The Who Hits 50!

Billed as The Who Hits 50!, The Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for The Who.[1] The tour consisted of 70 dates with the band performing in Asia, Europe and North America.

For the album of the same name, see The Who Hits 50! (album).

The Who Hits 50!
Tour by The Who
Associated albumThe Who Hits 50!
Start date23 November 2014
End date29 May 2016
Legs5
No. of shows49 in North America
18 in Europe
1 in the Middle East
69 in total
The Who concert chronology
The Who live at Manchester Arena in 2014

An announcement about the tour came through the band's website and social media networks on 30 June 2014.[2][3] Pete Townshend described the show as "Hits, Picks, Mixes and Misses", for the band would play all their classic anthems as well as tackling deeper cuts from their catalog;[4][5]

In addition to longtime veterans Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, and Simon Townshend, the same backing musicians from the group's previous tour were retained, minus the horn section.

In September 2015 the band announced that fall 2015 North American leg was being postponed due to Daltrey contracting viral meningitis and told by doctors to rest. The tour resumed in February 2016 and ended on 29 May 2016.[6]

History

The tour kicked off with the group's first ever show in the United Arab Emirates, followed by a UK leg. The band included several numbers not included in any recent tours, including the first full performance of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" since 1970 and the first full band appearances of "So Sad About Us" (Townshend and special guest Paul Weller performed it acoustically at the Royal Albert Hall in 2000) since 1967; "Pictures of Lily" and "Join Together" had not been played since 1989. The North American leg, with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts featured as the opening act, kicked off in April 2015. Eddie Vedder joined the band for a performance of "The Real Me" in Chicago. Daltrey suffered a throat infection in September 2015 forcing the band to postpone the 2015 fall North American dates until February 2016. Tal Wilkenfeld was featured as the opening act when the North American tour resumed on 27 February 2016. Pete Townshend was suffering from his own ailments when the band hit Washington, D.C. on 24 March 2016. Townshend was suffering from a cold and losing his voice, so his brother Simon took over his backing vocals. However, he was able to make it through "Pinball Wizard" and "I'm One" despite his rough sounding voice. "Eminence Front", which had been featured in all of the shows, was dropped in favor of the unrehearsed and rarely played "Slip Kid" due to Townshend's hoarse voice. For most of the 2016 tour dates in North America, British band Slydigs performed a four-song opener for The Who, though the band's final North American concert in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace did not feature an opening act.

Tour band

Original members

Backing musicians
  • Zak Starkey – drums, percussion
  • Pino Palladino – bass guitar
  • Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
  • Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, jaw harp
  • Frank Simes - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, banjo, mandolin
  • John Corey - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, bass harmonica

Set list

This set list is representative of the performance on 26 May 2016 in Brooklyn, New York. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

