November 8, 2012
Pete Townshend – Tour Diary 7th November, 2012
Great to be in the USA on election day. I would have been happy for either candidate to win. There are pros and cons. The only longing I have is for the President to work more closely with the UK than he appears to have done before. As unpopular as they ended up with the deep thinkers, George W Bush and Tony Blair were friends, and that – to me – exemplified what I feel is most important about the relationship between the UK and the USA. We are above all else friends. Friendship is not ‘special’ (as in the ‘special relationship’), it is normal, and accepting…
And so the Who tour kicked off in the teeth of a hurricane, and our immediate duty to our millions of fans in the NorthEast is to promise that we will hopefully do more than just offer our prayers. While we’re here we’ll try to do something practical, as I am certain will all of our rock and pop buddies. Watch this space.
The shows so far? I’m doing great. The stage level is very quiet, and that suits me. I want to hang on to my hearing, which is still good enough to mix music like I did for the Quadrophenia Director’s Cut, and to cut my own demos at home. Roger is singing incredibly well. His vision is an interpretation of Quadrophenia rather than a straight narrative, and that seems to suit the period we are in as the two surviving members of the old Who, and our age. It FEELS great to me (I can’t see the screens behind me and I haven’t been able to see the entire set of projections because I was working right up until rehearsals) and that is the best measure for me. Roger and his creative team have clearly done a great job.
The audiences so far have been wonderful, and the shows promise to continue to improve. It’s great to see some old faces, but as always I’m glad to see a few younger people in the crowd, and I hope they haven’t been dragged along to check us out by nagging parents (or grandparents!).
Thanks to all of you who have bought my book.
Pete Townshend November 7th, 2012
For thewho.com
127 Responses to Pete Townshend – Tour Diary 7th November, 2012
I have been a huge Who fan since the late 1960s. In my opinion it’s the greatest rock band ever, led by the finest rock musician of all time, Pete Townshend. He’s one of my heroes, a person I would love to meet.
My wife and I have tickets for the Feb. 12 show at the Pepsi Center in Denver (near where I grew up), and we can hardly wait.
I like the political comment – I’m an Aussie living in the States – and emphasizing the importance of the international personal relationships is something I missed in all of the fuss and bother leading up to the election.
And it lets me forgive the “less than deep” thinking of past leaders too.
So I’ve stolen your words/sentiment and rewritten them from an Aussies perspective.
Good luck with making the show better and better…
Hi Pete,
Got to know John Entwistle (love and miss him) through his former PR guy, and got to hang with your daughter for a brief visit on the set of Black Hawk Down many “moons” ago, and your brothers Paul and Simon one drunken NYC evening. But that was then, this is now – coming to your show in Boston this week, with a picture of you young Who people circa 73-74 Quadro tour.. And will be in front row, so need you to sign that old faded picture…haha. Fat chance. Looking forward. Rock your socks old duffer.
Young Fan (57)
PS – enjoying you reading your life story
Pete, let me first thank you for your wonderfully written book. For a 56 year-old fan who’s been a devoted Who fan since your arrival in the U.S., it was a special feeling for me to get to know the feelings and emotions of Pete Townshend the person, as opposed to the rock icon image I’ve carried with me throughout my life. Your candor and humor while telling the amazing story of The Who was truly refreshing and stimulating.
To see a Who show at this stage in your career is something that transcends just a mere rock concert but is a celeration of rock history by veterans who still know how to deliver the goods and do so with stellar muscianship. I’m so grateful to have seen shows with both Keith and John and am thankful that you and Roger have maintained your special bond and chemistry and have soldiered on with Zak and Pino, who are both exceptionally qualified to join you in carrying the banner of our generation forward and keeping the art alive! Thank you thank you thank you!
Some UK dates would be excellent.
Did a meet and greet with Roger during his UK Tommy tour, told him my 12 year old Who fan son just played his first gig on drums and the first song they played was I Can’t Explain! His dream is to see The Who perform.
Roger assured me that The Who ain’t finished yet, so fingers crossed!!
Keep it up fellas…