The Who: Moving On- 2019 North American Tour / New Album

Daltrey has always had trouble controlling his voice whenever it was in rough shape, even back in the 1970s. You just never know what kind of performance you're going to get with him. He sounds pretty good on this tour so far though.

 

Any news, info, stories, press, regarding the new album that's been supposedly scheduled for a late 2019 release.

 

Going to the show tonight. Can't wait to see my favorite band again!

 

At the show tonight in Tinley Park Pete said the new album is nearly done and will be released "around Christmas"/"in the last quarter of the year". He also shared that Simon's song made it on to the album.

 

A little difficult to judge tonight's show because it was freezing cold in Chicago. Roger commented that singing into a cold wind is a "bitch" and he took his wintery jacket on and off a couple of times. He looked a bit eager to get this one over with (it was no joy standing out on the lawn with the winds whipping either, I can tell you).

Really glad I bailed out of this thread a few weeks ago so I could see the show with no foreknowledge. "Imagine a Man" was of course a really pleasant surprise, as was the return to the '96-era "Won't Get Fooled Again". Sounded like Pete's guitar was way down in the mix throughout "Tommy" for some reason, but sprang to life thereafter. There was definitely enough variety to the show to make it worth seeing them again (for me anyway). It would have been nice if it wasn't like being at a Bears game in January.

 

I was at the show in Tinley Park as well. I enjoyed the show but have to say I don't think the trade off between having an orchestra versus real drums is worth it.

 

Got a ticket to the Pittsburgh show next week.

 

seems The Seeker and Kids Are Alright returned tonight at Tinley Park.... I hope this (small) degree of setlist uncertainty continues ....
Of course what we need are some other songs thrown into the mix too.

That was smart.

 

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Was there tonight too. In fact, I just got home a while ago (had to drop off my sister and nephew). It was freezing. I was in the pavilion and sort of miserable. - It's just not a good venue. The sound was bad and the wind was blowing the sound all over the place...

But a few things really stood out to me:
#1. Roger's voice was incredible. (relative to where we are in Who history) He hit notes he couldn't get close to the last time I saw them years ago... (2006? maybe) I was really really impressed with how great he sounded.

#2. I enjoyed the acoustic "Won't Get Fooled Again" so much more than I would have thought possible for a couple reasons: Two men in their 70's, with on other accompaniment (other than the audience singing along) and it was just so good. They had a lot of fun with it.

#3. Aside from the venue not being great for sound, the mix was pretty off at the beginning. Pete's guitar was practically inaudible at times during the Tommy portion. And it took the snare drum a while to get in place too. Also, I think the orchestra was a little too loud at times. I enjoyed the orchestra a lot and I want them to be loud and clear, but you should never be struggling to hear the guitar, bass or drums when The Who is on stage.

#4. Pete totally abandoned singing in the middle of "Eminence Front" and just solo'd his way through the rest of it. And that was cool.

#5. I believe in general, people do NOT understand Pete and his sense of humor, but he is a very funny guy. And he is definitely the kind of person who is often saying anything, just to say it. And other times, trying to make a point by over-emphasizing it or create a controversy. Even on a small scale: There was even one point where he jokingly complained about the life of a musician and how the bad the pay was. Then said "I don't know how I get away with this, you guys should be booing me!" - That was fun. Also Both Pete and Roger commented A LOT on how cold it was. And it was pretty miserable. Especially for this time of year... and I do believe last year and the couple years before that, we were already starting massive heat waves and practically passing up any spring weather... go figure. You think I'd be used the unpredictable Chicago weather by now.

#6. A whole Who concert without "Substitute", "I Can't Explain", "My Generation", "You Better, You Bet" & "Magic Bus"? That's pretty crazy! And not that they play the following songs all the time, but if you figure in they didn't play "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", "I'm a Boy", "I'm Free", "I Can See For Miles", "Squeeze Box", "Pictures of Lily", "Happy Jack", "Magic Bus", "Summertime Blues" and any other 'popular' song that I can't think of right now, the casual fan might have been a bit surprised. But it was still a great show.

