Once Again, The Who Are Out on Tour
[From February 2007]
When The Who launched their current concert tour last June, the London-based band was doing what came naturally some 40 years ago. While never the darlings of the record charts like and Beatles and Rolling Stones, The Who have made their mark on rock and roll primarily from the stage.
The current tour, which started in Europe and will end March 13 in Tampa, features Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, plus a four-man supporting cast. Acoustic numbers have been prominent in the shows and include “Behind Blue Eyes,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “You Better You Bet” and “The Seeker.”
Songs from The Who’s new album, “Endless Wire,” form the backbone of the concert material, including the all-acoustic “A Man In A Purple Dress.”
The Who seem to treat their togetherness as a till-death-do-us-part arrangement. Guitarist Townshend, 61, and vocalist Daltrey, 62, are still making music on the road and in the studio, even though drummer Keith Moon died in 1978 and bassist John Entwistle passed in 2002. Moon succumbed to an overdose of chlormethiazole, a drug designed to wean him from alcoholic beverages, while Entwistle was a victim of heart failure in his Las Vegas hotel room on the eve of a new concert tour. As dyed-in-the-wool showmen, Daltrey and Townshend canceled the first gig but went on with the tour.
Joining the veterans on stage this time are Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son) on drums, Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother) on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Pino Palladino on bass and John “Rabbit” Bundrick on keyboards. When Bundrick has been absent due to his wife’s illness, Brian Kehew has replaced him.
Had they been Americans, The Who would have been classified as a garage band during their humble beginnings. First dubbed the Detours in 1962, they were the heroes of a segment of London society known as Mods. They changed their name briefly to the High Numbers before settling on the lasting moniker.
Seemingly bent on destruction, The Who were the first rock outfit to close their shows by trashing guitars, drums and amplifiers. They have bickered openly amongst themselves on stage and have yelled insults at their audiences.
Yet, the band has also displayed a more introspective side, having produced some of rock’s finest acoustic-based material. From the early days of “Magic Bus” to “Pinball Wizard” and “Behind Blue Eyes,” Pete Townshend’s consistent brilliance on acoustic guitar has brought an important dimension to Who music.
Townshend has also breathed new life into Who classics with his live, solo performances, including the Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. The early 1980s series of benefit concerts for Amnesty International featured Townshend playing a memorable, acoustic version of The Who anthem “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
In the late ‘90s he recorded a stripped-down rendition of “I’m One” (originally from the “Quadrophenia” album) at the Maryville Academy benefit concert at Chicago’s House of Blues.
On The Who’s most recent tour, Townshend has been performing intimate after-show sets he calls “Attic Jams” because, as he says, “that is satisfying my desire to pick up an acoustic guitar and play.”
In addition to his live, acoustic sets, Pete Townshend has released several acoustic demos of rocking Who hits, including “Squeeze Box” and “Substitute.” Undoubtedly, there are more early recordings in the vaults that eventually will see the light of day, perhaps as part of a box set.
Among The Who’s distinctions, both notable and dubious:
The other three members fired Daltrey in November 1965, then reinstated him after “My Generation” shot up to No. 2 on the U.K. charts.
They were permanently banned from the Holiday Inn motel chain in 1967 after Moon’s 20th birthday celebration in Flint, Mich., got out of hand. Moon’s antics included rolling a car into the motel swimming pool. Hotel room trashing became a habit for the band.
Also in 1967, when the band made its first U.S. television appearance, Moon decided to end the show by blowing up his drum kit with flash powder. He overloaded the charge and partially deafened Townshend while briefly knocking the TV network off the air.
The Who, behind Townshend’s genius, pioneered the art form known as the rock opera. “Tommy” is the most famous example.
The group was one of the top acts to perform at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and played “Tommy” during their 24-song set.
In January 1973 Townshend masterminded Eric Clapton’s return to public performance after Clapton kicked heroin addiction.
Moon collapsed on stage during a tour-opening concert in San Francisco in November 1973. A member of the audience took over on drums.
In a 1976 concert in England, The Who earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as “Loudest Pop Group,” with a 120-decibel reading at 50 meters.
Eleven fans were trampled to death in 1979 when the gates opened for a Who concert in Cincinnati. The show had an open-seating policy, which since has been discarded.
The band invented the repeatable “farewell tour” in 1982. They would resume touring five years later.
All four members released one or more solo albums, yet they will forever be judged by what they accomplished as a quartet.
Phil Heller of Mason, Ohio, attended The Who’s concert in Columbus on Dec. 11, 2006. “Roger Daltrey had a bronchial problem and could not hit some of the high notes clearly, as he has done in the past,” Heller said. “But the sound of guitars and drums drowned out any imperfections (in his voice.)
“Pete Townshend did not smash his guitar against the amps, but he could still do his famous windmill stroke with his guitar pick and semi-jump like an old white man.”
Heller also saw The Who perform in the summer of 1966, when the group was getting its first exposure in America and played some small clubs in the Chicago area. The venue was The New Place in Algonquin, Ill.
“It was an old barn in the country that had two floors with an opening to the side where the bands would play,” Heller recalled. “My (memory) of the Who concert is sketchy. They had a small stage, and there were less than 1,000 people in attendance.
“They played ‘Magic Bus,’ which brought the teeny bopper crowd to a frenzy. The music (amplification) cut out several times, and Roger got pissed at the lousy electricity in this old barn.
“At the end of the show, Pete took his guitar and started smashing it on stage, then on the amp behind him and almost knocked Moon off his drum seat. The drums and cymbals went flying.”
Heller added that he heard The Who received payment from sponsors for smashing the equipment. He doesn’t know whether that is fact or rumor. At any rate, it made for quite an adrenaline rush for the audience as the show concluded.
The Who have come a long way from playing in barns to headlining huge arena concerts. One of the band’s songs from 1972 implores, “Long live rock.” I say, “Long live The Who!”
