Show #58: The Who's First Farewell Show

For many a fan of The Who, the band died along with drummer Keith Moon on 7 September 1978. The bane of Holiday Inn managers across America, Moon's raucous, fun-loving personality as well as his ferocious drumming were integral parts of The Who's image and music. Here's how rock journalist Dave Marsh wrote of Moon's death in his biography of the band, Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who:

Here ends the story of The Who. In its wake, a new one began, and even though it involved all but one of the central figures of the other, it is a very different story indeed – ultimately, it's the story of a different band.



While his assertion is contentious, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwhistle did ultimately carry on without Moon the Loon. In his stead, they brought in former member of The Faces and friend of the band, Kenney Jones. Jones' playing was downright austere when contrasted against Moon's out-of-control style but the band weren't looking for a Moon clone and Jones got on well personally with the rest of the group. This new Who hit the road in May 1979 and eventually released two albums - Face Dances in 1981 and It's Hard the following year. These albums don't approach their early 1970s peak in the studio and are erratic but they do have some good songs on them. And, when playing live, the band tended to eschew the new material in favor of the old workhorses that have been in the set for years.

This week's show was recorded on 17 December 1982 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario. The concert was shown on cable TV at the time and released on video as Who Rocks America. A few clips (WMP) from the performance can be found at this page. They are:

My Generation
Eminence Front
Love Ain't For Keepin'

This was to be the band's last show. For Townshend, The Who had run its course and he was keen to commit himself to other projects including his solo career and writing. Well, it was supposed to have been their last. They reformed about three years later to perform at Live Aid and then again in 1989 to tour in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their landmark album, Tommy. After another hiatus, they reformed yet again 1996 and have been touring ever since. In 2002, bassist John Entwhistle died but Daltrey and Townshend carried on once more. They are working on a new album of studio material and there are plans to tour later this year.

Setlist:

My Generation
I Can't Explain
Dangerous
Sister Disco
The Quiet One
It's Hard
Eminence Front
Baba O'Riley
Boris The Spider
Drowned
Love Ain't For Keeping
Pinball Wizard
See Me, Feel Me

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The Who/Pete Townshend