The Who, led by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, played their first show together since the pandemic, scaling things back on Friday night (March 25th) to perform an acoustic set at London’s Royal Albert Hall in support of their patron charity, the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The pair was backed by Pete’s younger brother and longtime Who touring guitarist Simon Townshend, Phil Spalding, Jody Linscott, Billy Nicholls, Geraint Watkins, Charlie Hart, and Andy Cutting.
The acoustic band set up is definitely still a work in progress, with Townshend joking the group had only rehearsed two hours for the charity gig. And although there were various re-starts and muffed lyrics, the show proved to be one of the band’s most unique and interesting of the past decade.
The Who performed its 2004 modern classic “Real Good Looking Boy” for the first time since 2008, tackled three songs from 2019’s WHO album — including the live premiere of “Beads On One String,” which was dedicated to the citizens of Ukraine. The shows marked the first live performances of Roger Daltrey singing Pete Townshend’s 1980 solo hit “Let My Love Open The Door” — which he had recorded in aid of the Trust, as well as taking the lead on the Townshend-sung It’s Hard standout “Eminence Front.”
The Who’s acoustic setlist on Friday night at London ‘s Royal Albert Hall:
“Substitute”
“Squeeze Box”
“The Kids Are Alright”
“Tattoo”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Real Good Looking Boy”
“Break The News”
“She Rocked My World”
“Beads On One String”
“Eminence Front”
“Pinball Wizard”
“Who Are You”
“Let My Love Open The Door”
“Baba O’Riley”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”
- The Who tour dates (subject to change):
April 22 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Hard Rock
April 24 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
April 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
April 20 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz Festival
May 3 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
May 2 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
May 8 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 10 – Oklahoma City, TX – Paycom Center
May 13 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
May 15 – Cincinnati, OH – TQL Stadium
May 18 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
May 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
May 23 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena
May 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
May 28 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center of the Arts
October 2 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
October 4 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
October 7 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena
October 9 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
October 12 – Chicago, IL – United Center
October 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
October 17 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
October 20 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
October 22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
October 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
October 28 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
November 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
November 4, 5 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live
CHECK IT OUT: The Who on Friday night performing “Let My Love Open The Door”:
CHECK IT OUT: The Who on Friday night performing “Eminence Front”:
CHECK IT OUT: The Who on Friday night performing “Beads On One String”