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Videos
Soundcheck
Substitute
Who Are You
Long Live Rock
Pinball Wizard
Another Tricky Day
Eminence Front
You Better You Bet
Going Mobile
The Real Me
I'm One
I'm One
5:15
Love Reign O'er Me
Won't Get Fooled Again
Baba O'Riley
Baba O'Riley
Tea & Theatre
Press
Rock Cellar
Mercury News
Riff Magazine
Review by Dennis Costanzo
Well, forty three years and twelve plus (lost count) shows later, it’s finally over. Feeling a little bit of sadness today knowing that was the last time seeing them. I brought along three generations of Who fans to Sunday night’s show, wife and I, three adult children and my grandson.
Shoreline Amphitheatre is a pretty nice venue, fourth time seeing the band here and nothing really negative other than the congestion getting in and out of the parking lots. Weather was beautiful, sound was ok but we couldn’t see the monitors completely but that’s on the venue, not The Who.
Candlebox opened and didn’t disappoint, added bonus as it could’ve been some band I never heard of before. I knew a few of their songs, they sounded good and interacted well with the crowd.
Now on to the main event. The Who came on around 8:50 or so, opening with I Can’t Explain as it should be. I was jacked that they opened with this, the last concert in 2022 when I took my youngest daughter to her first Who show they didn’t play this or much of their earlier music.
I think the set list was perfect for a farewell tour, a mix of old and new for the diehard and not so diehard fans. The last three tours took care of music for the hardcore.
A couple of songs stood out for me, Long Live Rock, Going Mobile and I’m One. I wish I could’ve seen Pete perform The Rock once more but you can’t have everything.
Roger sounded great, it’s hard to believe at 81 he can still hit those high notes, absolutely amazing. Pete was Pete, generously slinging windmills for the crowd as best he could do at his age. His vocal on I’m One was unbelievable too. I wish I could’ve heard Pete better when he was talking, sorta sounded like Keith Richards but I think it was just because of where I was seated.
Although I miss Zak, Scott lacked nothing in keeping a steady beat throughout the show. Simon is the one behind the scenes that keeps things going and he deserves a lot of credit and praise. No matter what anyone thinks he is a core member of The Who as much as the original four members are.
If you’re sitting on the fence deciding on whether to see this final tour and you have the opportunity, don’t pass it up, you’ll be sorry you did. It felt strange throughout the night knowing this was most likely the end, kind of like saying goodbye forever to an old friend.
Review by Horace Austin
Add this show to the pantheon of memorable Bay Area appearances by The Who.
When we arrived at soundcheck, we learned why we never saw seats for sale in the first two rows. Those rows on the Ticketmaster seating chart didn’t exist. (This is reminiscent of recent shows at Talking Stick Amphitheater in Phoenix, AZ.). The 3rd row was actually the 1st row. Imagine a pit with 2 rows missing combined with a press pit. That was the deal down front.
Now in order to be down there, you needed the ticket and a wrist band. By the second song, “Substitute,” there were 12-15 of us standing at the rail and no one behind us. Eddie, Chris Z, Sean & I were in the sweet spot between Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.
Then mid-way through the show, something kind of “Lifehouse” happened. After, “You Better You Bet,” Townshend urged the fans at Shoreline Amphitheatre to be closer to the band. He urged them to come down and fill the capacious pit. And fill it they did. What was security going to do? Before I knew it, our buddy Chris Nichols was ensconced behind me and Sean.
Oh yeah. It was another amazing show by The Who.
On to Vancouver.