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
Pete,
Would you really have been happy if Romney had won?
All the best from a shocked Malcolm in the U.K. ( a massive fan since 1969 )
I saw The Who in Sweden back in 1966. I was only 11 years old then. They performed outdoor on a Satyrday afternoon. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I first saw the amplifiers. They were huge in 1966.
I’m said I can’t come to the US to see them, but I hope they will perform once more in Sweden. Lot’s of Swedes love you Pete and Roger.
Pete, it was great talking with you on NPR on 11/12/2012! Time was short, but I have no complaints. You can get hold of me via my website if you need to. Say hi to Nic for me too please! Yeah I still have that letter you sent to my in Bosnia. I forgot to mention the juggling chainsaws. I seem to vaguely remember Nic telling me about that. So yes, literally and metaphorically juggling chainsaws…ha ha! Now having read your book, I find myself going back and reading favorite parts. It’s all great, but you know what I mean.
Please stay in good health and be safe this tour! I hopefully should be in Louisville in February! I’ll bring some guitars to show you!
Todd
http://www.npr.org/2012/11/12/164955507/who-i-am-the-public-and-private-pete-townshend
Darn it, spell check!
I am impressed with the honest and literate approach you took to your autobiography. Your book had much the same feel to me as your solo recordings. I read your book just after finishing Neil Young’s “Waging Heavy Peace” and I am struck by the amount of work you both do to bring creative concepts to completion.
I am looking forward to the show in Manchester. NH next year. I saw the performance of Quadrophenia years ago at MSG.
“… and to cut my own demos at home.”
More Scoops, please!!!