that was fun...let's do it again!

The Who with Orchestra: Roger Daltrey couldn’t even read the setlist – but with music this magnificent, who cares?



As Daltrey prepares to step down from the Teenage Cancer Trust, there’s not only life in the old dogs yet but also power, purpose and vision

Neil McCormick
19 March 2024


Ian West/PA Wire

“I didn’t know we were going to be playing Tommy, it wasn’t on the list,” griped Pete Townshend, after a sustained 40-minute highlights rendition of his hugely ambitious and complex rock opera, which the 78-year-old guitarist had apparently negotiated with sheer muscle memory and virtuosity.

“I’ve got a list here,” shot back 80-year-old frontman Roger Daltrey, squinting through thick glasses. “But it means f--- all, cos I can’t read it.”

In the most venerable venue in London, two old men squabbled amiably onstage, joked about their fading hearing, eyesight and memories, and played the hits of their youth for charity. “I’m trying to remember when I wrote all this s---,” pondered Townshend, making the band wait while he ran through a chord sequence. “It’s gotta be 50 years ago.”

“They’re old ’uns, but good ’uns,” chuckled Daltrey.

Who are The Who? They were once the fiercest, wildest live band of their generation, who sang “I hope I die before I get old” and played like they might not even make it to the end of a concert alive, delivering their genius guitarist’s expansive songs with fast and furious flair, pulling material to bits and reassembling it by the seat of their pants, then ending in a blaze of autodestruction.

Utterly thrilling as that was, perhaps it really wasn’t a sustainable model for rock performance. Two members did indeed die before they got old, and the surviving twosome have matured into something else entirely, veteran road warriors, backed by a five-piece band capable of exactly replicating their most ambitious recordings, and here augmented by a full orchestra adding brass, string and timpani force to Townshend’s distorted guitar power chords amid a miasmic web of synthesizers, nimble bass and tom-tom-heavy drums from Zak Starkey (son of Ringo, taught to play by The Who’s late, great Keith Moon).

It was utterly magnificent. The sound was fantastic, filling the Royal Albert Hall with a glorious richness, doubling up the punchy drive of The Who’s earth-shaking rock with cinematic lushness. The songs were as bold, strange and potent as ever, from the searing blaze of Who Are You and Won’t Get Fooled Again to the skyscraping emotion of Love Reign O’er Me. Townshend’s apparently under-rehearsed playing was gutsy, crunchy and exciting. I think he is always at his most interesting when he is forced to engage intensely with his instrument. And what can we say about Daltrey, an octogenarian who still sings at the top of his range with lung-busting power as if he wants to punch his way out of the song and woe betide anyone who gets in front of him.

I have to say that sweat poured out of him all night, and when he briefly attempted his trademark microphone lasso swing he looked like he might do himself an injury. The Who have been doing farewell tours for over a decade now, but I have heard mutterings that this really might be at least the beginning of the end. Daltrey has not ceded to retirement but, after 24 years, he is stepping down from his role curating the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts that have raised more than £32 million. But on this evidence, there is not just life in the old dogs yet, there is energy, purpose, soul and vision. Like the man said, they’re old ’uns, but they’re good ’uns.

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

For what it's worth, my little story about tomorrow evening..

I grew up in Dartford and went to the same school as Jagger (a fair few years later mind!) but it was only really during Covid, as a young adult, I fell in love with the Stones and could really appreciate what they have achieved. I have consumed almost every record, book and documentary about them since, travelled around Europe watching them during SIXTY and even experienced them releasing new material.

One thing it also made me appreciate was the history of rock n' roll and music in general, especially in and around London. I haven't even scratched the surface yet, but have already enjoyed so much footage and literature on the decades before me, as well as a fair few gigs of those still going.

Something that stood out to me was a story my dad told about The Who. He happened to go to Leeds University and was there, in person, for the famous Live at Leeds gig in 1970! Just about the coolest thing he's ever done, other than produce moi.

