The Ox & The Loon
April 24, 2014
House of Blues- Los Angeles, CA
One of the greatest rock tributes had taken place on April 24, 2014 at the historic House of Blues in Hollywood, CA. This tribute went out to John Entwistle and Keith Moon of The Who, both known as, ‘The Ox’ and ‘The Loon’. Before the all-star line-up would pretty much just jam to songs together for about 4 hours, the show opened with an exciting set from local Arizona band, The Black Moods. The trio really had great energy even though performing to a crowd full of The Who fans, from back when the band still toured with their original members. The crowd got more and more into their set as it progressed and it was a perfect way to start what was going to be an amazing show.
Starting promptly at 8:30, the jamming began. The event organizers, Brian Tichy and Joe Sutton came out on stage ever so often, talking about the great influences The Who had on musicians and would introduce the all star line-up, almost song after song. Tichy, known as the drummer for groups including Whitesnack, Foreigner, Lynch Mob and others, performed guitar for most of the night with the all stars. Although there were many great musicians, that night focused solely on the rhythm section, bass and drums, something that is under appreciated in music today; but that didn’t mean the guitarists, keyboards and vocalists did were sub-par. They were incredible musicians who did an beyond excellent job honoring Moon and Entwistle.
Because this show was so long and there were so many amazing musicians, it would take endless amounts of time to explain each of them in detail, without writing a novel. To keep it short, some of the high-lights included Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers who performed Young Man Blues with James Lomenzo on bass, Michael Devin singing and Brian Tichy on guitar and Baba O’ Riley. On the drums, another high-light of the night was Mike Portnoy with Billy Sheehan on bass performing Tommy Overture; Amazing Journey & Sparks. Before taking his rightful spot on stage, Portnoy spoke about Keith Moon in great detail and how Moon inspired him to play the drums and Moon being his biggest drum hero. He then went on to show the audience one of the best performances on the drums on that night. 
The night was full of amazing bassists and the high-lights of the bassists were of course, Robert Trujillo of Metallica. He wasn’t there just because he is in one of the world’s most famous metal bands, but because he is truly a genius on the bass. He had just finished surgery several days prior the performance so he wasn’t walking around stage, his bass nearly touching the floor for this performance. He stood in one place and showed everyone how important the bass guitar is. Accompanying him for Who Are You was Dug Pinnick on vocals, Kenny Arnoff on drums, Brent Wood on guitar and Michael Devin on bass. Another highlight for the bassist of the night was Jeff Pilson of Foreigner, previously bassist for Dokken and Dio. He performed My Generation with Stephen Perkins of Janes Addiction on drums, Tom Gimbel of Foreigner on vocals, Rowan Robertson formerly of Dio on guitar and Stephen LeBlanc on the keys. He also performed Pinball Wizard with Kenny Aronoff on drums, Gimbel on vocals, Tichy on guitar, Robertson on guitar and Brent Woods on guitar. Pilson put on an energized performance, jumping around and running around the stage alongside the band.
Aside from all the great music, the night wouldn’t be complete without some awards. There were two awards given out to the legend bass and drum players. The bass award went to Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead who came up on stage to accept the award and thank the crowd. Next up was the award for the legend drummer and after Tichy finished reading an endless list of bands this performer was in, Kenny Aronoff rightly won the drum legend award. He came on stage and was in complete shock, and extremely thankful and grateful. He mocked Grammy winners who say they had no idea this was happening to them but now he felt the same exact way.
This show was one big jam night with legends performing songs by The Who and it had to be topped off with an incredible finale, which is exactly what all the fans received. All of the remaining musicians took the stage together and performed Won’t Get Fooled Again for at least 20 minutes. Each drummer got on the kid for a solo and the bassists did the same. At the very end, snares, kick drums and toms were flying all over the stage, a way that all true rock shows should end! This show was something truly special to both fans of The Who or just fans of some of the performers, being over 3 hours long, it had something everyone could enjoy.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
Set List:
01. Can’t Explain – Brian Tichy (drums), Phil Chen (bass), Joe Retta (vocals), Rowan Robertson (guitar), Brent Woods (guitar), Stephen LeBlanc (keyboard), James Lomenzo (backing vocals)
02. Join Together – Tichy (d), Chen (b), Retta (v), Robertson (g), Woods (g) , LeBlanc (k), Lomenzo (bv)
03. Squeeze Box – Rikki Rockett (d), Sean McNabb (b), Tom Gimbel (v), Tracii Guns (g), LeBlanc (k)
04. Kids Are Alright – Rockett (d), McNabb (b), Gimbel (v), Guns (g)
05. Goin’ Mobile – Dave Lombardo (d), Dug Pinnick (b), Michael Devin (v), Woods (g), Robertson (g), Tichy (g)
06. Bargain – Lombardo (d), Pancho Tomaselli (b), Retta (v), Woods (g)
07. Summer Time Blues – Lombardo (d), Tomaselli (b), Retta (v), Woods (g)
08. See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You – Veronica Bellino (d), Lomenzo (b), Oni Logan (v), Tichy (g), Woods (g), LeBlanc (k)
09. Punk And The Godfather – Bellino (d), Lomenzo (b), Chas West (v), Woods (g), Tichy (g), LeBlanc (k)
10. My Generation – Stephen Perkins (d), Jeff Pilson (b), Tom Gimbel (v), Robertson (g), LeBlanc (k)
11. Pinball Wizard – Kenny Aronoff (d), Pilson (b), Gimbel (v), Robertson (g), Tichy (g), Woods (g)
12. Boris The Spider – Aronoff (d), Phil Soussan (b), Gimbel (v), Robertson (g)
13. I Can See For Miles – Aronoff (d), Soussan (b), Gimbel (v), Tichy (g), Woods (g), LeBlanc (k), Lomenzo (bv)
14. Who Are You – Aronoff (d), Devin (b), Gimbel (v), Woods (g), LeBlanc (k), West (bv), Lomenzo (bv)
15. Tommy Overture – Mike Portnoy (d), Billy Sheehan (b), West (v), Robertson (g), LeBlanc (k)
16. Amazing Journey / Sparks – Portnoy (d), Sheehan (b), West (v), Robertson (g), LeBlanc (k)
17. The Real Me – Perkins (d), Robert Trujillo (b), Pinnick (v), Jody Porter (g), LeBlanc (k)
18. Long Live Rock – Perkins (d), Trujillo (b), Pinnick (v), Porter (g), LeBlanc (k), Lomenzo (bv), Tichy (bv)
19. Young Man Blues – Chad Smith (d), Lomenzo (b), Devin (v), Tichy (g)
20. Baba O’Riley – Smith (d), Lomenzo (b), Devin (v) Tichy (g), LeBlanc (k)
21. Substitute – Matt Starr (d), Chris Wyse (b), Ace Frehley (g/v)
22. Pictures Of Lily – Starr (d), Wyse (b), Frehley (g/v)
23. The Seeker – Starr (d), Wyse (b), Frehley (g/v)
24. Love Reign O’er Me – Tichy (d), Devin (b), West (v), Guns (g), Woods (g), LeBlanc (k)
25. Won’t Get Fooled Again / Grand Finale – Everyone
The Black Moods
Kenny Arnoff and Lemmy Kilmister receive awards
Mike Portnoy
Chad Smith
Robert Trujillo
Kenny Arnoff
Other performances
