Rock on and on and on …

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Whatever happened to “hope I die before I get old”?

It’s been a stellar week in the world of classic rock concerts in Seattle.

First it was The Who Oct. 11 followed by Roger Waters Oct 12, Bob Dylan Oct. 13 and The Rolling Stones Oct. 17.

My first thought at seeing this lineup was how can the aging fans of these rockers stay up so late on a weeknight? My second thought was who can afford to go to these shows? I’m so old I remember paying something like $5 to see Alice Cooper at the Coliseum. You can’t even catch him at a casino now for under $50.

But then, people do need less sleep as they get older, and older fans tend to have more disposable income than when they first saw these groups 30 years ago. One workmate who attended the Roger Waters show said her foursome dropped $500 for reserved seats.

By all reports, including from the workmate, the Roger Waters show was possibly the best concert yet from the founding member of Pink Floyd. The stage show was high tech and entertaining, the musicianship first rate, the songs as moving and meaningful as ever.

Who would have thought these musicians, from the “never trust anyone over 30” generation, would still be rocking at retirement age?

In the 1960s and early ‘70s it seemed that the mark of a true rock star was to die young, usually of a drug overdose. A lot of talented people died during this period, sadly cutting short what could have been long and productive careers. Imagine how awesome a Doors concert with Jim Morrison would still be.

Remarkably, some of the heaviest partiers are not only still alive, they’re still touring and more popular than ever.

In the early days of rock all the fans were young because the music was young. The times they were a changin’, and those who didn’t swim fast were destined to sink like a stone, to paraphrase the very young, pre-motorcycle accident pre-heroin junkie Bob Dylan.

The Who celebrated the casting off of the shackles of convention with the classic anthem of youthful rebellion, “My Generation,” written in 1965 by Pete Townshend. The song contains the flippant line, “hope I die before I get old.” One band member lived up to that hope, drummer Keith Moon, who died of — you guessed it — a drug overdose in 1978.

Rock ‘n’ roll was originally the music that separated generations, creating a division between “us” and “them” unseen in any previous age.

Now, these concert are attended by fans spanning several generations.

When The Beatles sang about “grandchildren on my knee” in “When I’m 64” I bet they never imagined those grandchildren would be sitting on grandparents’ knees at a Sir Paul McCartney concert. Sir Paul, of course, turned 64 this year.

I can’t imagine taking my mother to see Alice Cooper or Aerosmith when I was a teenager, but my teen daughter was happy to attend Nine Inch Nails and The Cure concerts with me. Of course I was paying, but I’m sure it’s more than that. We like a lot of the same music.

Oh sure, I still scratch my head in old fogey fashion at the appeal of rap/hip hop and industrial music, and the kid can’t stand my “Mighty Wind” folk music albums, but we find common ground in Ziggy Stardust, Frank Zappa and The Beatles.

While most of the younger concert-goers are seeing these acts for the first time, veteran rockers who are beginning to feel their own mortality may feel this could be the last time they see the bands that provided the soundtrack to so many youthful memories.

As bands play on they can lose so many members over the years that few of the originals are left. Is it really The Who if, as in the most recent tour, only two founding band members are left?

Sadly, Who bassist John Entwistle died in 2002, age 57, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, just as the band was embarking on a U.S. tour. The cause was listed as heart attack.

Many of these concerts may be swan songs for these aging rockers, but it’s also an opportunity for them to pass the torch on to the new “New” generation. Opening for Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones is not a bad way to launch a career.

The recent Who tour featured a drummer with a familiar name, Zak Starkey, son of Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr. And the beat goes on.

What’s Up is a weekly publication of the Kitsap News Group. Address questions, comments or corrections to Marcie Miller at mmiller@northkitsapherald.com or (360) 779-4464.