The Who At Kilburn: 1977 DVD Review

Back when Keith Moon was alive, The Who were the most electrifying show in rock. Forget about Led Zeppelin, forget about The Rolling Stone, and forget about AC/DC. The Who had more energy than any band that had ever touched a stage. In The Who At Kilburn: 1977, we get two discs of live footage from The Who. The first disc contains a live performance at Kilburn in 1977-–which would be one of Keith’s last performances with the band before his tragic death. The show was recorded to be used in The Kid’s Are Alright, where certain songs were extracted from the complete performance. The second disc contains a 1969 performance as well as their classic Tommy performed in its entirety. What is offered in this package is quite impressive, and displays why The Who ruled the stage.

Before the performance starts, text appears on the screen saying that this performance has been sitting in the vaults untouched until now. And there is good reason why this footage was never released. It’s because The Who didn’t play all that well. There were a number of noticeable flubs throughout their performance, but in an odd way it almost makes it feel like you’re watching something special. In an age where live DVD’s are pieced together from numerous shows to essentially make a flawless piece, Image Entertainment delivers a true reproduction of The Who after not playing together for nearly a year. The Who acknowledges the fact that there may be a few loose ends in their performance because of the time away, but even with the few musical mistakes, The Who do more than just overcome the flaws. Their energy and power comes through it all. Pete’s windmill circles with intensity, Roger’s flying mic poses as much danger to the rest of the band as the fans, Keith’s manic drumming is a reminder of the side affects of drugs, and John’s bass playing is as always–-subdued.

While the 1977 Kilburn performance is the center of the package, the real treat lies in the second disc in the "extras" section. Here lies a performance of Tommy performed in its entirety. A real treat with the band firing on all cylinders. For fans of the worlds most famous rock opera, this is enough reason in itself to get this DVD. The video quality is piss poor at best, but the sound quality is solid for a performance at this time. The Who simply look like figures on the stage and nothing more, but while you may not be able to make out their faces, you can clearly see the psychotic stage performance. God is it delicious! Their jam session on "Amazing Journey" is a raucous masterpiece.

The Who were caged animals on stage. It’s almost unbelievable that a stage was enough room for them to do what they did. This DVD is a testament to why The Who are remembered as one of the greatest live acts in rock. The main performance is flawed in a wonderful way, and the extras go above and beyond simply complimenting the heart and soul of this package.

Grade: A