So tomorrow, I will create long lasting memories and take pleasure in seeing a band that my dad saw 54 years on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-03-19 22:52 by cole.

Quote
cole
For what it's worth, my little story about tomorrow evening..

I grew up in Dartford and went to the same school as Jagger (a fair few years later mind!) but it was only really during Covid, as a young adult, I fell in love with the Stones and could really appreciate what they have achieved. I have consumed almost every record, book and documentary about them since, travelled around Europe watching them during SIXTY and even experienced them releasing new material.

One thing it also made me appreciate was the history of rock n' roll and music in general, especially in and around London. I haven't even scratched the surface yet, but have already enjoyed so much footage and literature on the decades before me, as well as a fair few gigs of those still going.

Something that stood out to me was a story my dad told about The Who. He happened to go to Leeds University and was there, in person, for the famous Live at Leeds gig in 1970! Just about the coolest thing he's ever done, other than produce moi.

So tomorrow, I will create long lasting memories and take pleasure in seeing a band that my dad saw 54 years on.

Nice. Enjoy the show.

Ha, great review, and nice b*tch slap delivered at the end...

This is Daltrey’s final year of curating the Teenage Cancer Trust events, and on this showing – to borrow a phrase from some peers he’d blow off any stage – he couldn’t be going out with a bigger bang.

Couldn’t agree more with the reviews - Monday was an incredible show. So lucky to have been there. Some bits are emerging on YouTube, hoping for more. Still shaking my head in admiration! Many thanks, B!

Eddie Vedder guests on "The Punk And The Godfather" - Royal Albert Hall, March 20

Quote
bye bye johnny
“I didn’t know we were going to be playing Tommy, it wasn’t on the list,” griped Pete Townshend, after a sustained 40-minute highlights rendition of his hugely ambitious and complex rock opera, which the 78-year-old guitarist had apparently negotiated with sheer muscle memory and virtuosity.

“I’ve got a list here,” shot back 80-year-old frontman Roger Daltrey, squinting through thick glasses. “But it means f--- all, cos I can’t read it.”

In the most venerable venue in London, two old men squabbled amiably onstage, joked about their fading hearing, eyesight and memories, and played the hits of their youth for charity. “I’m trying to remember when I wrote all this s---,” pondered Townshend, making the band wait while he ran through a chord sequence. “It’s gotta be 50 years ago.”

Not to pull the curtain back, and maybe its all just shtick which is fine, but I don't really get this. They played almost exactly the same set they played last year, so what is Pete talking about when he needs to remember anything or not knowing they were playing Tommy? I'm sure they sound good, but its not like they're wildly changing the setlist each night, its pretty set in stone.

My review of the two RAH gigs written for Record Collector magazine here

[onlyrockandroll.london]

With ‘Tommy’ Revival, Pete Townshend Is Talking to a New Generation

He’s also still working through his childhood trauma. Considering his musical’s legacy, he sees a story about how “we prevail ultimately, by turning toward the light.”

By Rob Tannenbaum
March 23, 2024


Erik Tanner for The New York Times

[www.nytimes.com]

[archive.ph]

Quote
johnnythunders
that was fun...let's do it again!

These two shows were utterly magnificent !!

What a joy and a privilege to have been there .....

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Pete on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", March 26

Pete talks with Tracy Smith on "CBS Sunday Morning", March 31

That Tommy Melody was pretty horrible. Second guitarist doing a lot of PT's heavy lifting on the acoustic.

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peoplewitheyes
That Tommy Melody was pretty horrible. Second guitarist doing a lot of PT's heavy lifting on the acoustic.

I guess youre just deaf, dumb and blind

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More Hot Rocks

Quote
peoplewitheyes
That Tommy Melody was pretty horrible. Second guitarist doing a lot of PT's heavy lifting on the acoustic.

I guess youre just deaf, dumb and blind

He plays a mean pinball, though.

Pete compliments Keith in recent interview..sort of...

