The Who Hits 50!

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

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.

The Who Hits 50!

Tour by The Who
Location	Middle East Europe North America
Associated album	The Who Hits 50!
Start date	23 November 2014
End date	29 May 2016
Legs	5
No. of shows	49 in North America 18 in Europe 1 in the Middle East 69 in total
The Who concert chronology
Quadrophenia and More (2012–13) The Who Hits 50! (2014–16) Back to the Who Tour 51! (2016)

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 the 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

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, tambourine
• Pete Townshend – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
• John Entwistle – bass solo on "5:15" (via video and audio recording from Live at the Royal Albert Hall)
• Keith Moon – drums, vocals on "Bell Boy" (via audio recording from Quadrophenia)

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	—^[a]
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	Forest Hills, 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	—^[b]
28 June 2015	Pilton		Worthy Farm	135,000	—^[c]
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. . 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.

External links

• The Who Online Concert Guide