??

[Alan McKendree]

>why is pete wearing headphones onstage now?

He  doesn't wear them all the time.  He said at Brighton that he has 
to wear them to hear that acoustic he's playing.  More accomplished 
gearheads than I have noted that he's using 50-watt Hiwatts instead 
of 100s, to help protect his ears, and presumably the "cans" are 
another measure along those lines.

Cheers,
-- 
Alan
"the average Texan...carries not just a gun but a SHOTGUN."
     --Pete Townshend, 1967