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stonehearted
<<these tours are not The Who, which was something completely different.>>

If Keith Moon were alive today, there is no way he would be playing at the level he did in 1975 or before anyway. Just be glad that Pete and Rog are still willing to tour and celebrate the catalog, and we should be grateful for that while it lasts. Same with the 50% original line-up of the Stones (including Stu), which today is "something completely different" from what it was in 1965, but is still great for what it is nonetheless.

Besides, Keith Moon didn't write the songs--unless you like I Need You and Cobwebs and Strange better than Won't Get Fooled Again, etc.

Gotta agree. I deeply regret not having seen The Who in their glory days, and Moon and Entwistle were huge losses. But I love what you said about celebrating the catalog. Pete wrote fantastic songs, and if he and the original singer are willing to put some great musicians onstage and celebrate those songs, more power to them. Ironically, I only got to see The Who once - in 1988 on their much maligned reunion tour where Pete played mostly acoustic guitar. That fact notwithstanding, I thought they put on a powerful show and I loved it for what it was. And at least I got to see the legendary Ox play inhuman things on his 9 string bass!

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DoomandGloom

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RollingFreak

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Bastion
But it really was one of the biggest surprises I've ever had. Roger and Pete absolutely blew me away; probably one of the best shows I've seen, and in retrospect, I think I enjoyed it more than Macca.

I don't think I liked it more than McCartney, but right? It was such a good show. I waited so long to see them and it was my one splurge concert of the year (since tickets were 150 or so). The Who or whats left was one of the last on my list of legends to check off and I was so beyond happy they didn't disappoint. I didn't think it would suck, but I didn't think it would be as good as it was, and I was so happy to leave the show and be able to honestly tell people Pete and Roger killed it.

What Pete and Roger do is pretty cool. Seen it a number of times... Macca's show is better simply because it's very focused, designed around Paul and the band is stadium smooth. The Stones are a different game, still the legit band. Besides the 3 original members Ronnie and Bobby have been around for 40 years. Tim is a world class musician on B-3 as well sax. Chuck for all the joking round here is the best keyboard player money can buy. The Stones are a better band today than they were 20 years ago, the Mick Taylor cameos would be in comparison if Moon came out in the middle of today's Who show and played Magic Bus. Quad is a classic work of course but the story is still vague after all this time, Tommy, Who's Next, By The Numbers are more easy on the ears. There's been so many times Pete has pissed me off, touring while John's body was still warm, child porn and underage boy accusations, the wining about his hearing loss after 3 decades in front of 4 Hiwatts, loved him when I was a kid but now not so much. The Who are a power trio, later with Rabbit and Kenny Jones they still had some juice but the giant band is something else entirely. When Page and Plant toured they didn't call it Zeppelin because it wasn't and their tour was better because they respected their past accomplishment.

No offence, but you totally don't get the picture. Unless you were in the eye of any of those particular hurricanes, you know not of what you speak. Do some research on any of the topics you listed. The answers are right on the grid.

I saw The Who twice during the 2007 tour. They were simply sublime and I can only imagine what they were like during their Moon days. My dad constantly reminds me that whoever I see, I will never have the same experiences as him (Original Stones, Who, Zep, Floyd etc). Cheers dad

When Page and Plant toured, they didn't call it Led Zeppelin because John Paul Jones is still with us. Still, their 1998 sets were 3/4 Zeppelin songs, and most of those were in, or close to, the original arrangements.

Daltrey and Townshend can call their act The Who because they're Who's Left. What they trot out is pretty good, but no one's pretending that Entwistle and Moon aren't missed.

BTW, Daltrey's voice is in better shape since his throat was lasered around 2010.

My complaint with the upcoming live Quadrophenia box is that they released a Quadrophenia super deluxe edition in 2011. That edition included a surround mix of only half the album (along with the album in the 1996 mix remastered, 2 CDs of demos, and a single). The upcoming live Quadrophenia box will include a surround mix of the entire original album, less than three years after Townshend claimed some of the original multitracks had gone missing or weren't suitable for surround mixes. The surround mix of the entire original album should have been part of the 2011 box. So this new box is just a correction of an obvious defect in the original box.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-04-21 15:28 by ab.

The Who are still great, Pete's a genius and Quadrophenia their best work, with WHo Are You, Tommy and Who's Next not far behind.

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ab
When Page and Plant toured, they didn't call it Led Zeppelin because John Paul Jones is still with us. Still, their 1998 sets were 3/4 Zeppelin songs, and most of those were in, or close to, the original arrangements.

