It sure has been a busy time in the Chicago concert scene lately, hasn't it? Eric Clapton, The Who, Tom Petty and Roger Waters have all played recently with Aerosmith/Motley Crue, Bob Seger, The Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, Steve Miller, and now Guns 'n' Roses amongst others all heading our way. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who dropped by the Loop this week while extending their stay in Chicago by several days to soak up our town and hang out. Chicago is a world-class city with a huge musical heritage and a deep appreciation for music that out-of-town musicians delight in absorbing... and returning to. Just as the Stones are coming back, look for The Who to announce a return visit to town in the near future. The first show was a sold out affair (complete with an ice cream bar backstage!) with rave reviews and the debut of new tracks from the first new Who CD ("Endless Wire") in nearly 25 years. Roger, Pete and John Entwistle had been talking about doing a new record for years, and it is finally seeing the light of day. Roger and Pete were jolted by the passing of John Entwistle several years ago, decided that time was short and wanted to get it done in memory of John. I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to get to know John Entwistle over the years prior to his death in 2002 in Las Vegas. Sadly, the day he passed away, he had scheduled to sit down with me and talk about the then upcoming Who tour over dinner. About 4pm that day, I received the sobering call that John had suddenly died a few hours earlier. Almost immediately, Roger and Pete announced that the tour would continue, which must have been a very difficult and emotional decision to make. Robert Plant confided in me later that he felt that The Who had made the right decision, and indicated that from time to time, he even wonders if Led Zeppelin should perhaps have tried to carry on when John Bonham died. If the reaction at the United Center was any indication, the fans backed the decision of The Who whole-heartedly. The Roger Waters show at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre was another slam-dunk success, since Roger and his crack band played the entire "Dark Side Of The Moon" disc, start to finish along with many other Pink Floyd gems. During conversations I had recently with Roger and Nick Mason (also of Floyd), the relations between the members definitely seem to be improving with both Roger and Nick stating that they were in favor of more reunion shows (ala "Live 8") in the future. Perhaps we may yet see a full Pink Floyd reunion tour. Even David Gilmour (the most reluctant of the members) admitted to me recently that more re-union gigs were not out of the question. You can listen to my conversations with them on my main page on the wlup.com website. And finally, if you missed me breaking the news Saturday afternoon on my show, Guns 'n' Roses (Axl Rose + his new backing band) will be playing a Loop show at the Allstate Arena November 27th in support of the still unreleased "Chinese Democracy" CD with my long-time friend Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame opening up. Tickets go on sale Friday October 13th at 10am through the Allstate Arena box office, Ticketmaster and wlup.com.