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
Getting excited for Nov 27th to get here as I will be going to Minneapolis to see the Who. I have been a die hard fan since I was 10 yrs old and saw them in Duluth in 1967 with Hermans Hemits. I am now 55 yrs old and play drums in a band with a couple of my friends. Keith is my idol as he was a very intense drummer. The bans as a whole is and always has been my favorite band. Take care,
Pete, white jump suit when you play Philadelphia. Your
fans will love it. I realize that is from a different era but that is
how we first met you. Nostalgia always puts a smile on our face.
I do agree Roger’s singing is excellent.
LONG LIVE ROCK
I’m so jealous of the American fans, ’cause I don’t think the who are coming to Spain to play quadrophenia. Fortunately I went to London to see it in 96, when they played it at the Hyde Park. What a moment in my life!
If you read this Pete, please just don’t forget in Spain we love quadrophenia and try to do your best to visit us.
Btw, I haven’t finished the book yet, but anyway, I say thank you for writing it, it’s awesome to read you.
Pete: I am reading your book now and am really enjoying it and getting to know you as a person (along w/ the other band members; esp Keith)and how the whole thing ‘came together’. I am a long time Who fan that has taught her sons what ‘good music and good muscians’ are. Needless to say; they are Who fans also. We all have our ups and downs, good choices and bad choices during our journey called ‘life’. I think if we just try to do the ‘right’ thing, be kind and have love in our hearts and good music to listen to…life is good!
Please keep rocking!
Hi Pete,
Congratulations on the start of your tour. I’ll be attending your show tomorrow, Nov. 14th at the new Barclay Center in Brooklyn. If it relieves any concerns, I’m taking my 14 year old daughter Tess, who is thrilled, I assure you no coercion was necessary!
I also have tickets for your February show at the Nassau Coliseum, and hope to take my oldest daughter, who studies solo classical voice/opera at a conservatory but rocks with The Who too! She may not be able to make it much to her chagrin. If not, Tess gets a second show.
BTW, I’ve almost finished “Who I Am” and you brought back some old memories. I was at the Communist Party Gala in Paris and also didn’t know the affiliation until I arrived. I remember going to all 4 shows Who at Madison Square Garden and seeing a show in Amsterdam opened by Golden Earring.
I’ve had the great good fortune to have seen The Who a few dozen times but always the original four. I’m looking forward to a great show and thanks for all the great music.