Pauley Pavilion normally hosts the UCLA Bruins during basketball games, but Saturday night it was transformed into a British shrine honoring The Who. Red, white, and blue spotlights shone as people walked in and slowly filled the seats. Viewers of all ages (literally) were in attendance, from the 300 dollar orchestra seats to the 65 dollar nosebleeds.

I was lucky enough to snag a ticket for this event, and wow, was it a performance of the century. A film montage started the tribute to The Who, with cameos by Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Martin, Dave Navarro, and Slash.

David Duchovny started the program by introducing the Foo Fighters, who rocked out to “Young Man Blues”. Lead singer Gaz Coombes of Supergrass graced the stage to accompany the Fighters with “Bargain”. Coombes ended the song by throwing his tambourine into the crowd.

Another film montage came on, highlighting Townshend and the album Tommy. As the footage appeared on the two large screens lining both sides of the stage, a man inside a big bubble walked out and took center stage. A spotlight shone on Rainn Wilson, better known as Dwight from The Office, playing pinball in the corner. He introduced the next band. The man in the bubble turned out to be Wayne Coyne, lead vocals for The Flaming Lips. He walked (or rather, stumbled) on the crowd from one side of the stage to the other, where they unzipped him so he could sing. The Flaming Lips sang an assortment of songs, including “See Me, Feel Me”, “Pinball Wizard”, and “I’m Free”. Lights scanned the audience to highlight just how many people were there. After their set, drummer Kliph Scurlock knocked his drumset over, almost as if it was a tribute to Keith Moon.

A break between artists came when yet another video came on to honor Keith Moon. Mila Kunis introduced the next act, Incubus, who sang “I Can See for Miles” and “I Can’t Explain.” A spotlight on Pete Townshend highlighted his infamous guitar-smashing skills as the revolving stage turned and a segue into John Entwistle’s accomplishments ensued. Tenacious D walked onto the stage, and Jack Black exclaimed, “It’s an honor to honor what I consider to be te greatest band of all time.” The duo played an acoustic version of “Squeezebox” before Sean Penn came out to introduce the next band.

After a short speech about “Tommy” and the rock opera for the 80s, Pearl Jam took the stage with 10 violinists and a grand piano. They sang “Love, Rain O’er Me” and “The Real Me”. The rest of the night was a blur. After Pearl Jam, a long break allowed for people get to know others who were sitting around them. “I’ve known about The Who for the last 35 years.” “I flew all the way from Chicago to see them.”

The anticipation grew as everyone waited for The Who to come out. Instead, we were taken aback by Adam Sandler, who sag his own ditty in honor of The Who. After repeating “Do you want The Who?” over and over again, the screens and the cage surrounding the revolving stage were lifted, and The Who came out.

The band played a solid one-hour set, rocking out to songs like “Who Are You?”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, “You Better You Bet”, and “My Generation”. I was on my feet for the entire concert, even though there were seats for everyone. The arena was filled - 6,000 fans all there to pay tribute to what Dave Navarro stated as a “pivotal” band in his life.

Although I expected Pete Townshend to break his guitar or smash something onstage, the band left after saluting and bowing to the audience. All in all, it was a great show and meant to please fans of all ages. No wonder it was sold out!

VH1 Rock Honors The Who premieres on Thursday, July 17 at 9pm on VH1, VH1 Classic, and MHD. There will also be some select performances from the show leading up to and following the on-air premiere at rock.vh1.com. For those with only local channels on their televisions, you can watch online at the same site during the premiere time.

Full Set List of the evening:
David Duchovny (introduction)
Foo Fighters – “Young Man Blues”
Foo Fighters with Gaz Coombes – “Bargain”
Rainn Wilson (introducing the Flaming Lips) The Flaming Lips – Medley from “Tommy”
Mila Kunis (introducing Incubus)
Incubus – “I Can See for Miles”
Incubus – “I Can’t Explain”
Tenacious D – “Squeeze Box”
Sean Penn (introducing Pearl Jam)
Pearl Jam – “Love, Reign O’er Me”
Pearl Jam – “The Real Me”
Adam Sandler (introducing The Who)
The Who – “Baba O’Riley”
The Who – “The Seeker”
The Who – “Who Are You”
The Who – “Behind Blue Eyes”
The Who – “Two Thousand Years”
The Who – “You Better You Bet”
The Who – “My Generation”
The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
The Who – “Tea & Theatre”

Pictures from VH1’s blog.

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