Daltrey and Townshend can call their act The Who because they're Who's Left. What they trot out is pretty good, but no one's pretending that Entwistle and Moon aren't missed.

BTW, Daltrey's voice is in better shape since his throat was lasered around 2010.

My complaint with the upcoming live Quadrophenia box is that they released a Quadrophenia super deluxe edition in 2011. That edition included a surround mix of only half the album (along with the album in the 1996 mix remastered, 2 CDs of demos, and a single). The upcoming live Quadrophenia box will include a surround mix of the entire original album, less than three years after Townshend claimed some of the original multitracks had gone missing or weren't suitable for surround mixes. The surround mix of the entire original album should have been part of the 2011 box. So this new box is just a correction of an obvious defect in the original box.

The overdubs were recorded onto the master and this has been cleverly fixed. Any piece of the box set is available on its own. No need to but the box if you don't want it.

A brief snippet of Pete's new song.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-04-26 18:03 by tatters.

Watching the blu-ray right now. It's fantastic! Pete has still got it. & Roger keeps his shirt on. There is a God. ><

I was at o2 second show. One of best ever. The Who even without Keith and John are fantastic. With them it would be best band.

I am looking forward to watching this. I ordered it last week. I was very impressed by the clip on Rollingstone of the song Quadrophenia. Very cool!

I wish I would've seen the show but they didn't play close to where I live. I blew the concert travel budget on the Stones in Vegas. It was worth it though.

Starting in Dec. will be covering the globe until 2016

The Who filled in those gaps between the Stones tours in the early 80s...I'll always be grateful for that! I was lucky to see them in 75 just months after the boys did America and it was a priviledge to see Keith Moon play. Good days, they were.

I must say I envy the people here that got to see these groups before they became nostalgic acts and where still at the forefront of music. Seeing the Who, the Stones, the Kinks, Floyd in the 70s at the top of their respective games is something I wish I could have seen, but was born way too late. Cheers to those that got to experience this magic!

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crholmstrom
Watching the blu-ray right now. It's fantastic! Pete has still got it. & Roger keeps his shirt on. There is a God. ><

lord have mercy, thank you.

Hi Has any one got the uk tour dates ?
thanks.

Hi Woody,

No dates have been announced...yet!
Believe me, I'll be keeping an eye open for them.



He is old enough to know better.
I am very glad that he doesn't!

Cheers,

Simon.

Many Thanks
So will I
the Quad shows at the 02 were brilliant.

Man Roger and Pete sound amazing! I am shocked how good they sound, and really wish I could have seen one of those shows!

[thewho.com]

Just announced. This is the link for the pre sale tickets. Enjoy


Edit: You need to be a member btw!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-30 16:11 by petewasbristol.

Dublin actually works great for me, with that Belfast optional 2nd gig just after as I did last June (2013). Was pretty good, though I was surprised to see that Dublin people were far from enthusiastic and the O2 was half empty.. Were also quite "cold" though I met a couple of youngsters from Belfast who walked with me to the O2 from central Dublin and made me laugh my longs out all through the way...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-30 16:27 by Wroclaw.

This is great! I would love to see them, if I could. BTW, The Pretty Things are playing in London this weekend, and this is a must-see, just like any of the Who concerts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-30 17:12 by Cristiano Radtke.

Oh yeah. Half of The Who tour 2014

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Cristiano Radtke
BTW, The Pretty Things are playing in London this weekend, and this is a must-see

I agree to more than 100%, I saw The Pretty Things last month. And they were really great!!

It would be interesting to see what the band adds to the setlist for this go 'round. Hopefully some numbers off By Numbers like Dreaming From The Waist and Slip Kid. New Song and Trick of the Light (even though it's an Entwistle song) would be great to hear as well.

I'm one of the 40,000 people who want to hear Slip Kid.

The Who Planning New Album Before Upcoming 50th Anniversary Tour

"This is the beginning of a long goodbye," says Roger Daltrey


By ANDY GREENE AND MARK SUTHERLAND
June 30, 2014 10:10 AM ET

The Who have announced dates for the first leg of their 50th anniversary tour, "The Who Hits 50," that will find the band visiting arenas across the UK in November and December before a planned North America tour in 2015.

Speaking at a good-humored press conference in London’s Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, where the band premiered Tommy in 1969, Roger Daltrey explained that the tour was "the beginning of a long goodbye."

"It will have a finality to it," he said of the dates. "We’ll stop touring, I’m sure, before we stop playing as a band, but just like Eric Clapton just said, it’s the grind of the road, it’s incredibly tough on the body..."

