MovieChat Forums > The Who : The Kids Are Alright (1979) Discussion > New DVD: The Who At Kilburn 1977

New DVD: The Who At Kilburn 1977

posted 16 years ago by glenwoodave
10 replies | jump to latest

PBS television in the US has just premiered this concert from 1977. It is not out on DVD yet but apparently soon will be. I was flipping channels and nearly fell off my chair! It's the concert that was shot for Jeff Stein's movie, The Kids Are Alright, but he hardly used any footage from it for that film and shot a different concert instead. Keith is far more animated and more like his old self at this Kilburn concert than at the one they eventually used in TKAA. There are a couple of temper trantrums from Pete (always worth watching) and a bit of tense dialogue from the band directed at the audience (which I don't quite understand because the audience seems to be loving them). At one point things get a bit edgy and Roger says "let's play some rock n'roll" to which Keith replies "screw you" because he wants to do his Uncle Ernie song from Tommy. So they let him do it. I adore Keith but, honestly, he's not the world's greatest singer. After the song Roger is laughing and says "now we'll do it in the right key". As far as I can tell the rest of the music is up to their usual high standards, although at one point Pete doesn't think so and says "that was hardly worth filming, might as well send the cameraman 'ome".

This footage has been locked up for 30 years and cudos to PBS for being the first to air it. They definitely deserve a donation for this one.

[–] yeley 16 years ago

It's the first time I felt compelled to donate! I also just flipped through the channels and caught it. It was amazing! I love seeing Who footage that I've not seen before.

[–] glenwoodave 16 years ago

Seeing new Who footage is like being given a gift - a really really good gift no matter what it is. I never tire of the temper tantrum where Pete sends everything on top of the amps flying and pushes the top amp over completely. Being a stagehand for The Who wasn't all fun and games apparently. I wonder what that guy did to provoke such a reaction. I also wonder why it wasn't included in TKAA? Has there been any other footage where Pete flew off the handle at a stagehand? If not, it would have been a unique bit for TKAA. Stein did use the "any loud mouthed little gits" speech though. I guess Pete approved one but not the other.

[–] yeley 16 years ago

I would like to see some of the stage fights that Roger and Pete got into or Keith and Pete! Pete couldn't get along with anyone it seems!

[–] glenwoodave 16 years ago

Oh, if only some of the punch-ups on stage had been filmed and are lying in a vault somewhere! The Who would make another fortune just by releasing those. I've read that offstage they didn't just go after each other with fists but with knives and bottles too, and Keith and Roger had the scars to prove it. So much drama alongside that amazing music! It's also incredible that half a million people witnessed Pete knocking Abby Hoffman off the stage at Woodstock and NOBODY caught it on film.

[–] yeley 16 years ago

I would have loved to see Abby knocked off the stage! There are so many stories of fights during the recording of Quadrophenia also. Too bad someone wasn't there with a camera to document it! The Who are such an amazing band. The personalities, the music that speaks to the fans of the band like no one else, the incredible highs and incredible lows. As big as they became, they still have managed to keep their core fans happy.

Who fans are like a big fraternity and those who don't "get it" will never really understand! The Who are not like the larger than life rockstars that are unapproachable and distant. They are still the same geezers they have always been. That's what makes them so great! Anyone who has seen them live (oh, how I wish I could have seen them when Moon was alive, but I was too young) comes away thinking this is the most incredible band I've ever seen.

At the Oklahoma City concert this past year I saw a group of teenage kids, who weren't even alive during The Who's heyday, blasting The Who on their stereo as they drove by a policeman directing traffic on the street. The policeman saw the kids hanging out of their car as they played "Won't get Fooled Again" at top volume. All he did was give them the thumbs up and simulate a Pete Townshend windmill guitar move! What other band could get that reaction?!!

[–] glenwoodave 16 years ago

What a great story! The traffic cop simulating a Pete windmill is such a human moment. Here in New York City I doubt very much there is a cop or firefighter who doesn't like The Who - not after the astounding performance they gave at the 9/11 concert. In fact, it was that performance that put them back on my radar again. I kind of forgot about them during the late 80's and 90's. But now, revisiting their old concert DVD's and seeing the sudden rash of tv documentaries, it's shocking how skillful they actually were as artists and showmen - and the unique quality of Pete Townshend's songwriting. As a teenager I just thought they played good music and were good to look at.

I was at one of their shows when Keith was alive and didn't even know it. As a very young wannabe mod growing up in London, I went to a little club with a schoolfriend because she'd heard there was a great group playing. We could hardly get in the door, the place was so packed, mostly with boys it seemed. We couldn't see over the shoulders of all the guys in front of us and had to be content with standing at the back just listening to the music. A kid in front of me turned around and said that at the end this group were going to smash their instruments. Of course, when it happened I couldn't see that either! Nobody mentioned the name of the group and it wasn't until they became major stars that I realised I'd been at a Who performance AND NEVER EVEN SAW THEM! Grrrrrrr.

[–] yeley 16 years ago

Just to have been there is amazing! I envy you! I saw them in Dallas also. It was the same reaction. There were so many young kids who actually knew all the songs and everybody just got along so well. The policeman in OKC was so cool to see! I'm sure he wasn't the only one that had that reaction.

[–] glenwoodave 16 years ago

I just stumbled across this website (dailymotion.com) and had to share it with you, in case you havn't already found it yourself, because we both love seeing new Who stuff. Somebody posted almost 600 videos of concert footage, interviews, etc. I think there's more Who on here than on youtube. So far I've found a lot of pieces that are new to me. I hope you will too. BTW the guy who posted these looks like a motorcycle cop - maybe he's your guy from Oklahoma City, LOL. Whoever he is, I'm very grateful to him. Incidentally, when I searched for 'The Who' it couldn't find anything. But under 'Pete Townshend' all this Who material came up. Here's a very odd but fascinating video from France and something from Germany I'd never seen before. Enjoy!

http://www.dailymotion.com/related/x2362m_pete-townshend-keep-on-working_music/video/x21clw_the-who-seize-millions-de-jeunes-19_music?from=rss

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/pete%2Btownshend/video/x2by1a_pete-townshend-interviewed-1981_music

[–] yeley 16 years ago

Thanks for the links!

[–] jimiphish 15 years ago

I just bought the 2 DVD set a couple days ago. The 2nd disc has a large chunk of the 1969 London Coliseum show.
The 1977 show contains some pretty sloppy playing from Townshend. Moon plays very well. He really is paying attention to the music. Daltrey forgets some lyrics to "Dreaming From the Waist". But so what? I am very pleased to have this concert on DVD at all and in such excellent quality. It's funny as hell to see Pete flip out on his speaker cabinet after "My Wife". Lesson:DO NOT invade Pete's personal space when he's onstage. He almost killed Abbie Hoffman for doing that.
The 1969 show is of lower picture quality,but it's a balls-out show from their prime. ALL the guys are playing at their best. I never tire of watching Moon do his thing back in those days. Nobody plays like him.
An excellent 2 DVD set for a total Who freak. (Like me.)