IF IT'S TOO LOUD, WE ARE ALL TOO OLD

A quick one about The Who.

On December 17, 1982, The Who, with members Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, John Entwhistle and Kenny Jones, played what was supposed to be their final concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Obviously, it was not. Although the group never officially broke up, they did stop touring for seven years, but off and since 1989, they have been out there chugging along, even after Entwhistle’s passing, into the present day. Tune into a classic rock station, and at some point, they will be giving away tickets for the next time The Who are in town.

But if you go now, you will be seeing a new drummer. Of course, original drummer Keith Moon died of a drug overdose in 1978, and their latest drummer had ben Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, godson of Keith Moon. Starkey had been playing for the Who since 1999, but that ended after a series of shows at Royal Albert Hall in London this past month, after whichhe was dismissed from the band.

For playing too loud.

The drummer for The Who.

The band thar prided itself as the loudest in the world. The band that set a record for the loudest performance of all time in 1976 at the Charlton Athletic grounds, 126 decibels.

Of course, with that pride comes a cost. Both Daltrey and Townsend have complained of severe hearing problems. Townsend has walked off stage previously if the felt the acoustics of a performance could cause further damage, and indeed has retired from touring on occasion because of the issue. This time, it was Daltrey who raised objections, at the Royal Albert Hall show as they prepared to close with “This Song Is Over”: “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys.”

Now, we have all been at shows where the drumming can seem like cannons, especially in close quarters where the drummers forget that the audience wants to hear the rest of the band. But this is a band that has constantly played arenas since Starkey joined the band. You would think that they would reach a point where it can sound loud to the audience with affecting the musicians themselves, or that Starkey would know to, for lack of a better turn, turn it down a notch.

For all we know, this is a culmination of built-up tension, where Daltrey and Townsend had grown tired of Starkey, and vice versa. The official press releases were complementary. From the band: “The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.” From Starkey: “I’m very proud of my near 30 years with the Who. Filling the shoes of my godfather, ‘Uncle Keith’” – the band’s original drummer, Keith Moon – “has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan. They’ve been like family to me.” But on his Instagram, Starkey had a different take: “Heard today from inside source that Toger Daktrey [sic] lead singer and principal songwriter of the group unhappy with Zak the drummer’s performance at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago is bringing formal charges of overplaying and is literally going to Zak the drummer.”

It’s not like Zak Starkey is suddenly in dire straits. (For the record, Dire Straits played their last show in 1995.) He’s the son of Ringo Starr, with almost five decades of experience as a professional musician, so I believe he’s financially set. A good number of bands would love to have a drummer of his experience in their group. Since he is also in a band called Mantra of the Cosmos with Andy Bell of Oasis, and has also worked with Noel Gallagher, he might end up playing with Oasis on their upcoming stadium tour, at least until Liam or Noel complain the Zach is playing too loudly.

But we have may have reached the Rubicon that has been almost chased since Bill Hailey released “Rock Around the Clock”. The arrests of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Elvis joining the army, John Lennon’s assassination, Napster, the drummer of the Who is playing too loud.

We did not die before we got old. Take care of your ears, for this song is over.