Ageless and aged

The band The Who is one of those ageless bands.  They stayed together for who knows what reason, creating music for a couple of decades.  Then, they toured the next two decades playing all of their songs.  I have really liked their music over the years, even attending a live concert myself in one of their first two-decade glory years.  And, I have always liked their signature song "Won't Get Fooled Again."  It represents both in lyric and instrumentation the spirit of freedom, reckless abandon, determination, and lack of gullability.  I have two anthems from the first two decades of my own life: "Stairway to Heaven" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."  This first video merely represents my memory of such a great song.  It's taken from a 1971 performance in England and shows the short, energetic, enthusiastic version of a young band enjoying their fame.

Earlier this year, The Who decided to perform a 50 years together tour around Europe and the U.S.  They capped off their performances in England in Glastonbury on June 28th.  Above is their same signature song 44 years later than the first video in this blog.  All I can say is "What a difference!"

The band is old now.  But, their mastery of music, particularly their own music is mere pleasure to watch and hear.  The signature song above illustrates the difference.  The song itself is 3 times the length of the original song that they played in 1971.  The two leaders of the band know each other's moves intricately.  They enjoy each other and they enjoy performing on stage.  That is not so apparent in 1971.  They have learned to manipulate their music as well.  It's not just a song they're playing.  It's something alive that their paying customers want to enjoy.  So, the band energizes the song with miniature modern minuets and interludes at various places in the song.  They allow the audience to participate in the song.  The band knows that the event spotlights them, but is not really about them.  It's about customers and band alike becoming one with the music produced.

The Who didn't just show this understanding of music and audience in Glastonbury.  Their entire 50 year anniversary tour including Houston, Nashville, Miami, New York, London, Paris, and Amsterdam shows this great band playing their hearts out for sheer love of music with and for their fans.  The 100,000 people that gathered at Hyde Park in London depicts them living in the moment with smiles on their faces.  The above video clip in Hyde Park is of their signature song once again in the heart of the country they lived in all their lives.

I can't help but notice that the principle is true in more than music.  That is, if a person practices and performs (s)he learns to enjoy the thing of his or her passion.  (S)He learns to manipulate it, wringing out every drop of joy it brings.  It's a pleasure to witness and participate with the person.  I have found that whatever I am passionate about, immersed in, and otherwise busy about improving, gets better and better with age, with practice, and with performance.  It happens without fail... every time... for everyone.  It's a true work of beauty and splendor for all who indulge.