Customer Reviews

The Who - The Vegas Job

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This show absolutely rocks, far superior to the weaker live in Boston DVD that was released in North America a while back. This one has been available in the UK under the title "The Vegas Job" for several years, why it's taken so long for a North American release is beyond me. Especially in light of the fact that they've released weaker Who performances on DVD in the meantime! Roger Daltrey said it himself, this is "Live At Leeds MK II." Don't Get Fooled Again!

A great performance by The Who, although they are a pinch less-rehearsed here (this 1999 gig was one of the very first times, if not THE FIRST TIME, The Who stripped away all the extra brass, backup singers, second guitar and extra percussion) than they did at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 27, 2000, but they still rocked. I could have used a little more camera angles of John Entwistle (RIP), as the last half or third of the show seems to concentrate more on Townshend and Daltrey. But still a great show. The band is in fighting form, even amid a couple goofs - Daltrey's early entrance near the end of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," Townshend breaking two or three strings during the show, keeping soundman Bobby Pridden hopping with Stratocasters in hand. The Who still were the best band around. This show, seemingly short at around 90 minutes, would morph into the 2000 tour, which would be the group's best post-Keith Moon tour. I agree with the previous reviewer. The lack of special guests ( and I love Paul Weller/The Jam) makes this DVD a favorite. It's interesting that Townshend and Daltrey seem to be almost feuding in this show. Townshend makes fun of Daltrey messing with his inner-ear sound monitors near the end of the show, telling the audience, "Thanks for letting us experiment on you. Well, some of us are experimenting."
The Who still rock, although they're not quite as strong as when The Ox thumped the bass for them (or when Moonie was the drummer), but they're still the greatest live band now. Beginners should pick up "The Kids Are Alright" on DVD first, and then move on to this video and the "Live at the Isle of Wight 1970" (2006 version with two bonus songs) DVD. The Boston 2002 DVD, released in late 2004 from the first tour with new bassist Pino Palladino, is good, but maybe not the best starting point for potential 'Oo Heads. The 2000 Royal Albert Hall DVD (released in the fall of 2001) is good too, as is "The Concert For New York City," where The Who's four-song set is worth the price of admission alone!

The Who rocks. Can't wait to see them in Dallas in seven days!

This concert DVD is outstanding. In my opinion, it is better than the Royal Albert Hall DVD, and far better than the Boston DVD. The camera angles focus on the three of them, without showing only Pete and Roger all the time. Another plus is that this DVD is only Who (i.e., no special guests like the Royal Albert Hall DVD.) Roger's vocals are strong, Pete's guitar is awesome, and with John still on bass, the group sounded like no other band in the world.

Of course, there are still some people who say that the day Keith Moon died was the day The Who's career ended. For what it's worth, I think you should give the later day Who a try. Maybe even try the Boston DVD from 2002. The Who rock, period. This is a wonderful document of an excellent show, and deserves to be looked at. The Who were definately in top form on this night.

The Who continue to tour now, well past the life of Entwistle and Moon. In my opinion, it still sounds great. Pino is a good bass player. Zak is incredible. It almost doesn't matter who plays in the band, because the music is the same and it rocks!

So with all this, what am I saying? If you are trying to pick out your first Who DVD, it should definately be either Isle of Wight or The Kids Are Alright. If you have those, then go ahead and add this to your collection. I think it is worth it to check out The Who in all their phases.

Townshend's return to being The Who's sole electric guitarist. The way it ought to be. This is a great rock concert, but the price Amazon is asking is ridiculous. I got it at Best Buy for five bucks less.

Well, this post Moon concert features the Who as they should be. Townshend is the sole guitarist, Entwistle could be heard, and there are no special guests. The set list is short but it does contain probably many of everyone's most beloved Who songs although I would have liked to have had "Getting In Tune" included and maybe a few others from Tommy or Quadrophenia. However, thank goodness there are no alternate singers or additional augmentation for "Substitute" and "Behind Blue Eyes." While both these performances may not be the definitive versions of the songs, they are probably the best versions for the post Moon line up. Thank goodness "Won't Get Fooled Again" has Townshend as the sole guitarist although the cameras could have shown him a little more during the song. In my opinion, no performance of that song has ever topped the one from "The Kids Are Alright" DVD. The same could be said for "Baba O'Riley," but it's Entwistle who didn't get enough camera time on that song especially when he plays that opening bass line. The best performances for that song are from "The Kids Are Alright" and "Royal Albert Hall." "Pinball Wizard" is kind of a let down because Townshend has to switch guitars in the middle of the song, but there are many excellent live versions of that song. "My Generation" is better on "Royal Albert Hall" and "Isle of Wight" but it does feature some great guitar work from Pete at the end of the song. Roger messes up a few lyrics during "Who Are You" and "The Kids Are Alright" but both performances still rock (although still better on "Royal Albert Hall"). "5:15" and "Magic Bus" are both spectacular performances but also better on "Royal Albert Hall." The same could be said for "My Wife" although it is interesting to hear John sign the first verse without Roger. Roger's early entrance for "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" does not at all hurt the dynamic of the performance which is spectacular but not as good as "Royal Albert Hall." That leaves "See Me, Feel Me" which is another highlight, but the best performance of that song is probably on "Isle of Wight." Overall this DVD is an excellent performance. Of course, like almost any other filmed Who performance, John should have been filmed more and the camera is often too friendly to Roger. Actually, the Royal Albert Hall DVD does not have that problem. This is a must for any Who fan. I would give it 4 and 1/2 stars. If you watch this DVD and then "Royal Albert Hall," it shows how the post Moon version of the Who evolved into the awesome live band they once were.