My favorite parts were "Tea and Theatre", "Imagine a Man" (I am always excited to hear a deep cut like this, especially one that hasn't really been played before... but this was better than this man could've imagined), pretty much all of the Quadrophenia stuff, especially "The Rock" and Roger hitting some of those high notes in "Love Reign O'er Me", Pete's soloing throughout "Eminence Front" and all the banter. (Pete mentioned that the new album was mostly done, but there were small 'bits' they needed to finish. And as Ray mentioned above, that Simon's song was going to be on the album. He mentioned he talked to the label yesterday to confirm that they definitely were going to keep the song on the album and not drop it.)

My least favorite parts were my frozen limbs, the wind blowing the sound around, the fact that I after all of these years I am still so disappointed in this venue and the ridiculous torrential downpour I had to drive home in!

Overall, I cannot believe it is 2019 and I just saw The Who for the seventh time in 30 years and it was that enjoyable, well played and vocally solid.

 

"The Rock" was one of the best and most musically intense moments of the night for me.

 

^ great review, PhoffiFozz . thanks !

 

Excellent show. The sound was a bit off though, likely due to the FREEZING WEATHER! It was really cold out there. I felt bad for all those musicians on stage if they felt anything like the crowd did.

I really liked that the fact that they skipped a lot of the more popular songs too. IMO, the format, Tommy/other/Quad made for a much better show. Bad venue for this type of show though. I feel like I missed a lot of subtleties of the score. I really hope this comes out on DVD/BD so I can hear it proper.

Imagine A Man seemed to be a bit of a bathroom song, which is too bad. I'm guessing 99% of that crowd hasn't even heard By Numbers, but their loss. I was thrilled they actually played a deep cut off my favorite album.

Overall, great show. I would go see them again in Alpine Valley but can't make the date. I sure hope it's not the last I've seen of these guys!

 

Glad I was able to make the trek south a couple of days earlier... caught the show in Noblesville Indiana (suburb of Indianapolis). It was 82 degrees and the venue is superior to Tinley Park's. Great show. The band was on and having fun too!

 

Excellent review that I am in firm agreement with. Out on the lawn the venue and acoustics and the high winds created a phasing effect with the sound - clear one moment than muffled and distance the next. They definitely got louder when the orchestra sat out, which made those songs a lot easier to hear clearly. I was afraid we wouldn’t hear Pete’s guitar all night, so when he let loose during “The Seeker” (which was great, imo) it was quite the moment. The way Pete introduced “Tea and Theater” made it seem, for just a second, that we were going to get a new song. Oh well.

 

I've been on the fence about this but think I'm going to pull the trigger. Some of the prices on reseller sites are too good to pass up.

 

Any idea about what time they have been hitting the stage with a 7:30 start time and an opening band? Trying to figure out if I can get there in time.

 

Last night they went on at 8:30

 

Oh yeah! Pete's introduction to "Tea and Theatre" totally psyched me out! "We've been working on a new album (a brief pontification on the new album) and the next song we're going to do is the only song we're doing from [pause] the previous album!" LOL! I almost wonder if he knowingly did that or if he was just, well, being Pete.

"The Seeker" was great and I forgot to mention it. And yes, I think the wind briefly stopped for that song, because it was one of the clearest songs of the night.

The other thing that I noticed and forgot in my review is that I loved Roger's harmonica playing on "I'm One" and I can't remember if he has ever done the before and I just forgot...

I should have contacted you before the show and stopped by and said "hi"!

 

Well they won't be coming around here around the North Pole where we reside.

Looking at the clips you guys have posted, The Who sound good with their energetic back line, Roger's voice is recognizable and Pete does 180 degrees vertical spins on stage. Don't know what you could reasonably expect more from legends of this age still touring with all the the surviving original members??

 

Drowned has been good every tour since 1996. Move On is the name of the tour?

 

That's what I thought too. Probably the last time to see these guys, who knows. But, I feel like it's a proper farewell for me. Saw them on the 1980 tour and a few times in between and the music just means to much to me not to go at these ticket prices.

 

You know what I do to dampen any anxiety caused by the wait for the new Who lp? Listen to the two new tracks on TRUANCY and just calm myself right down.

 

8:30 and you're probably safe. In Buffalo, they came on sometime between 8:30 and 9:00.

 

just noticed this thread....
Happy 50th to Tommy and Happy 74th To Pete Townshend!

and this
https://nypost.com/2019/05/22/the-whos-game-changing-rock-opera-tommy-turns-50/

 

Great moment... Pete performing Drowned in Noblesville Indiana on 5/18/19 (sorry I didn't start recording it from the start. glad the folks behind me were cool I stood to capture this!)