"And it's turned out, surprise, surprise, that rock'n'roll is really good at dealing with the difficulties of aging. Watching Keith Richards onstage, trying to do what he used to do – it’s disturbing, heart-rending, but also delightful."

By Fraser Lewry
( Classic Rock )
published 25 March 2024

Quote
tommycharles
The ‘14-‘17 tour was talked about as being the end. They got a second wind with the orchestra shows in ‘19-‘23. I expect these RAH shows to be actually it.

Pete Townshend Now Says There Will Not Be a Who Farewell Tour: ‘I Was Being Sarcastic’

[variety.com]

“I don’t get much of a buzz from performing with the Who. If I’m really honest, I’ve been touring for the money. My idea of an ‘ordinary lifestyle’ is pretty elevated.”

Sounds like a fun guy

Pete Townshend did indeed tell Alan Light & Mark Goodman that there won't be a Farewell Tour He referenced the fact that they'd already done that - in 1982.

Asked directly by Goodman if The Who will tour again, Pete's response was "Why not? I think the only thing that would stop us would be old age."

The full "Sound Up!" podcast is a good listen - [open.spotify.com]

Pete Townshend Says The Who Will 'Certainly' Tour Again By 2025

By Andrew Magnotta
May 15, 2024

The Who have no plans for a farewell tour, but guitarist Pete Townshend is certain that the band will hit the road again by next year at the latest.

Speaking with Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr Rock and Roll Morning Show on Wednesday, Townshend explained that while there are many decisions to be made, he and frontman Roger Daltrey fully intend to work out the details of a tour at some point this year.

"We certainly will [tour], I don't know when," Townshend explained. "Maybe later this year in '24, maybe early '25, but we will definitely be back."

He acknowledged that there has been some confusion about whether he and Daltrey actually want to tour again with The Who. Townshend reportedly declined an offer for a Who tour this year, but he tells Q104.3 that was only because his schedule was too busy with other projects, including the revival of The Who's Tommy musical on Broadway.

"Roger is out doing a few shows at the moment," Townshend noted. "We were offered a tour as a final tour by Live Nation in August and I turned it down. But I didn't turn it down because they wanted it to be marked up as a 'final tour.' I turned it down because I'm involved in Tommy, I have some other projects that I'm working on, and my year is really busy so I turned it down. But there will be a tour soon, without question."

Townshend said that a longstanding source of dissonance is that he and Daltrey have fundamentally different relationships with performing live. Townshend admitted that his own ambivalence for playing live is unusual for someone in his position (as a legendary rock star), and abnormal to many of his peers, including Daltrey.

"My feeling about performing is very different to [Roger's], but very different to pretty much everybody that I know," the guitarist admitted. "I don't get much out of it. I don't enjoy it that much. I'm not a natural-born performer, but when I look at myself on the stage after I've got an adrenaline rush, I have always managed to pull off some amazing stuff. But it's never really fulfilled me in the same way that sitting in a studio does and writing a song, writing music or even writing words, lyrics.

"For me, there's no drive to perform, no anxiety to get in front of an audience and be validated," he continued. "I get that from people responding to my work as a writer and a composer and a recording artist. Some people just love being in front of an audience, and Roger is one of those people. He comes alive, you know. ... He fronts the band in the most incredible way. I'm a little bit blasé."

[q1043.iheart.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-16 03:52 by bye bye johnny.

[ultimateclassicrock.com]

Guess the guy who runs the tape of that is out of a job. Been prerecorded for years.

Roger Daltrey talks new tour, thoughts on Broadway’s ‘Tommy’ and future of The Who

By JOHN CARUCCI
June 10, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — As Roger Daltrey hits the road on a short solo tour this June, he’s unsure if fans will ever see another tour from The Who.

“I don’t see it. I don’t know whether The Who’ll ever will go out again,” he told The Associated Press over Zoom.

The 80-year-old rocker has a “use-it-or-lose it-mentality” when it comes to his singing voice, so he finds it necessary to perform as much as possible, with or without The Who.