This is a somewhat lackluster performance from one of my favorite groups. Sometimes bands have an "off" night, and this seemed to be one of them. Unfortunately, it was captured forever on video.

The Who seem to struggle through the set, at times looking tired and panicked. John fights to hit the high notes in "My Wife" (after Pete seems to introduce the wrong song) and doesn't lend any backing vocals on "My Generation", Zak Starkey plays on after everyone else correctly hits the ending of "Baba O'Riley", Roger forgets the first verse of "5:15". These little stumbles would normally be forgivable if the performance had the incredible energy of "Concert for NY" or "Royal Albert Hall". Unfortunately, it doesn't.

Technically, this disc is far inferior to Albert Hall. Sound quality is average, and the video was not shot in HD. Much of the time the image is blown out by the lighting. The camera angles are limited, and the only motion comes from one jib arm.

Bonus features are not even listed on the box. These include a brief interview with Roger, and an almost inaudible interview with John Entwistle. Between his accent and the background noise, I could barely understand any of it. There are also incredibly painful interviews with the audience (who cares?) including an awkward moment where the host asks a woman to get on the floor and simulate the birthing of her child. The host of "Double Dare!" also pops up in a pointless remote from backstage. We never get to see The Who approaching the stage, though.

The box mentions that this show was part of a huge hoax on the part of the company "Pixelon". Apparently they conned everyone into thinking they were beaming the show out to the entire world via the internet. It would have been interesting to include a bonus feature explaining exactly what happened, but alas, they didn't bother.

This disc is really for Who completists only.

The vocal work is a little rough around the edges and there are times when the camera work looks like it was done by public access TV amateurs, but the sound is well mixed and it's one last chance to see just how amazing John Entwhistle was. He lurks over there in far stage right, out of the spotlight and mostly off camera, but he's a huge presence in the music. I saw the Who in concert a week ago and Entwhistle is conspicuous in his absence.
(It was still the best concert I've seen in 30 years, though.)

While nothing will ever be as good as The Kids Are Alright, or even Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD, the Vegas Job is good show with good production and possibly the best audio since TKAA. The Who were on stage as a real band for the first time in almost 20 years. There's no back up singers, no awful brass section, no spare guitarists and no phoning it in. Townshend is inspired and plays with abandon, mistakes and all. Daltrey's voice is strong, even if he flubs a few lines. That's the big thing. The Who are back to a raw sound and there's a possibility in every song that something may derail. Entwistle, well, he never was anything but brilliant on stage and for the first time, you can hear him clearly, at least 50% of the time, which is 100% better than most concert DVDs. As a fan, its amazing to hear Starkey improv with Townshend during Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere and Entwistle during 5:15 and several other songs.

The sound quality is inconsistent, sometimes bass drops out, sometimes its perfect, but the drums are clear and not too compressed, unlike other DVDs, so the band sounds more organic. There are the usual complaints about screen time. I mean, there's a shot of Townshend drinking a coke while Entwistle solos during 5:15. I would say, for the price, everyone should pick up this DVD and enjoy, but for the hard core fans, its a must.

I understand how true Who diehards will nitpick about some videos over others, but if you think about it, there are only a relatively few preserved moments of greatness of any rock band of the "classic" era (1964-70), and this video is one of them. The Stones and the Who are the last bands standing from so long ago, and I'll put Pete and Roger right up beside Mick and Keith as keepers of the flame of the best music ever written and performed in the history of rock. Too legit to quit! Can you imagine living through the chemical excesses of the 60's, 70's and 80's (not everyone did), and still perform as the Who do in 1999 in this great concert? Any performance is worth keeping, if for historic purposes only. Collect them all, and marvel at the longevity of these seminal bands. Can you stand the test of time? These guys are giants. Long live rock!

Finally picked this up and gave it a go. Great to see the band stripped down, but I could see why they later added Simon Townshend for the extra harmonies which are sadly lacking here. The band's performance is uneven. Pete does save the day with the guitar switch in the middle of Pinball Wizard. John shines on My Wife. While Pete or Roger often screw up a lyric here or there, the most notable flub is the ending to Baba O'Riley. But my biggest complaint is the sound quality. For some reason this dvd is missing some of its "punch" and John's bass is almost nonexistant! The post-Moon Who have yet to be captured properly on dvd.