At this, Pete Townshend interjected, quipping: “The prostitutes, the heroin, the cocaine…”

“Can’t do any of it anymore!” laughed Daltrey.

Daltrey told Rolling Stone that while there are no confirmed U.S. dates currently booked, “We obviously want to do America to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ for supporting us over all those years. Someone [just] has to come up with a plan.”

According to a press release, "The band will play all the classic anthems as well as tackling deeper cuts from their catalogue…[They will] take their audience on an 'Amazing Journey' through their entire career from the days of The High Numbers to classic albums such as Who's Next, Tommy, Quadrophenia, My Generation, Live At Leeds up to the present day."

“Trying to stay young," Townshend said in a statement about the tour. "Not wearing socks. Growing a great big Woodcutter's beard. Might even wear a check shirt on stage and get a tattoo of a Union Jack. Always a fashion victim. But under no illusions. We are what we are, and extremely good at it, but we're lucky to be alive and still touring. If I had enough hairs to split, I would say that for 13 years since 1964 The Who didn't really exist, so we are really only 37."

The band gave a taster of the tour with a short acoustic set before the press conference, playing "Substitute," "Bargain," "The Kids Are Alright" and "Won’t Get Fooled Again." Townshend, however, noted some obscure songs that might make the setlist. "We could play 'Dogs (Part 2),' 'Dogs (Part 1),' 'Now I’m a Farmer.' We’re hoping there will be a few nice surprises for people that have seen us many times over the years."

The group's pledge to play rarities is a slight reversal from Roger Daltrey's comments to Rolling Stone last year about the tour's likely setlist. "Most people that want to come to a show want to hear what they grew up with," he said. "Let's not kid ourselves. We will always sell more tickets if we play the hits…There might be 40,000 total people in America who want to hear 'Slip Kid.' That won't be enough to put us on the road. That's the problem."

The band also revealed plans to enter the studio this summer to record a new album before the tour, their first since 2006's Endless Wire.

Townshend said at the press conference that he had given Daltrey three new songs. "I gave Roger three demos of three rough songs and happily he likes them," said Townshend. "I really liked the pub rock sound of the album [Daltrey] did with Wilko [Johnson] [2014's Going Back Home] and we may try to make the record in a slightly more basic way than we normally work, although a lot of my writing these days is pretty complicated. It’s more prog rock than pub rock!”

At the press conference, Townshend said playing the old songs brought back memories of his bandmates, drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, and bassist John Entwistle, who passed away in 2002.

"I miss John really terribly," he said. "I miss his demeanor. He had this way of smoking a cigarette, of drinking a drink… and I miss that. When I was running through 'Bargain' on the 12-string [guitar] at home last night… that’s how I wrote it, but we got in the studio and Keith Moon started to play bongo drums all over it. So that comes into my head and I think, 'How did we get away with that? I write this beautiful love song and [end up] wanging away with this ludicrous chimpanzee drummer!'"

The tour isn't being explicitly billed as a "farewell tour," but the band has indicated it will likely be their final major outing. "We intend to go on doing music until we drop, but we have to be realistic about our age," Daltrey said last year. "The touring is incredibly grinding on the body and we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. This will be the last old-fashioned, big tour."

The Who Hits 50 Tour Dates

11/30 Glasgow - SSE Hyrdo
12/2 Leeds - First Direct Arena
12/5 Nottingham - Capital FM Arena
12/7 Birmingham - NIA
12/9 Newcastle - Metro
12/11 Liverpool- Echo Arena
12/13 Manchester - Phones 4U Arena
12/15 Cardiff - Motorpoint
12/17 London - The O2

Seems to me they've promised rarities before and then not really delivered. As much as we complain about Stones setlists, it's worse for Who fans. Within any given tour, setlists rarely change from one night to the next.

^ At least they've crafted a latter-day classic in Tea & Theatre, one of the tracks from the 2006 album Endless Wire. It has become an indispensable part of the set list, and they've played it every show since it was released, something you can't say about the Stones and how they seem to have completely written off A Bigger Bang, with the sole exception of Rome a few days back.

If the Stones crafted one--just one--new and indispensable song for their live performances, I think there would be a lot less complaints about the set list.

At the Who Quadrophenia and More show I saw in 2012, after they did the album they featured a handful of greatest hits and audience favorites--one of which was the above-mentioned Tea & Theatre. A younger fan in his thirties standing next to his girlfriend two seats away leaned over to me during the song and asked what the title was. He didn't know it, but he had to know the title, because he liked it. That's what is meant by classic songs--they grab you on first listen, and you never let them go.