Recently, Daltrey spoke with The Associated Press on the future of the band, his solo tour and his feelings on the Broadway revival of The Who’s seminal rock opera, “Tommy.”

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: What do you think of the “Tommy” Broadway revival?

DALTREY: I’m glad the album is still out there; it means a lot to me. It’s the best opera ever written. I don’t particularly like it (the musical). It’s been altered and changed. I can’t imagine cutting some of the music in “Madame Butterfly,” or some other great operas.

AP: So, you think of it as a straight-up opera, as opposed to a rock opera?

DALTREY: It’s a fabulous opera. It was tongue and cheek at the time that we called it an opera. We did take a lot of chances with it. But since living with it and playing it on stage, and having seen lots of grand opera, I saw I had one in my hands. So, I’ve come to conclusion that it’s the best opera ever written.

AP: Tell us about the tour.

DALTREY: I’m bringing a band over from the U.K. of eight people, a very different sounding band with different instrumentation. No synthesizers. It’s just about having a lot of fun playing different songs, and obviously some Who classics. But we do them different. So it’s just something I love to do. And people seem to like it when I take it out there. So, I’m just going to put my toe in the water.

AP: So you’ll play solo material and The Who stuff?

DALTREY: Having a band like this gives me an opportunity to do a lot of things that I’ve done over the years with different artists, like the stuff I did with Wilko Johnson 10 years ago. I will do some solo stuff, plus some covers of other people that I really admire to make a night of entertainment and fun. So many people are retiring. All the good old boys are retiring and it’s very thin out there.

AP: Is getting out there in front of an audience what keeps your voice intact?

DALTREY: That’s always been the impetus for me ever since I had my voice problems out. You’ve got to keep using it. Just like anything else in the body. You stop walking, you lose the muscles in your legs. The voice is a similar thing. If you stop using those muscles in the voice box and the vocal cords, they’ll go soft on you and you’ll lose your voice. Mine is remarkable for my age.

AP: Simon Townsend is performing with you — not his brother, The Who’s Pete Townsend. What is it like supplementing one Townsend for another?

DALTREY: Simon Townsend is always in my solo shows. Simon has always been with me. Well, he’s a totally different guy than Pete, though he’s got very similar timber to his voice that suits my voice in the harmonies. He’s a great musician, fabulous guitarist and a great guy. You know, I’ve known him for 60 years.

AP: What’s the difference being touring with The Who and hitting the road solo?

DALTREY: It’s a lot less weight on my shoulders by myself. The Who feels like, I don’t know, heavier. It’s always much more relaxed and solo shows.

AP: There’s less pressure with a solo gig?

DALTREY: Because it’s the responsibility with The Who — there’s heritage and history to maintain that always need to be in a good light, so it puts a lot of weight on your shoulders. But with this band, I’ve discovered that I can go out there and have a good time and play any kind of music that I want.

AP: Can you give me an example?

DALTREY: I was doing some solo shows on a cruise, and I got this terrible allergy just before the first show. I ended up in hospital and didn’t know whether I’d make the cruise. But I did make the cruise. Anyway, I ended up having to do three shows back-to-back, and I’m thinking I was not able to have a sound check. I’m not going to get a rehearsal. But at least these three shows I can do. Soundchecks are very important when you’re on the road. And I thought, “I know what I’ll do, I’ll show the audience a rehearsal.” And that’s what I did. I did the show as a rehearsal and talked about what’s going on the stage, what the roadies were doing, and what everyone was doing. And they really enjoyed it. If you can get away with that, you get away with anything.

AP: With a career that began in the mid-1960s, what has been the biggest change you’ve seen over the years?

DALTREY: Age. (Laughs.) I mean, see the elders growing up with us out in the audience, but equally, we have got an enormous number of young fans, which I’m astounded by. So, it changes all the time. But obviously our audience, they’ve grown up with us, so age is the thing you notice most.

