The Who
Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, FL
August 7, 1976
JEMS Archive

Roger Daltrey (vocals, harmonica, tambourine)
John Entwistle (bass and vocals)
Keith Moon (drums)
Pete Townshend (guitar and vocals)

Recording gear: Unknown mic (mono) > Unknown recorder

JEMS 2017 Transfer: first generation cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 2.0 (16/44.1 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX and Ozone > FLAC

01. Intro
02. I Can�t Explain
03. Substitute
04. My Wife
05. Baba O�Riley
06. Squeeze Box
07. Behind Blue Eyes
08. Dreaming From the Waist
09. Magic Bus
10. Amazing Journey (cut)
11. Sparks
12. The Acid Queen
13. Fiddle About
14. Pinball Wizard
15. I�m Free
16. Tommy�s Holiday Camp
17. We�re Not Gonna Take It
18. See Me, Feel Me
19. Summertime Blues
20. My Generation (with Join Together, My Generation Blues)

One great thing about the JEMS archive is its surprise element, and this certainly qualifies: a first-generation copy of The Who�s 1976 concert in Jacksonville, Florida, cleaned up nicely and sounding very good.

It�s plausible that Jared provided the taper with helpful instructions or even loaned the right hardware. We don�t know for sure, but by 1976 he�d begun trading tapes and adding performances to his library. We�d welcome hearing from the taper or any credible clue about the origin of the recording. For now, let�s focus on a material upgrade for the August 7 concert in Jacksonville.

For a big, loud stadium show, the sonics are quite clear, and the capture is right down the middle. Only the applause sounds somewhat distant, indicating that the taper managed to find a really good spot to get a consistent blast of sound and little else. Other than a few dips (likely instances of the mic being lowered), the sound is nice and even (but good luck translating all of Keith Moon�s remarks as he introduces �Behind Blue Eyes�).

The Who weren�t varying the set, and back-to-basics was in full-force, meaning Quadrophenia material was out. Even the moderate complexity of �Slip Kid� had been abandoned; at this show, only �Squeeze Box� and �Dreaming From the Waist� represent The Who by Numbers. Moments I always enjoy: the musical interplay in �I Can�t Explain,� and Keith Moon�s thunderous entry into �Amazing Journey� (a track that isn�t complete). This show features a great outing for �Sparks,� a robust �Summertime Blues,� and a great jam in the blues section of �My Generation,� which gets its familiar �Join Together� tag, too. �Won�t Get Fooled Again� was the last song, and for some reason, it doesn�t appear on the tapes we have. That might feel jarring, so proceed with that in mind.

This short summer leg comprised four shows and is well-documented: remarkable footage from Miami lives on YouTube, and Jared recorded both nights at the Capital Centre in Maryland. In fact, he pointed to the first night�s tape as one of his better ones, if not the best. That�s quite an honor. But he never mentioned Jacksonville, from a year that John Entwistle anoints as one of the Who�s best on stage. We�re happy to present it, solid in all its elements. Now if we could just get Trinifold Management, Eagle Rock, Nugs, and Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux on the same page: please release the Who�s October 9 and 10 sets from Oakland � give John�s case a full hearing! (We humbly suggest the title �Doc�s Picks, Vols. I and II.�). Until those recordings appear, enjoy this.

Thanks to Butterking for retrieving, transferring, and generally conserving the tapes. Thanks to the late great Jared Houser and his incredible contributions to the JEMS Archive. If you�d like to learn more about Jared, spend 13 minutes watching this short video tribute to him: https://vimeo.com/190021070/14a4b5b7ca

Legendary UK music journalist Chris Charlesworth wrote up his memories of the show here:

http://justbackdated.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-who-jacksonville-1976-playing-for.html

And professional photographer Mickey Adair took amazing photos, archived here (scroll down a bit):

http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/mickey-adair?page=2&excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&phrase=mickey%20adair

Share this freely, and for free!

- slipkid68