WHY CHICAGO?

Since returning to full-time touring in 1999, six of the following seven tours included a show in either Columbus or Cleveland, so it's been pretty easy to catch the band's shows. For The Song Is Over Tour, Ohio wasn't in the itinerary. I believe the band that this really is the final US tour [see footnote], and I really wanted to catch one last show. As a result, a road trip was necessary. My lovely wife Noreen was willing to indulge me on this so I picked Chicago to save us airfare costs, and the promise of Chicago-style hot dogs at Portillo's and a trip to Tilt at the top of the John Hancock building sealed the deal.

THE OPENER

I'd certainly heard of Joe Bonamassa, but I'd never heard any of his music. I only knew he had a reputation as a stellar guitar player. His show was very impressive, and his reputation as a player was certainly well deserved. He and his band played for 45 minutes, which only allowed for five songs, but they all had blazing guitar solos at the end.

During some between-song banter with the crowd, Bonamassa noted that he rarely plays opening sets, but this let him add a second bucket list item (rough quote): "I got to play with Eric Clapton and I got to open for the fucking WHO!".

THE CROWD (WELL, TWO SPECIFIC ASSHOLES IN THE CROWD)

Noreen and I were sitting in the lower bowl almost directly across from the right side of the stage. Our entire pie-slice shaped section was sitting politely, except for the couple in front of us. Seriously. I get it when the whole section is on their feet - that's fine. But these two randos decide to stand and block the view of everyone behind them just 'cause? I asked politely for him to sit (his wife/girlfriend/whatever wasn't blocking us). She turns around instead and gives us a mocking, sing-songy "it's a rock concert, stand up!". I would have been able to see over these yahoos, but Noreen wouldn't. Fortunately, we were saved. A man one row behind us and one seat to Noreen's left got her attention and pointed at four unoccupied seats next to him. We slid over to those seats and had a terrific view for the whole show.

Our savior also cracked Noreen up by singing "substitute these seats for those". A real mensch. Never got his name, but thank you again, whoever you are.

And yes, people around us stood up to applaud big moments or favorite songs, but they sat back down after they clapped. Mind you, I'm not saying no-one should ever stand, but read the room. Don't be the only person around you standing up. If there's a ton of people on their feet, then go for it. Just try to remember you're not the only people there. And there were a lot of people there (me included) who really weren't up for standing that long!

THE SHOW

NOTE: I've put in links to YouTube videos for each of the songs. Some of the clips cover multiple songs, so there's a little overlap.

My biggest concern going into the show was Roger Daltrey's voice. I needn't have worried. I don't know how an 81-year old singer does it, but his voice still sounded powerful. Pleasantly, Pete Townshend's 80-year old voice held up similarly well. The band sounded great, and while I missed Zak Starkey on drums, Scott Devours did a nice job in his stead.

On stage, Pete seemed to be in a chatty mood, introducing most of the songs, but both he and Roger seemed to be in a joking mood with the two of them making wisecracks at different points during the show. The real problem was a series of problems that derailed several songs. More to come below.

The show started with a video retrospective on the screen as the band hit the stage. The set kicked off with two of my favorites: "I Can't Explain" and "Substitute". They opened the 2000 and 2002 tours with that pair, and I loved it. Despite being one of their classics, "Substitute" hasn't always been in the set in recent tours, and I loved having it back.

The first real problem became obvious during "Who Are You". Pete's guitar kept cutting out, noticeably during his solo in the song's bridge. It eventually led to Pete flinging the guitar off stage to get it replaced. According to Brian Kehew's Backstage Blog, the problem was due to a cord leading to Pete's pedal board being damaged while moving it back into place after Joe Bonamassa's set was complete.

Next up was "The Seeker" and Pete's guitar sounded much better.

"Long Live Rock" was a big surprise for me. I've been to quite a few shows, but I haven't heard The Who play it since 1982. Never understood why it didn't show up more often. It's a killer song live.

"Pinball Wizard" had the second big surprise for me: After Pete played the intro, the famous flamenco-style section was played by Simon on acoustic guitar. Made it sound a bit quieter, but more accurate - it's played on acoustic on Tommy.

"Pinball Wizard" segued into "See Me, Feel Me", and the low point in the show. Near the end of the song, Roger abruptly stopped singing (and the band stopped as well). Pete joked that "I can't do what you do, Rog", and Daltrey complained that the sound in his in-ear monitors sounded like he was singing in a tin can. Pete just spoke the final lyric and the band followed him into a dramatic flourish to wrap the song. Because of the viral video of Roger getting angry during a rehearsal performance of "Song Is Over", I was worried this would derail the whole show. Fortunately, I was wrong. Roger took out his in-ear monitor and the band continued after a few moments.

Following was another big surprise: "Love Ain't For Keeping". The band sounded back on form - you'd never know there were big problems just a song ago. Pete introduced this as a song they'd never played live before, but like "Long Live Rock", "Love Ain't For Keeping" was in the 1982 setlist.

For "Behind Blue Eyes", Pete sat down to play acoustic (which I'd never seen him do before) with Simon playing the electric guitar. Great version with terrific harmony singing in the second half.

When Pete put his electric back on after, he let rip with a blast of noise that Noreen joked sounded like they were going to cover R.E.M.'s "Bad Day" (and I agreed with her on that!). After a moment, the synth tape started up and the band roared into a powerful "Eminence Front". It was the performance highlight of the evening.

