The Who wrapped up their farewell tour of the US and Canada last night (October 1), performing their final show in Palm Springs, California. The concerts were a resounding success, and received rave reviews from both fans and journalists who were lucky enough to catch them play one last time.
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey gave stunning performances throughout the tour, playing with more fire and energy than many bands half their age. Pete’s guitar playing was powerful and loud, and he was able to jam more with this new stripped down lineup of musicians, stretching out his solos a bit longer and throwing in his trademark windmills. Roger’s voice sounded amazing and clear throughout the very demanding shows, still commanding the stage as one of the greatest front men in rock. Pete's singing sounded great too. There was a lot of fun banter between these two, which is always a highlight of their shows, and they talked about the fond memories they had for each city, as they lingered after each show to say their final goodbye.
The whole band was fantastic this tour, with a particularly strong lineup of musicians that fans have come to know and love over the years. Simon Townshend is a work horse and is the bands secret weapon. His versatile guitar playing and backup singing is always just superb, and this tour he got to take lead vocals on Going Mobile. Jon Button and Scott Devour were wonderful on bass and drums, providing a rock solid rhythm, along with the sensational Jody Linscott on percussion. Loren Gold was brilliant as always on keyboards. And the backup vocals were incredible. John Hogg was a great addition to help provide the high notes.
The setlist was a really good retrospective from The Who's illustrious career, covering all their major hits and included a few deep cuts that they have rarely played over the years. They closed the shows out with the lovely track from Who’s Next, The Song Is Over, which the farewell tour was named after. Roger altered some of the lyrics to represent these final shows. The sentimental coda Tea & Theatre was their final song, which was performed with just Pete and Roger, the last two standing.
The relatively short 17 date tour hit most but not all of the major markets they usually play in the US and Canada. At the end of the Seattle show, Pete commented, “This sadly is a farewell tour. There are places in the USA we are not playing, and I don’t know if we might ever pick those places up. But we picked the places we are playing very, very carefully. Just wanted to be near water [laughs].”
The tour got off to a slightly bumpy start, and soon after they kicked off with the first shows in Florida and New Jersey, they had to postpone the Philly and Atlantic City shows due to an illness in the band and take a few days off to recover. They were able to reschedule the shows in the middle of the tour, but a second show in Chicago had to be cancelled to make room in the schedule.
After their short break, the band came back fully healthy and recharged, and gave a stunning performance to a sold out crowd at the legendary Fenway Park. The band just kept picking up steam, as they toured through the Northeast, hitting Jones Beach Theater and Madison Square Garden in New York, a couple of shows in Toronto, then to the Midwest for their only show in Chicago. After picking up the postponed shows in Philly and Atlantic City, they headed West to play a couple shows at the Hollywood Bowl, followed by the Shoreline Amphitheatre in the Bay area.
They hit a couple cities in the Pacific Northwest, with shows in Vancouver and Seattle, before playing at the MGM grand in Las Vegas, which was originally billed as the final show. To make up for the lost Chicago date though, they decided to add one more show in Palm Springs at the end of the tour, so the Las Vegas show ended up to be the penultimate show, and the final show of the tour was in Palm Springs.
At the close of the Palm Springs show, Pete told the audience, "I suppose you know it's goodbye. That's what it is, to what we know as The Who, it's goodbye. What Roger and I will get up to next, who knows? If we last any longer, I'm sure we will get up to all kinds of mischief. And we will do stuff together, I'm sure charity stuff and all kinds of bits and pieces. But for this kind of thing it is goodbye. And you were last!" Roger added, "Thank you so much for your support over all the years. It means so much to us. It was every bands dream in the 60's to make it in America. And thanks to you guys, you made it happen for us."
Will these really be their final shows? It sounds like this is the end of touring from their closing statements. But given how strong this band is performing right now, let’s hope they decide to play a few more shows in the UK next year, at least for charity. It would be nice for fans in their home town of London get a proper farewell too!
As for North America, this tour was an emotional goodbye that will be remembered forever by everyone who went. What a wonderful way to close out 60 years of the greatest live rock & roll performances this region will ever see!
The Song Is Over
Thanks for all the years
I will remember
Even if I live for a thousand years
Congratulations to Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey for such a successful farewell tour!
Many thanks to everyone who contributed all the excellent photos, reviews and videos of the tour. The reviews are especially touching, as long time fans put their feelings down about seeing their favorite band play for the final time.
To view all the concert pages, please visit the Song Is Over North American Farewell Tour pages.
Here is a nice selection of some highlights from the tour.
Palm Springs, CA. Photo credit: Sean Duke Cassidy
Jones Beach Theater, NY. Photo credit: Ron Grosser
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA. Photo credit: Horace Austin
Seattle, WA. Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Ann Pearce
Sunrise, FL. Photo credit: Horace Austin
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Ron Grosser
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Ann Pearce
Jones Beach Theater, NY. Photo credit: Sean Duke Cassidy
Seattle, WA. Photo credit: Carrie Pratt
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA. Photo credit: Horace Austin
Jones Beach Theater, NY. Photo credit: Lauren J. Hammer
Fenway Park, Boston, MA. Photo credit: Peter Schleck
Atlantic City, NJ. Photo credit: Alan McKendree
Chicago, IL. Photo credit: Jeff Elbel
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Photo credit: Seth Davidson
Chicago, IL. Photo credit: Paul Biscardi
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Ron Grosser
Las Vegas, NV. Photo credit: Diane Corcoran
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Ron Grosser
Chicago, IL. Photo credit: Stuart Haber
Philadelphia, PA. Photo credit: Stephen Voyce
Philadelphia, PA. Photo credit: Robin Rinehart
Toronto, ON. Photo credit: Todd Sylvester
Vancouver, BC. Photo credit: Drew Matich
Chicago, IL. Photo credit: Barry Brecheisen
Las Vegas, NV. Photo credit: Tim Ballou
Vancouver, BC. Photo credit: Tim Herrlinger
Fenway Park, Boston, MA. Photo credit: Bob McHugh
Sunrise, FL. Photo credit: Lauren Eastman
Newark, NJ. Photo credit: Mike Kosturko