AP: Mick Jagger is on the road with the Rolling Stones at 80 years old. Will The Who ever tour again?

DALTREY: I don’t see it. I don’t, I don’t know whether The Who will ever will go out again. I don’t know. I don’t think like that. If we’ve got something to do, something which was progressive and interesting and there was a reason to do it, then we would go out. But at the moment I can’t see it.

[apnews.com]

Gotta really love how Pete is just so out there to say literally whatever lol:

[www.yahoo.com]

"The interesting thing about Roger and I is it's not a band," says Townshend, while also revealing his current relationship with and singer Roger Daltrey is "better than it's ever been".

"It's a group if musicians that Roger has chosen," adds the guitarist, when asked how he'd describe The Who now. "I have not chosen any of the musicians I tour with – not even [drummer] Zak [Starkey}. When Roger brings me onstage I am filling the shoes of a guy called Frank Simes, who Roger tours with solo, and who is a guitar player and musical director."

Townshend admits he's "not 100 percent happy" with the situation but counters he's still out there celebrating his life and music regardless of who occupies the other roles in the touring band.

"So I am happy to do it," he adds. "Someone reading this will say, 'Stop @#$%& complaining, Townshend, and put a band together of people you do want to use.' But that scares the shit out of me.

"I'd get Simon Phillips on drums and Pino Palladino on bass, and I'd dig 'Rabbit' [keyboardist John Bundrick] out of his bed," muses Townshend. "And I'd get some fabulous shredding guitar player… but the problem is, they'd all be far, far superior musicians to me.

"Look, although I said I wouldn't pick this current band, they're still great musicians," he reasons. "It just feels easy and safe. But there are still places in the show where I get to express myself. I'm no Joe Satriani, but I'm playing pretty well, and Roger is singing great. His voice went for a few years, but he fought to get it back."

"When I can't pull it off, guess who pops out and says, 'I can do it! Me!'? My brother, Simon [laughs]"

One thing Townshend won't be doing is hiring Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam producer du jour Andrew Watt to helm a new Who album.

"I would certainly not consider going into a studio with Andrew Watt," he tells Mojo. "He is a very good friend of mine, but I know he would put me to work, and in two weeks he'd end up with an album he'd be very happy with and I wouldn't [laughing]. However fun one might have, it would be too much like hard work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-06-10 22:31 by RollingFreak.

So Pete wouldn’t have “picked” Zak?
He’s been the best Who drummer after Moon for me.

Quote
Paddy
So Pete wouldn’t have “picked” Zak?
He’s been the best Who drummer after Moon for me.

I liked Simon Philips when he was with them on the 89 tour.

I also had to re-read Pete’s comment regarding Zak Starkey. After the re-read, now I think Pete is not saying that he doesn’t endorse Zach - but simply acknowledging he didn’t have any input in the decision. At least I hope that is the case. In my opinion, Zach seems to do a fine job with the Who tunes.

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swimtothemoon
I also had to re-read Pete’s comment regarding Zak Starkey. After the re-read, now I think Pete is not saying that he doesn’t endorse Zach - but simply acknowledging he didn’t have any input in the decision. At least I hope that is the case. In my opinion, Zach seems to do a fine job with the Who tunes.

It sounds like, in his nicest way, he's not saying he hates anyone in this band. Especially Zak who I feel he singles out because its clear he likes him and people could think Zak is his pick. It sounds like he's saying if up to him, none of these people would be his top choice. Which is admittedly strange, but I assume he doesn't mean it as harsh as its coming off. I agree though, Zak is an excellent drummer, I honestly can't think of who else it would be in this day and age. Zak's earned that irreplaceable spot over the last 25 years.

Roger Answers the Question Who is the Greatest Rock Band of All Time - The Rolling Stones & The Kids Are Alright, Roger Daltrey, Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, June 10th, 2024; Electric-Acoustic US Summer Tour, 1st night of the tour...

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Pete with the cast of "Tommy"- The Tony Awards, New York June 16