Townshend, Daltrey ready to answer 'Who are you?'

[Brian Cady]

>From The Morning Call (Pennsylvania):
http://tinyurl.com/rjysg

Townshend, Daltrey ready to answer 'Who are you?'
By Len Righi Of The Morning Call The self-examining
query "Who are you?" was pointedly posed by The Who in
the form of an album and song title in 1978. Punk was
in its ascendancy then, and the veteran rock band was
questioning its relevance to a new generation of
young, loud and snotty British rebels, which could
have easily described Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey,
John Entwistle and Keith Moon in the mid-1960s.

Moon, arguably rock's greatest drummer, died in 1978,
and Entwistle, an immensely talented bassist, died in
2002 in Las Vegas from a heart attack exacerbated by
cocaine abuse.
So there's no doubt that surviving members Townshend,
61, and Daltrey, 62, realize that the same question
would have to be answered, at least implicitly, when
The Who announced its first world tour in decades in
July.

Even with tickets costing from $54 to $240 for the
tour's opener Tuesday night at Philadelphia's Wachovia
Center, the sold out in a few minutes, so that should
be a source of some comfort.

But the definitive reply will come when The Who
performs songs from the new 10-track mini-rock opera,
"Wire & Glass," and material from a new studio album —
once titled "WHO2," now called "Endless Wire." The
disc, due in stores Oct. 31, is The Who's first studio
album since 1982's "It's Hard."

Townshend has said that 12 "Endless Wire" tracks were
inspired by his novella "The Boy Who Heard Music,"
which he published on the Internet as a serial. 

Song titles include "A Man In A Purple Dress" and "In
The Ether." The first, Townshend recently told
Newhouse News Service, "could be an old Bob Dylan
song, the second from an arch off-Broadway show by
Stephen Sondheim."

Backing Townshend and Daltrey on this tour will be
John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, Pino Palladino on
bass, Zak (son of Ringo) Starkey on drums and Simon
(brother of Pete) Townshend on guitar and vocals.

Along with Who classics such as "My Generation," the
"Tommy" finale, "Behind Blue Eyes," "Won't Get Fooled
Again" and "Baba O'Riley," Townshend is promising that
"rarities" such as "Cry If You Want" from "It's Hard"
will be part of the program.

In the early days of The Who, Townshend and Daltrey
were known to have butted heads with some regularity.
Though both have mellowed, the two have had at least
one recent public disagreement — over free webcasting
of shows on this tour. Townshend, who independently
allowed webcasting of The Who's recent Europe
concerts, was in favor. Daltrey remains opposed.

When asked by the Newhouse News Service to clarify his
relationship with Daltrey, Townshend noted that the
singer is more than just a business partner and
friend.

"We go all the way back to high school, so we are both
from the same 'hood,"' Townshend said. "When I stand
next to Roger on the stage I don't pretend he's my
best friend, or that he likes me as much as he
respects my songs, but we love each other, and we
support each other. So we are more than friends in
some ways. 
"

"We two old buggers have one of the great banners of
rock history to wave, and we are determined to wave
it, partly in memory of our two buddies who flew the
coop. Roger and I have each other, and that means more
today than it did when we first crossed angry paths as
kids in Acton in 1960, 46 years ago."

The Who, with Peeping Tom, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wachovia
Center, 3601 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, 215-336-3600.
Sold out.


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