The Who Tour 2002

The Who Tour 2002 was a tour by The Who, partially in support of the DVD The Who & Special Guests: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. It was the first tour the band did without original bassist John Entwistle, who died the night before the North American tour was to begin; the group decided to complete the tour with the help of bassist Pino Palladino, who continued playing with them until 2016.

The Who Tour 2002
Tour by The Who
Start date27 January 2002
End date28 September 2002
Legs4
No. of shows32
The Who concert chronology

History

After a single appearance in 2001 at The Concert for New York City in October, The Who began the new year with a series of shows in England that culminated with two charity dates at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As in 2000, these benefited the Teenage Cancer Trust. A full-scale tour of North America was then planned, with Pete Townshend's brother Simon added to the lineup to help with backing vocals and rhythm guitar.

After rehearsals in England, the group travelled to Las Vegas for the first scheduled date, only to have Entwistle's death from a heart attack the night before (27 June) throw the tour and the band itself into question. Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey concluded that the tour should continue and secured the services of Pino Palladino, a seasoned session and live bassist who had worked with Townshend on past solo projects. They contacted him in Philadelphia just as he was planning to travel back to the United Kingdom.

The first two dates were rescheduled and the tour commenced with an emotional show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 1 July after only two days of rehearsals. The group eventually played 27 dates over four legs, often wearing black and paying tribute to Entwistle. The tour finished at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on 28 September.

"Because of the power of the shows," Townshend wrote on his website, "and their financial success in a slightly depressed marketplace, there are those who conclude that I will naturally continue to perform with Roger under the Who banner. There are those, who perhaps think they know me a better as a grouch, a spoiler, a self-obsessed creative, an insecure and pretentious, self-styled artist, who conclude that now it is all over."[1] Ultimately, however, the band continued to play with this lineup for several years.

Live Releases

Live material from 2002 has appeared on the following releases:

Tour band

Additional Members

Typical set lists

January–February UK Dates

The set list for the short series of United Kingdom dates early in the year was similar to what was played in 2000, but a longer selection of Tommy material included the first performances of "Amazing Journey", "Sparks", and "I'm Free" since the 1989 tour; the second show in Portsmouth also featured the "Overture" and "It's a Boy". The band also revived cover tunes that had been part of their act years before, namely "Summertime Blues", "Baby Don't You Do It" (not played since 1973), and "Young Man Blues". As these were the last shows the group played with John Entwistle, they were also the last in which they performed "My Wife" and "Boris the Spider".

Here is a fairly typical set list for these shows (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

  1. "I Can't Explain"
  2. "Substitute"
  3. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"
  4. "I Don't Even Know Myself" (Added on 31 January)
  5. "Amazing Journey"
  6. "Sparks" (replaced with an instrumental jam on 28 January)
  7. "Pinball Wizard"
  8. "I'm Free"
  9. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
  10. "Who Are You"
  11. "Getting In Tune" (Added on 31 January)
  12. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  13. "Drowned" (Townshend solo acoustic)
  14. "Baba O'Riley"
  15. "You Better You Bet"
  16. "5.15"
  17. "Won't Get Fooled Again"
  18. "The Kids Are Alright"
  19. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
  20. "Young Man Blues" (Mose Allison) (Added on 31 January)
  21. "My Generation"

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:

North American Tour

The set for the North American tour was modified to include the first performances of "Another Tricky Day" since 1981, along with "Eminence Front" and a Quadrophenia segment now including "Sea and Sand" and "Love, Reign o'er Me". The encore was a Tommy medley, with "See Me, Feel Me" performed regularly for the first time since 1989. The group had rehearsed both "Join Together" and "Music Must Change" before John Entwistle's death, but neither made the set list for the tour. Towards the end of the tour, Townshend further developed the Entwistle tribute song "Old Red Wine" (played at the end of "My Generation"), adding lyrics that would appear when the song was recorded for the Then and Now studio version. There was very little variation in the group's act throughout all four legs of the tour, most likely due to their having a new bass player.

Here is a fairly typical set list for these shows (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):

  1. "I Can't Explain"
  2. "Substitute"
  3. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"
  4. "Who Are You"
  5. "Another Tricky Day"
  6. "The Relay" (not played on 28 August or 23 September)
  7. "Bargain"
  8. "Baba O'Riley"
  9. "Eminence Front"
  10. "Sea and Sand"
  11. "5.15"
  12. "Love, Reign o'er Me" (performed twice on 24 August)
  13. "Behind Blue Eyes"
  14. "You Better You Bet"
  15. "The Kids Are Alright"
  16. "My Generation" (including "Old Red Wine")
  17. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Encores:

  1. "Pinball Wizard"
  2. "Amazing Journey"
  3. "Sparks"
  4. "See Me, Feel Me"

There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour. Some other songs were played which are not in the above lists:

  • "I Can See for Miles"
    • Performed on 26 July.
  • "I'm One"
    • Performed on 1, 3, 4, 30 and 31 August; and 14, 15 and 17 September.
  • "I Don't Even Know Myself"
    • Performed on 23 September.

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue Opening Act
Europe
27 January 2002PortsmouthEnglandPortsmouth GuildhallN/A
28 January 2002
31 January 2002WatfordWatford Colosseum
7 February 2002LondonRoyal Albert Hall
8 February 2002
North America – first leg
1 July 2002Hollywood, CaliforniaUnited StatesHollywood BowlCounting Crows
3 July 2002Mountain View, CaliforniaShoreline Amphitheatre
4 July 2002Wheatland, CaliforniaAutowest Amphitheater
6 July 2002George, WashingtonThe Gorge
North America – second leg
26 July 2002Mansfield, MassachusettsUnited StatesTweeter CenterRobert Plant
27 July 2002Camden, New JerseyTweeter Center
29 July 2002Hershey, PennsylvaniaHersheypark Stadium
31 July 2002New York CityMadison Square Garden
1 August 2002
3 August 2002
4 August 2002
North America – third leg
23 August 2002Auburn Hills, MichiganUnited StatesThe Palace of Auburn HillsRobert Plant
24 August 2002Tinley Park, IllinoisTweeter Center Chicago
25 August 2002Noblesville, IndianaVerizon Wireless Music Center
27 August 2002Grand Rapids, MichiganVan Andel Arena
28 August 2002Columbus, OhioPolaris Amphitheater
30 August 2002Holmdel, New JerseyPNC Bank Arts Center
31 August 2002Wantagh, New YorkJones Beach Amphitheater
North America – Fourth Leg
14 September 2002Paradise, NevadaUnited StatesThe JointN/A
15 September 2002Irvine, CaliforniaVerizon Wireless AmphitheatreCounting Crows
17 September 2002Los AngelesGreek Theatre
19 September 2002Greenwood Village, ColoradoFiddler's Green Amphitheatre
21 September 2002Dallas, TexasAmerican Airlines Center
23 September 2002ChicagoHouse of BluesPearl Jam
24 September 2002Saint Paul, MinnesotaXcel Energy CenterCounting Crows
27 September 2002Mansfield, MassachusettsTweeter Center
28 September 2002TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre

See also

References

  1. Originally on the now defunct petetownshend.co.uk, quoted in "Who's next?"; Classic Rock #48, Christmas 2002, p7
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