While introducing "My Generation", Pete commented that they hadn't played it since 1968.

Pete: "Back when we were touring in the late sixties, I suppose, around the Tommy years, we stopped playing this song 'cause we felt we were too old."

Roger: "We didn't… we just didn't wanna break any more guitars."

Pete: "Whatever it was you said Rog, I'm sure it was really very funny".

Roger: "I didn't want you to break any more guitars."

They started in and the song sounded weird. Pete immediately stopped the band and apologized. He said he was playing it in the key he used in 1968. They restarted and it sounded much better. Jon Button did a nice job on the bass solo, and the outro of the song was very cool: the band just started jamming, extending the end of the song and Roger started singing the lyrics to "Cry If You Want" over the top like they did at some of the 2006/2007 shows. Worked really well.

And the banter was funny, but The Who didn't drop "My Generation" in 1968. They played it on every tour except the Quadrophenia tours and orchestral shows. It was in all the others. The version on 1970's Live At Leeds is a classic.

"You Better You Bet" was a big singalong moment for the crowd, and sounded great.

"Going Mobile" is one that The Who never played live before this tour, but Roger's been doing it on recent solo tours. For those solo shows, Simon sings the lead vocals. The Who handled it the same way with Simon singing. Really cool to hear this at a Who show with Pete on lead guitar.

Pete: "You guys alright? You OK? Feel alright? You want your money back? I fucking would."

The show date was the 47th anniversary of Keith Moon's passing, and Pete told a story about The Buddy Rich Orchestra opening for The Who at a show in the sixties at the Electric Factory in Chicago. Pete asked Buddy if Keith was a good drummer, saying that he wasn't sure. Buddy said Keith was "a good drummer, man - a good drummer", and given that Buddy was a hero of Keith's I'd imagine he was flattered to hear that. After that story, Pete announced they'd be doing some songs from Quadrophenia.

The Quad mini-set opened with "The Real Me", which I'd only heard the band do in the Quadrophenia shows and the orchestral shows. This is another song I would have pictured as a staple of Who sets. It's amazing live.

"I'm One" had a false start, and Pete hit a sour note early on, but finished fine. Instead of it being a Pete solo number, it was a hybrid. It started with Pete on acoustic guitar and vocals alone, but the band kicked in halfway along like the album does. I like Pete's solo versions, but I think I like this style better.

"5:15" always sounds great, but it's hard not to miss the titanic bass solo section John Entwistle put in the middle in the 1999-2002 tours.

"Love, Reign O'er Me" started without the improvisation that Loren Gold does on piano at the beginning from time to time. But this had another problem. At the end, Roger handled the "Loooooooove …" note just fine, but a dry mouth messed him up mid-way through the ending. He recovered and finished it off. Roger: "It's only rock and roll".

They followed that with "Won't Get Fooled Again", so I assumed this would close the set. I was wrong. Killer version, complete with Roger twirling the microphone cord and big windmills from Pete at the end. The scream? Nailed it. Amazing.

Pete: "It has occurred to me that on a night where we continually fuck things up, you should really pay extra!"

I assumed that would be it for the main set, but the band rolled into "Baba O'Riley" right after. Big surprise here: Katie Jacoby (who played first violin on the orchestral tour) came on to the stage to play the violin part at the end of the song. She wasn't even listed in the tour program, so that was a very cool surprise.

Pete introduced the band, and I'd assumed this would be the end, but everyone went back to their places and kicked off "Song Is Over". Despite it being the title of the tour, they haven't played it every night, so I was glad we got to hear it. They shortened the song and made a few lyrical changes. Didn't care. I adore "Song Is Over" and was absolutely thrilled to hear it live.

I'll admit it. Hearing that verse with "thanks for all the years" and the little refrain from "Pure And Easy" that followed choked me up.

After that, the rest of the band left, Pete grabbed his acoustic and sat down, Roger grabbed a teacup and came over to Pete to sing. THUD!! The microphone fell off the stand. Pete: "That's EXTRA extra". Roger: "Not the only thing that's falling off." "Tea & Theatre" isn't a big favorite, but it was a poignant ending to the show. Roger putting his hand on Pete's back was a touching gesture, and it was fitting to end the show with just the two of them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

You'd think the various problems would have ruined the show. But it really didn't. There was something oddly charming in the show not being perfect, and in the way Pete and Roger just kinda dealt with it. I thoroughly enjoyed show, warts and all. I was stunned to hear "Long Live Rock", "Love Ain't For Keeping", "Going Mobile" and especially "Song Is Over".

That was my eleventh Who show, and even on an off night, there's nobody quite like 'em. Really glad I got to see one last performance.

FOOTNOTE

Yeah, I know the 1982 tour (aka "The Who Rocks America") was commonly referred to as the "Farewell Tour", and the band received a lot of teasing about that as they've toured many times in the years since. Heck, the live album from the '82 tour was titled Who's Last, so the intent was obvious.

They didn't just leap right back in though. The 1989 tour was promoted as a 20th anniversary celebration of Tommy, but it was apparently launched to bail John Entwistle out of bankruptcy. The 1996 Quadrophenia Tour came out of what originally a one-off performance at Hyde Park billed by the three members' names, not as "The Who" (although the ensuing tour was billed as "The Who"). They resumed being a full-time touring band again in 1999. Despite the jokes, this is the first time they've used the term "farewell" since '82.