By Ken Ebbens, Flash Radio Presenter
“Tonight, Matthew, we are going to be The Who……..”, and thank goodness Anthony (vocals), Justin (lead guitar and vocals), Vernon (bass and vocals) and Andy (drums and vocals) did just that quite recently, four huge fans of the mod era, especially The Who, and started Maximum Who (MW). They have only done about 20 gigs so far, but what they produced was straight up and down mod rock at its finest and loudest
There is a thin line between pastiche/parody and a tribute; this quartet never strayed from a loving tribute to their favourite band. To capture the essence of the Who and be as close to the sound as possible, the instruments and speakers are all of that era, a clever touch, whilst they did dress as their heroes: Andy, with all the controlled frenzy of Keith Moon (the only thing missing was not playing open mouthed but that is a minor quibble), Vernon, suitably statuesque and poker-faced as was John Entwistle, but proving a very good bass player, clearly heard in the mix (well done to Joseph on sound and mixing desk) Justin, with the windmill action and movement of Pete Townshend, but, again, a very good guitarist in his own right, and finally Anthony, blonde perm and white t-shirt, all the action of Roger Daltry including twirling microphone but a very good voice, very clear vocals with all the associated mannerisms
The largish crowd, including some youngsters (like teenager, Sam) who are devotees to the music, thoroughly enjoyed the show and gave the music a rapturous reception
MW played chronologically (even though Justin struggled with saying the word) from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, all the favourites plus one or two rarities (Drowned and Bell Boy). My standout songs were I Can See For Miles, The Seeker, 5:15, Squeeze Box, a delightfully swear-free Who Are You, a great version (encore) of Won’t Get Fooled Again and my favourite Who song of all, Behind Bue Eyes, beautifully sung.
I wonder if The Who were ever this loud, a relentless pace throughout, two hours like a juggernaut giving the Lens the feel of a 1960s club
What came across from the four band members was that they were having great fun, laughing on stage a lot, clearly enjoying each other’s company, reflected in the excellent standard produced
If you get chance, go and see, hopefully they will be back at the Guildhall in the very near future. A real delight…and yes, I’d definitely see them again