The Who played the final show of their North American farewell tour on Wednesday (October 1). Watch the footage and check out the full setlist below.
The legendary band closed out the run of gigs with a 23-song set at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California, per Setlist.FM.
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Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and co. opened the performance with a live rendition of ‘I Can’t Explain’, before airing other classics such as ‘Substitute’, ‘Who Are You’, ‘I Can See For Miles’ and ‘Pinball Wizard’.
Later, The Who treated the crowd to ‘Behind Blue Eyes’, ‘My Generation’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, with ‘Baba O’Riley’ then making an appearance towards the end of the concert.
The penultimate track of the night was 1971’s ‘The Song Is Over’ from The Who’s fifth studio album, ‘Who’s Next?’. The Who said a final goodbye with a tender performance of ‘Tea & Theatre’ – a single from their 11th full-length effort, 2006’s ‘Endless Wire’.
“I suppose, you know, it’s goodbye,” guitarist Townshend told the audience afterwards (via Far Out). “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’ll get up to all kinds of mischief.
“We’ll do stuff together, I’m sharing some stuff, all kinds [of] bits and pieces. But for this kind of thing, it’s goodbye. And you were last!”
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Daltrey said: “Thank you so much for your support, over all the years. It means so much to us. It was every band’s dream in the ’60s to make it in America. And thanks to you guys, you made it happen for us. Thank you so much!”
Watch the clip of the moment below, along with other fan-shot videos from the show.
The Who played:
1. ‘I Can’t Explain’
2. ‘Substitute’
3. ‘Who Are You’
4. ‘The Seeker’
5. ‘I Can See For Miles’
6. ‘Long Live Rock’
7. ‘Pinball Wizard’
8. ‘See Me, Feel Me’ (with ‘Listening To You’ refrain)
9. ‘Another Tricky Day’
10. ‘Behind Blue Eyes’
11. ‘Eminence Front’
12. ‘My Generation’
13. ‘Cry If You Want’
14. ‘You Better You Bet’
15. ‘Going Mobile’
16. ‘The Real Me’
17. ‘I’m One’
18. ‘5:15’
19. ‘Love, Reign O’er Me’
20. ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’
21. ‘Baba O’Riley’ (with Katie Jacoby)
22. ‘The Song Is Over’
23. ‘Tea & Theatre’
Townshend recently reflected on The Who coming to an end, saying that he and Daltrey “don’t communicate very well” and “have different needs as performers”. The musician also said the group were now “a Who tribute band”.
The pair had previously confirmed that The Who would still be coming together in the future for the occasional charity gigs or one-off event, with Townshend planning to embark on some solo shows too.
He has also opened up about the strain of being on the road for extensive touring schedules, saying that he was mentally done with the idea: “I don’t love performing. I don’t like being on a stage… it doesn’t fill my soul.”
These comments prompt a response from Daltrey, who said: “If Pete doesn’t want to tour, I don’t want to be back with The Who on the road, at 81, with someone who doesn’t want [to] be there… if that’s what he’s saying.”
It also currently seems unlikely that there will be a final album from The Who. Townshend expressed his desire for the band to make another record last year, but said there was “a bit of a river to cross” in convincing Daltrey.
Before then, the guitarist spoke to NME about the possibility of more new music from The Who. “I don’t think there is. If there was a need or a place for a Who album, could I write the songs for it within six weeks? Of course I fucking could, it’s a piece of cake. The problem is, I don’t think Roger wants to do it again.”
When NME asked the frontman about the possibility of a new LP in 2023, he laughed: “What’s the point? What’s the point of records? We released an album four years ago [2019’s ‘WHO’], and it did nothing. It’s a great album too, but there isn’t the interest out there for new music these days. People want to hear the old music. I don’t know why, but that’s the fact.”
The band’s last appearances in the UK were at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust shows back in March, where Daltrey revealed that he was “going blind” and they played ‘The Song Is Over’ live for the first time, with Bill Murray in the crowd.
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