Ink

The only diehards who might be as disappointed or depressed as Indy Colts fans are Who fans. Daltrey/Townshend was a mess. Roger wasn't exactly nailing the high notes and he looked like he couldn't hear himself. The camera cut away from him to a long shot during that volcanic vocal blast at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- one of the most famous screams in rock history. No surprise.

Townshend looked like the tipsy uncle dancing at a big family wedding. The guitar windmill would have been more respectable if his shirt had been buttoned all the way down so we wouldn't see his very white belly.

The last time anyone delivered anything must-see at a halftime show was when Prince played at the Colts/Bears Super Bowl, also in Miami. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers are one of the most reliable live acts out there but even their set in 2008 was static. This ritual seems to have outlived itself, at least as a tel. I was at the 2004 Super Bowl -- the Janet Jackson show -- and a lot of the fans in the stadium weren't watching or can't really appreciate what's going on. And the TV audience? There aren't many things more static than a rock band mugging, posing and whipping through a  medley of its hits.

Last night's set was the wrong kind of informercial. I'm guessing that anyone on the fence over the Clapton/Daltrey show coming to the Sprint Center won't be persuaded to buy tickets after watching/hearing Daltrey last night. All the lasers and Beatles progeny in the world couldn't save last night's show, which sent the kind of message the music industry doesn't need: Its best days are way behind us.