The Who’s Pete Townshend: We Won’t Be Touring Again

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Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, Detroit 2-27-16 (screen cap via YouTube)

If you’re still on the fence as to whether you are going to see The Who now that their “Hits 50!” tour has resumed, you should heed the words of Pete Townshend, who was asked by the Detroit Free Press on Saturday night, prior to the band’s resumption of their U.S. tour, if they’d be coming around again. “Nope,” Townshend, 70, said backstage. “We might do occasional shows, but we won’t be touring again.”

While we’ve heard those words from The Who before – in fact, their 1982 dates were billed as their “Farewell Tour” – this time, it’s probably for real. Townshend told the Free Press: “You know, unlike a sports team, we can’t replace our members. It’s not dissimilar — you get to a certain age, you can do (only) a certain amount. You get to a certain age, and it’s tricky to do the road work.”

Saturday night’s setlist (see below) was almost identical to their London warm-up date two weeks ago.

Opening number “Who Are You” from last night…

A somewhat restrained “Join Together”…

Here’s “Eminence Front”:

February 27, 2016 setlist at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena (via Setlist.fm):

1. “Who Are You”
2. “The Seeker”
3. “The Kids Are Alright”
4. “I Can See For Miles”
5. “My Generation”
6. “The Real Me”
7. “Behind Blue Eyes”
8. “Bargain”
9. “Join Together”
10. “You Better You Bet”
11. “I’m One”
12. “The Rock”
13. “Love, Reign O’er Me”
14. “Eminence Front”
15. “Amazing Journey”
16. “Sparks”
17. “Pinball Wizard”
18. “See Me, Feel Me”
19. “Baba O’Riley”
20. “Won’t Get Fooled Again”