The Who Launches North American Leg of 50th Anniversary Tour

[Brad_M]

The Who kicked off the North American portion of its 50th anniversary tour tonight in Tampa, Florida. The British rock legends actually have two separate stateside legs scheduled for this year, with the first winding down May 30 in Forest Hills, New York, and the second running from a September 14 concert in San Diego through a November 4 show in Philadelphia.

The trek, which has been dubbed The Who Hits 50! tour, is being viewed by some as “a nostalgia trip,” with the band looking back at its long history by playing a bevy of its classic songs, as well as a few select rarities. At a recent press event, The Who’s two surviving founding members, singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend, had slightly differing views on how to characterize the tour.

Daltrey agreed that the trek was “a nostalgia trip,” noting that when the band’s plays its old songs, it brings fans “back to the time when [they] first heard them.” He added, “I kind of accept all that now, and I’m very happy with the fact that we’ve been around this long, and can still do it and still do it well.”

As for Townshend, he said he views the outing more as a multigenerational celebration, and not just simply a commemoration of the group hitting the half-century mark.

Explained Pete, “It’s a celebration of the fact that when people gather together to be in the company of a band and their music, they’re celebrating not only their own experience but, you know, sometimes too this will be a grandfather who brings his son and his son’s wife and their children.”

Townshend also maintained that he finds it “very poignant” that he and Daltrey are still performing together after so many years, while adding with a laugh, “On the other hand, it’s also a bit sad…You would have thought we’d find something better to do by now.”

Speaking about what kind of set list fans can expect from the concerts, Daltrey noted, “We’re not gonna get away with not playing ‘Baba O’Riley.’ We’re not gonna get away without playing ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ and those ones. But it will be nice to do songs that we haven’t done.” Townshend added that tour will give them “the chance maybe to do a few things that are a bit different or a bit new, or we shall see.”

Since The Who launched its 50th anniversary tour with a U.K. leg last November, the shows have indeed included some relatively obscure songs, such as the mini opera “A Quick One (While He’s Away),” “Slip Kid,” “So Sad About Us,” “The Seeker” and “Pictures of Lily.” American fans also likely will be treated to a few interesting gems.

Both Daltrey and Townshend have insisted that The Who Hits 50! Tour will be the last major trek the band will do, although no final show has been scheduled yet.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are serving as the opening act for nearly all of The Who’s 2015 North American concerts. Here’s a full list of the band’s stateside dates:

Leg One
4/15 — Tampa, FL, Amalie Arena
4/17 — Miami, FL, AmericanAirlines Arena
4/19 — Jacksonville, FL, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
4/21 — Raleigh, NC, PNC Arena
4/23 — Duluth, GA, The Arena at Gwinnett Center
4/25 — New Orleans, LA, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival*
4/27 — Austin, TX, Frank Erwin Center
4/29 — Houston, TX, Toyota Center
5/2 — Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
5/5 — Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center
5/7 — St. Louis, MO, Scottrade Center
5/9 — Louisville, KY, KFC Yum! Arena
5/11 — Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
5/13 — Rosemont, IL, Allstate Arena
5/15 — Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
5/17 — Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center
5/20 — Uniondale, NY, Nassau Coliseum
5/22 — Atlantic City, NJ, Boardwalk Hall
5/24 — Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
5/26 — Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
5/30 — Forest Hills, NY, Forest Hills Stadium

Leg Two
9/14 — San Diego, CA, Valley View Casino Center
9/16 — Anaheim, CA, Honda Center
9/19 — Las Vegas, NV, Colosseum at Caesars Palace*
9/21 — Los Angeles, CA, STAPLES Center
9/23 — Oakland, CA, Oracle Arena
9/25 — Portland, OR, Moda Center
9/27 — Seattle, WA, KeyArena
9/29 — Vancouver, BC, Canada, Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
10/1 — Calgary, AB, Canada, Scotiabank Saddledome
10/3 — Edmonton, AB, Canada, Rexall Place
10/6 — Saskatoon, SK, Canada, SaskTel Centre
10/8 — Winnipeg, MB, Canada, MTS Centre
10/10 — Minneapolis, MN, Target Center
10/13 — Milwaukee, WI, BMO Harris Bradley Center
10/15 — Chicago, IL, United Center
10/17 — Detroit, MI, Joe Louis Arena
10/19 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Air Canada Centre
10/21 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Air Canada Centre
10/23 — Pittsburgh, PA, CONSOL Energy Center
10/25 — Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
10/27 — New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
10/29 — Boston, MA, TD Garden
11/1 — Washington, D.C., Verizon Center
11/4 — Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center

* = Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will not perform at this show.