  1. "I Can't Explain"
  2. "The Seeker"
  3. "Who Are You"
  4. "The Kids Are Alright"
  5. "I Can See For Miles"
  6. "My Generation"
  7. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  8. "Slip Kid"
  9. "Bargain"
  10. "Join Together"
  11. "You Better You Bet"
  12. "I'm One"
  13. "Love, Reign O'er Me"
  14. "Eminence Front"
  15. "A Quick One (While He's Away)"
  16. "Amazing Journey"
  17. "Sparks"
  18. "Pinball Wizard"
  19. "See Me, Feel Me"
  20. "Baba O'Riley"
  21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue Tickets Sold/Available Box Office Opening Act
Leg 1 — Middle East
23 November 2014 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates du Arena — —
Leg 2 — Europe
30 November 2014 Glasgow Scotland SSE Hydro 11,356 / 11,356 $1,214,320
2 December 2014 Leeds England First Direct Arena — —
5 December 2014 Nottingham Capital FM Arena — —
7 December 2014 Birmingham Barclaycard Arena — —
9 December 2014 Newcastle upon Tyne Metro Radio Arena — —
11 December 2014 Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool — —
13 December 2014 Manchester Phones 4u Arena 10,961 / 12,389 $1,185,690
15 December 2014 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena Cardiff — —
22 March 2015 London England The O2 Arena 29,416 / 32,631 $3,160,040
23 March 2015
26 March 2015 Royal Albert Hall — —
Leg 3 — North America
15 April 2015 Tampa United States Amalie Arena 9,389 / 11,489 $905,569 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
17 April 2015 Miami American Airlines Arena — —
19 April 2015 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena — —
21 April 2015 Raleigh PNC Arena — —
23 April 2015 Duluth Arena at Gwinnett Center 8,609 / 9,605 $823,017
25 April 2015 New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course —[lower-alpha 1]
27 April 2015 Austin Frank Erwin Center — —
29 April 2015 Houston Toyota Center 7,671 / 9,343 $860,080
2 May 2015 Dallas American Airlines Center — —
5 May 2015 Kansas City Sprint Center — —
7 May 2015 St. Louis Scottrade Center — —
9 May 2015 Louisville KFC Yum! Center — —
11 May 2015 Nashville Bridgestone Arena 8,914 / 8,914 $626,547
13 May 2015 Rosemont Allstate Arena — —
15 May 2015 Columbus Nationwide Arena — —
17 May 2015 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 12,383 / 12,383 $1,192,337
20 May 2015 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum — —
22 May 2015 Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall — —
24 May 2015 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena 7,327 / 7,359 $1,023,826
26 May 2015 Brooklyn Barclays Center 11,800 / 13,536 $1,131,705
30 May 2015 Queens Forest Hills Stadium — —
Leg 4 — Europe
21 June 2015 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena — —
23 June 2015 Dublin Ireland 3Arena — —
26 June 2015 London England Hyde Park —[lower-alpha 2]
28 June 2015 Pilton Worthy Farm 135,000 —[lower-alpha 3]
30 June 2015 Paris France Zénith de Paris — —
2 July 2015 Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome — —
13 February 2016 London England The SSE Arena, Wembley — —
Leg 5 — North America
27 February 2016 Detroit United States Joe Louis Arena 13,468 / 13,468 $1,170,833 Tal Wilkenfeld
1 March 2016 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre 9,514 / 10,636 $675,954
3 March 2016 New York City United States Madison Square Garden 14,863 / 14,863 $1,597,504
7 March 2016 Boston TD Garden 13,054 / 13,054 $1,289,318
10 March 2016 Chicago United Center 12,104 / 12,104 $1,254,813
12 March 2016 Louisville KFC Yum! Center 9,326 / 10,002 $747,946
14 March 2016 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 10,375 / 11,220 $969,884
16 March 2016 Pittsburgh Consol Energy Center 10,272 / 11,216 $829,134
19 March 2016 Newark Prudential Center 12,648 / 12,648 $1,282,646
21 March 2016 Milwaukee BMO Harris Bradley Center 10,212 / 10,689 $820,162
24 March 2016 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center 11,119 / 12,277 $1,143,938
26 March 2016 St. Louis Scottrade Center 9,515 / 10,316 $800,976
29 March 2016 Denver Pepsi Center 9,508 / 10,562 $732,862
27 April 2016 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre 7,716 / 9,042 $694,197 Slydigs
29 April 2016 Kansas City United States Sprint Center 9,823 / 10,160 $881,221
1 May 2016 Minneapolis Target Center 8,212 / 10,031 $743,692
4 May 2016 Winnipeg Canada MTS Centre 6,822 / 7,853 $539,576
6 May 2016 Saskatoon SaskTel Centre 7,308 / 8,138 $632,002
8 May 2016 Edmonton Rexall Place 8,382 / 8,941 $789,407
10 May 2016 Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome 9,472 / 10,630 $805,816
13 May 2016 Vancouver Rogers Arena 11,484 / 12,021 $927,124
15 May 2016 Seattle United States KeyArena 11,863 / 12,099 $1,132,069
17 May 2016 Portland Moda Center 8,777 / 9,208 $837,408
19 May 2016 Oakland Oracle Arena 9,842 / 12,119 $1,055,206
22 May 2016 Anaheim Honda Center 7,971 / 9,017 $866,201
25 May 2016 Los Angeles Staples Center 10,882 / 11,951 $1,184,472
27 May 2016 San Diego Valley View Casino Center 9,709 / 9,876 $848,331
29 May 2016 Las Vegas The Colosseum at Caesars Palace 4,103 / 4,103 $1,092,885 N/A
TOTAL 267,907 / 286,163 (94%) $26,531,986

Cancellations and rescheduled shows
26 November 2014 Dublin, Ireland 3Arena Postponed to 23 June 2015 due to unforeseen logistical difficulties.[7]
17 & 18 December 2014 London, England The O2 Arena Postponed to 22 & 23 March 2015 due to Daltrey's illness[8]
28 & 29 June 2015 Paris, France Zénith de Paris Cancelled in order for the band to appear at Glastonbury Festival.

Notes
  1. The 25 April 2015 concert in New Orleans is a part of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
  2. The 26 June 2015 concert in London is a part of British Summer Time.
  3. The 28 June 2015 concert in Pilton is a part of the Glastonbury Festival.

References
  1. Masters, Tim (30 June 2014). "The Who announce 'long goodbye'". Bbc.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. thewho.com / Blog / Story / The Who 50th anniversary British and Irish tour this autumn (first access date = 1 July 2014).
  3. "F1: Pharrell Williams, The Who in Abu Dhabi". Gulfnews.com. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  4. "The Who Hits 50!". Thegarden.com. 2014. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. "The Who, Glasgow SECC, review: 'too polite' (by Matthew Magee)". Telegraph.co.uk. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. Reed, Ryan (18 September 2015). "The Who Postpone Entire 'Who Hits 50' Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  7. "The Who @ 3Arena – Rescheduled". Dublinconcerts.ie. July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. "The Who shows postponed due to Roger Daltrey illness". BBC. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
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