TORONTO - They won't get fooled again.
Eric Michael Costello is struggling to explain to his seven-year-old daughter why The Who's Pete Townshend told them to "F--- off" in front of thousands of other fans.
Costello, 50, brought his daughter Janey -- a self-proclaimed huge fan of The Who -- to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum Tuesday to watch the iconic Brit band play. Like when his parents brought him to see his first Elvis Presley show when he was 12, Costello wanted Janey's first concert experience to be perfect.
Except it wasn't.
"I expect a 70-something-year-old man to respect the fact there's a seven-year-old girl standing in front of him," Costello said in a phone interview from Cleveland Thursday.
"Whether it was directed to just me or both of us, you can't tell -- she was on my shoulders and he was looking directly at us. But nobody talks to my seven-year-old daughter like that. Nobody tells my kid to f--- off."
A video captures the incident involving the 67-year-old legendary guitar player/songwriter.
"Don't wave that sign," Townshend says onstage. "Just don't wave it at me. Don't bring your children "¦ use them. I want to tell you two words, but I can't because you have a child on you."
He then proceeded to expressively mouth the words "F--- off."
Last year, when Janey saw The Who would be touring in her area, she begged her father to take her. He decided he would surprise her with a pair of tickets to the show for her birthday in December. Costello, a special education teacher, spent a week's salary -- nearly $300 -- on the 15th-row floor tickets.
"It was a big deal to her," he said. "We watched The Kids are Alright at least a dozen times. I had to keep explaining to her it wasn't the same band as before -- they don't smash up their equipment, they're older now and they don't behave like that.
She understood that, but there was still a part of her that longed for that kind of performance."
In the days leading up to the show, Janey painted a sign to bring with them that read, "Smash Your Guitar, Pete!"
At the show, towards the end of the band's first set when they played their famous Quadrophenia record, Costello hoisted his daughter on his shoulders and they walked towards the stage. A couple in the fourth row who thought the sign was cute offered the family their seats, he said.
Then Townshend dropped what appeared to be the F-bomb to the sound of cheers and applause.
"It all happened so quickly," Costello said. "Some people have explained that (Townshend) had thought that I was using her (to get up to the front) and I want to make it perfectly clear that is not what happened at all and I support my daughter in what she wants to do."
After being scorned by Townshend, Costello and his daughter glumly returned to their seats. She began whimpering, he said, because while she had protective headphones on during the incident, she recognized her rock hero appeared angry at her.
"I'd like him to know in some small way he broke a little girl's heart," Costello said. "Both she and I were huge fans of the band and now I'm left trying to explain to her that heroes are not infallible. Instead of being this joyous, momentous occasion, it turned into a sad, regrettable kind of incident."
Attempts to contact Townshend through his music representative Universal Music Canada were unsuccessful Thursday. The Who were scheduled to play New York Thursday and New Jersey on Friday.
While he doesn't expect rock stars to be on their best behaviour, Costello insists they need to use common sense, especially at all-ages shows.
He said he would consider bringing his daughter to see The Who again in the future, but only if Townshend has his mouth washed out with soap.
"I don't want people to think I'm exploiting the situation," he said. "I don't want anything out of this. I would appreciate an apology from Pete Townshend, but I certainly don't expect one."
https://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/21/pete-townshends-f----off-breaks-young-fans-heart
Eric Michael Costello is struggling to explain to his seven-year-old daughter why The Who's Pete Townshend told them to "F--- off" in front of thousands of other fans.
Costello, 50, brought his daughter Janey -- a self-proclaimed huge fan of The Who -- to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum Tuesday to watch the iconic Brit band play. Like when his parents brought him to see his first Elvis Presley show when he was 12, Costello wanted Janey's first concert experience to be perfect.
Except it wasn't.
"I expect a 70-something-year-old man to respect the fact there's a seven-year-old girl standing in front of him," Costello said in a phone interview from Cleveland Thursday.
"Whether it was directed to just me or both of us, you can't tell -- she was on my shoulders and he was looking directly at us. But nobody talks to my seven-year-old daughter like that. Nobody tells my kid to f--- off."
A video captures the incident involving the 67-year-old legendary guitar player/songwriter.
"Don't wave that sign," Townshend says onstage. "Just don't wave it at me. Don't bring your children "¦ use them. I want to tell you two words, but I can't because you have a child on you."
He then proceeded to expressively mouth the words "F--- off."
Last year, when Janey saw The Who would be touring in her area, she begged her father to take her. He decided he would surprise her with a pair of tickets to the show for her birthday in December. Costello, a special education teacher, spent a week's salary -- nearly $300 -- on the 15th-row floor tickets.
"It was a big deal to her," he said. "We watched The Kids are Alright at least a dozen times. I had to keep explaining to her it wasn't the same band as before -- they don't smash up their equipment, they're older now and they don't behave like that.
She understood that, but there was still a part of her that longed for that kind of performance."
In the days leading up to the show, Janey painted a sign to bring with them that read, "Smash Your Guitar, Pete!"
At the show, towards the end of the band's first set when they played their famous Quadrophenia record, Costello hoisted his daughter on his shoulders and they walked towards the stage. A couple in the fourth row who thought the sign was cute offered the family their seats, he said.
Then Townshend dropped what appeared to be the F-bomb to the sound of cheers and applause.
"It all happened so quickly," Costello said. "Some people have explained that (Townshend) had thought that I was using her (to get up to the front) and I want to make it perfectly clear that is not what happened at all and I support my daughter in what she wants to do."
After being scorned by Townshend, Costello and his daughter glumly returned to their seats. She began whimpering, he said, because while she had protective headphones on during the incident, she recognized her rock hero appeared angry at her.
"I'd like him to know in some small way he broke a little girl's heart," Costello said. "Both she and I were huge fans of the band and now I'm left trying to explain to her that heroes are not infallible. Instead of being this joyous, momentous occasion, it turned into a sad, regrettable kind of incident."
Attempts to contact Townshend through his music representative Universal Music Canada were unsuccessful Thursday. The Who were scheduled to play New York Thursday and New Jersey on Friday.
While he doesn't expect rock stars to be on their best behaviour, Costello insists they need to use common sense, especially at all-ages shows.
He said he would consider bringing his daughter to see The Who again in the future, but only if Townshend has his mouth washed out with soap.
"I don't want people to think I'm exploiting the situation," he said. "I don't want anything out of this. I would appreciate an apology from Pete Townshend, but I certainly don't expect one."
https://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/21/pete-townshends-f----off-breaks-young-fans-heart
