Bill

Show Reviews

Bill...
Whos Next absolutely floored me!
My name is Scotty Drake, and I'm one of the DJs at Eagle 98.1, the radio station that helped bring you to the Varsity Theatre. (Thanks for giving us the nice plug during the show. That was me who shouted "WOO HOO!" when you mentioned us.)
Anyway, I've been an enormous fan of The Who since...well...probably since before y'all were born, and you've all got the sound, the mannerisms, and the energy down pat!
(You might also be interested to know that I play drums in a Classic Rock band here in Baton Rouge, and after watching Bobby on drums Friday night, I may never play again!)
I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to travel all the way down here. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and that you'll consider returning soon.
...Scotty

Caught the show Saturday night at Tipitina's and was truly blown away.  The band 
did a terrific job capturing the energy of a live Who performance.  Lately I've 
been able to see a few cover bands in and around Baton Rouge and New Orleans and 
most are O.K., so I was a little hesitant as The Who are my favorite.  I 
expected to be simply satisfactorily pleased.  For whatever reason, The Who have 
never been super big around here, 
 so I was doubly hesitant.  When Who's Next took the stage, needless to 
say, all fears disappeared in an instant.  One got The Who and nothing more, 
nothing less.  Amazing.  A friend of mine commented that "now I see what's meant 
when The Who are given credit for starting punk."

Please let on when you guys will be playing in the South again.

Ray Berthelot

British invasion tribute hits BR

The popularity of British invasion tribute bands has spread like wildfire in Baton Rouge over the past two years, and we have The Varsity Theatre to thank for it. First it was Zoso (Led Zeppelin), then Satisfaction (Rolling Stones), and just two weeks ago we got a taste of Penny Lane (Beatles).

This Friday, April 15, The Varsity and The Eagle 98.1fm have managed to bring us Who’s Next (www.whosnexttribute.com) all the way from New York, the most amazing replica of the greatest live rock band of them all, The Who. Who’s Next also plays at Tipitina’s in New Orleans Sat., Apr. 16.

As with the real Who, nothing about this event has been simple. It started one year ago when Kevin McCabe, a local Who fanatic, made it his mission to bring a Who tribute to southeast Louisiana.

“I had just seen Zoso for the second time,” McCabe explains. “And though their act is phenomenal in reproducing the look, sound and feel of Zeppelin, I couldn’t help but wonder what Baton Rouge would think of a band that could re-create the incendiary live act of The Who.”

Those familiar with classic rock know that while Led Zeppelin was incomparable in the studio, The Who is generally regarded as the greatest live band of the 60s and 70s. Many remember the wind-mills, the leaps, the mic swinging and the auto-destruction. Still, making this event a reality was a bumpy ride.

“It was extremely frustrating,” McCabe says, shaking his head. “I was close to giving up several times. But one thing always was solid, and that was the enthusiasm of Who’s Next. Ultimately we got everyone on board and this thing is gonna happen.”

Who’s Next was founded in 1998 by Bill Canell, the band’s jumping, wind-milling “Pete Townshend,” playing mainly in New York, New Jersey and New England. While Bill was flawless as Pete, they were missing a great version of Who lead singer, Roger Daltrey.

As Canell explains, “Our first ‘Roger’ was decent, but then this guy walked into one of our shows and it was like seeing Roger himself.” He managed to talk the stranger, Dave McDonald, into taking up singing and learning Daltrey’s moves (complete with mic swinging and tambourine bashing), and the rest is history. “Dave and I actually got to play with John Entwistle’s band (deceased legendary Who bassist) in New York City the night of the 9/11 benefit, and John freaked out when he saw how much Dave looks like Roger,” says Canell. Put these guys in vintage Who outfits, add Bobby Reynolds, the re-incarnation of the wildest of wild-man drummers, Keith Moon, and Will Schelly, who captures the quiet thunder of Entwistle on bass, and Who’s Next blows the roof off every place they play.

“These guys came down to Pittsburgh to play our Woodstock tribute festival, and the crowd went wild for them. They obliterated Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin’s band.

It wasn’t close,” explains Shane Schuerrian of WRRK. “I hope they weren’t mad at being upstaged by a tribute band.” It will be no different Friday night, if all goes according to plan. But then again, this is no ordinary event.