The Who has finally added a Bay Area date to its tour itinerary.
And here we thought those classic rock icons might forget us.
Then news came this morning that vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend and company are adding a show at the SAP Center in San Jose on Oct. 24.
Yet, the good news doesn’t stop there, because another Rock and Roll Hall of Famer — Mike Campbell, of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame — is set to appear as well. So make sure to turn out to the show early enough to catch opening act Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Sept. 1. There is also a presale that begins on Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. See ticketmaster.com for more information.
The San Jose show is one of two new gigs added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act’s road show — The Who Hits Back! Tour — with the other being in Phoenix on Oct. 30.
The itinerary already included one stop in Northern California — Oct. 26 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The trek kicks off Oct. 2 in Toronto.
The tour features the group — featuring the two remaining original members, Daltrey and Townshend — sharing the stage with different orchestras in U.S. and Canada. The touring ensemble includes guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother), keyboardists Loren Gold and Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son), backing vocalist Billy Nicholls, orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder “passionately delivering The Who’s many classics, as well as songs from their most recent album, titled ‘Who,'” according to a news release.
The Who Hits Back! Tour dates:
Oct 2 / Scotiabank Arena / Toronto, ON SPECIAL GUEST Steven Page
Oct 4 / Little Caesars Arena / Detroit, MI SPECIAL GUEST Steven Page
Oct 7 / UBS Arena / Belmont Park, NY SPECIAL GUEST Steven Page
Oct 9 / Schottenstein Center / Columbus, OH SPECIAL GUEST Steven Page
Oct 12 / United Center / Chicago, IL SPECIAL GUEST Steven Page
Oct 14 / Enterprise Center / St. Louis, MO SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Oct 17 / Ball Arena / Denver, CO SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Oct 20 / Moda Center / Portland, OR SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Oct 22 / Climate Pledge Arena / Seattle, WA SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
*Oct 24 / SAP Center / San Jose, CA SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Oct 26 / Golden 1 Center / Sacramento, CA SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Oct 28 / Honda Center / Anaheim, CA SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
*Oct 30 / Ak-Chin Pavilion / Phoenix, AZ SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Nov 1 / Hollywood Bowl / Los Angeles, CA SPECIAL GUEST Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs
Nov 4 + 5 / Dolby Live at Park MGM / Las Vegas, NV SPECIAL GUEST The Wild Things
Band's upcoming shows will once again pair Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey with local symphonies
The Who are heading back to North America in late April for an extensive tour that will keep them on the road through early November. They will once again be joined by local orchestras at every stop for an evening of music heavy on classics from Tommy, Quadrophenia, Who’s Next, and their 2019 LP Who in addition to selections from their other albums.
Some of the shows were originally booked for 2019 and delayed because Roger Daltrey was suffering from a vocal ailment, while others were scheduled for 2020 and postponed due to the pandemic. They have added several shows to the itinerary, and they’re calling the whole tour “The Who Hits Back!”
They first tried out the orchestra concept on 2019’s Moving On! tour. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were joined for that run by their longtime drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Jon Button, guitarist-vocalist Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother), keyboardist Loren Gold, bassist Jon Button, background vocalist Billy Nicholls, orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby, and lead cellist Audrey Snyder. That same team is back this time around, though they’ll be joined by additional keyboardist Emily Marshall.
Townshend says the presence of the orchestras gives him a focus he doesn’t have at traditional Who concerts. “It gives me a chance to make sure what I play, what I do, where I look, how I behave on the stage, is more connected with the people around me,” he tells Rolling Stone, “and with the audience, and with, to get prosaic about it, an inner sense.
“In other words,” he continues, “I don’t lose myself the way I did when I used to jump around, have a big adrenaline rush, and then come off the stage and someone would say, ‘Great show,’ or someone would say, ‘Terrible show,’ and I wouldn’t really know what I had done, to be honest, since I was like someone running a marathon. So the orchestra gives me space.”
Notable shows on the tour include a headlining set at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, a return to the original Woodstock site in Bethel Woods, New York, and the band’s first concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, since the 1979 gig where 11 Who fans died in a stampede shortly after the doors opened.
“At last, we can close the loop on the disaster that happened back in 1979,” says Townshend. “We’ve done a lot of work on that. There’s been a documentary [The Who: The Night That Changed Rock] about it. This has been in the air for a while.”
And even though Daltrey is 77 and Townshend is 76, they’re not billing this as the band’s final tour. “Roger is of the opinion that he wants to sing until he drops,” says Townshend. “That’s not my philosophy of life. There are other things that I want to do, still want to do, and will do, I hope. I hope I’ll live long enough to do them.”
“But it’s not a farewell tour,” he continues. “Apart from anything else, we still have people who have tickets for the U.K. 2019 tour. We’re very, very keen to do that tour and we’ll be doing that tour in 2023, I think. But I’m I’m talking about stuff I don’t really know about. I don’t have any guarantees, like everybody else. I don’t really know for sure what’s going to happen next month.”
Here are the dates for the Who’s 2022 tour. Find tickets here.
April 22 – Hard Rock @ Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 24 – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena @ Jacksonville, FL
April 27 – Amalie Arena @ Tampa, FL
April 20 – New Orleans Jazz Festival
May 3 – Moody Center ATX @ Austin, TX
May 2 – American Airlines Center @ Dallas, TX
May 8 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion @ The Woodlands, TX
May – Paycom Center @ Oklahoma City, TX
May 13 – FedEx Forum @ Memphis, TN
May 15 – TQL Stadium @ Cincinnati, OH
May 18 – TD Garden @ Boston, MA
May 20 – Wells Fargo Center @ Philadelphia, PA
May 23 – Capital One Arena @ Washington,
D.C.
May 26 – Madison Square Garden @ New York City, NY
May 28 – Bethel Woods Center of the Arts @ Bethel, NY
Oct 2 – Scotiabank Arena @ Toronto, ON
Oct 4 – Little Caesars Arena @ Detroit, MI
Oct 7 – UBS Arena @ Elmont, NY
Oct 9 – Schottenstein Center @ Columbus, OH
Oct 12 – United Center @ Chicago, IL
Oct 14 – Enterprise Center @ St. Louis, MO
Oct 17 – Ball Arena @ Denver, CO
Oct 20 – Moda Center @ Portland, OR
Oct 22 – Climate Pledge Arena @ Seattle,
WA
Oct 26 – Golden 1 Center @ Sacramento, CA
Oct 28 – Honda Center @ Anaheim, CA
Nov 1 – Hollywood Bowl @ Los Angeles, CA
Nov 4 – Dolby Live @ Las Vegas, NV
Nov 5 – Dolby Live @ Las Vegas, NV