If I could design a perfect concert experience it would look like the Roger Daltrey show at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in downtown San Diego, California on Monday, May 6, 2024. Other than a slight chill in the air, it was near perfect night. An artist that I love (bought tickets to this show before applying to shoot it), being able to shoot the first three, an opening act that was fantastic, a killer setlist, a brilliant band, and great treatment by venue staff. I’ll start at the beginning, my wife and I arrived at the venue and she went in to check out our seats while I picked up my photo pass. I was approved and given instructions on who was to escort me in and out. There was no photo pass and I looked as if I wasn’t on the list. I pulled up the confirmation email and showed it to the very patient box office staff. They recognized the name of the person who was supposed to escort me and they contacted him. A minute later, John showed up and asked to see the email. I showed it to him and he recognized that it was valid. I was expecting it to be a problem, but instead, John just dealt with it. A massive thank you to everyone involved for making that process so easy.
First up was KT Tunstall, an artist that I had heard of many times, but never seen live. She was fantastic. Now it was just her, her guitar, and a drum/loop/thingamabob and it was awesome. The “Walk Like an Egyptian” had the crowd laughing and singing along and she performed maybe the best version of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” I have ever heard. She didn’t just play the cover, she made it her own. It was a great opening set and the crowd was ready for the main event.
Band:
KT Tunstall – Everything
SetList:
1) Hold On / Walk Like an Egyptian
2) Dear Shadow
3) Other Side of the World
4) Black Horse and the Cherry Tree / Seven Nation Army
5) I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty cover)
6) Stoppin’ the Love
7) Suddenly I See
Roger Daltrey has been performing for most of his life, founding The Who back in 1964 at the age of 20. The singer just turned 80 back in March and sounds absolutely fantastic. His voice has changed a little over the years, but his vocals remain strong, and he still has the attitude and energy that makes him one of the best font men in rock and roll. I have been lucky to see The Who and Roger solo numerous times over the years and this show might have been my favorite.
The setlist was really great, covering songs never performed live by The Who (“Going Mobile”) to the anthem that turned me onto Rock ‘n Roll in the first place (“Baba O’Riley”). The band that Roger has put together is really great, with Simon Townshend on guitar and lead vocals for “Going Mobile”. Loren Gold, a seriously talented man who has toured with everyone and The Who for years was stellar on keys. The only issue for me was that there just wasn’t very much light in that back corner of the stage. He did make for some interesting silhouettes behind Roger in some photos. Then there was the duo of Scott and John on drums and bass, both rock solid in keeping that beat. A truly great addition to the mix was Katie Jacoby on violin, who added a great tone and texture to the overall mix and pulled out some killer solos. And then was Frank Simes on guitar, another of those musicians who has literally played with everyone, including Mick Jagger, Roger Waters, Don Henley, and Rod Stewart. Together this band sounds absolutely great. The tour has just started, so if you want to spend an enjoyable night listening to classic rock and roll, go. You won’t regret it. Tour dates are here.
There were some slight hiccups during the show, the first was when Roger forgot the lyrics at the end of “Getting in Tune ” and instead of trying to fake it, he owned, joked about it, and even released the video of the performance online (link at the end of the review). There was a spot during the show when a confrontation between fans and security escalated to the point where Roger stopped the show, dealt with the issue from the stage and life went on.
Roger Daltrey Band are:
Roger Daltrey – Vocals, Guitar
Simon Townshend – guitar, vocals
Frank Simes – guitar, vocals
John Button – bass
Loren Gold – Keyboards
Scott Deavours – drums
Katie Jacoby – violin
SetList:
1) After the Fire
2) Getting in Tune
3) I Can See for Miles
4) Freedom Ride(Largo cover)
5) Squeeze Box
6) Behind Blue Eyes
7) Giving It All Away (Leo Sayer cover)
8) Tattoo
9) Waiting for a Friend
10) Going Mobile
11) Another Tricky Day
12) Pictures of Lily
13) The Kids Are Alright
14) Who Are You
15) Without Your Love
16) Baba O’Riley
17) Young Man Blues (Mose Allison cover)
Alan Hess is a photographer based in San Diego, where he lives with his wife and two rescued boxers.
Alan is currently the house photographer for a large concert and event venue in Southern California where he photographs everything from major musical acts to ice hockey. When he isn’t out taking photographs, he spends his time writing books and is an accomplished photography educator and trainer.
Alan’s images have been published in a variety of places including news papers, magazines, websites, promotional materials, album artwork, and press releases. His clients include The Associated Press, Fox Television, FX Network, USA Network, Hasbro, Framus Guitars, Gibson, The Dead, Picture Group, Photoshop User Magazine, Steel Pulse, Ziggy Marley, and many more.
He is the author of sixteen photography and technology books covering everything from night and low light photography to multiple shot techniques. His books are sold around the world and have been translated in other languages including: Chinese, French, Polish, Japanese, Thai, and Italian.
