I know that the year was 1982, which would put me in 6th or 7th grade, although I didn't note the exact date. I think it was winter. I think it was a Friday night. The cassette is a TDK SA-C90 high bias tape, which was a very good quality cassette tape at the time. Anyway, I was a young lad, and I didn't really know a lot about The Who. I just knew from the chatter at school and on the radio that this final concert from a Canadian city called Toronto that I knew virtually nothing about was a big deal. (Little did I know the immeasurable impact the city of Toronto, Canada would have on my entire life.) So, I decided to spend my Friday night both listening to and recording the concert live on radio station 96 KX. If I remember correctly, I might have dozed off a few times during the concert.

Since I apparently only had one blank cassette tape, I only ended up with the first 90 minutes of the Final Who Concert. And I started listening to it. And I liked it. A lot. It was music unlike any other music that I had ever listened to before. I listened to it over and over again. And that was it. I was a Who fan. And even though I think that The Who are a little old now to be performing at the Super Bowl XLIV Bridgestone Halftime Show tomorrow, I will enjoy seeing and hearing the two old guys rock. I will probably still be snowed-in.

4 comments:

A the C said...

I may be the only person in America who actually enjoyed the Superbowl Halftime Show. I thought it was great.

Also...I remember you sharing the impact of Toronto on your life. In fact, I remember a sort of trifecta...Toronto, a calzone and Four Seasons.

A the C said...

There are many things I have in common with elephants, but memory certainly tops the list. After saggy skin, that is.

Dave said...

I enjoyed the Super Bowl XLIV Bridgestone Halftime Show just fine. I thought they did a great job. But they ARE old.

And THAT magic trifecta occurred in Toronto several years after I had moved back to Pittsburgh. I'd like to think that the two years that I spent living there affected me more than that one weekend. Maybe I'm wrong.

It's interesting what people remember, good memories or not.

A the C said...

Well, you only shared the weekend part, not the two years part.

I only know what I know, you know?

Regarding The Who...I happen to think they aged relatively well. They are not the stuff nightmares are made of like, say, Steven Tyler.