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another old article i found in today's paper. i believe this has been posted. if it has, sorry

What band still rocks? You know Who

By Steve Morse
Boston Globe 
Published: Thursday, August 17, 2000 

THERE'S NO TALK of a farewell tour this time. Instead, the members of the Who are not only back, but talking about a real future together. The British rockers hope to make another album and keep going the same way as their '60s peers, the Rolling Stones, who have vowed to play until fans stop coming. 

"This is an ongoing band now. We're definitely back as a working band," says Who singer Roger Daltrey, who joins Who mates Pete Townshend and John Entwistle in Northern California on Monday and Tuesday, augmented by drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr's son) and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick. 

"We're back to a five-piece now, with Pete on electric guitar, and that's the way the band works best," says Daltrey. "That also gives us room to experiment and do free-form stuff, which hopefully will give us more ideas for our next album. And Pete is playing like a man possessed. He's really come alive." 

Improved relations 

Formerly known for fragile relations that led to a seven-year hiatus after one farewell tour in the '80s, the Who is now rocking with nightly sets that span its catalog, rather than focusing on the "Quadrophenia" album, which the last tour did. 

The band is now hitting classics like "My Generation," "I Can't Explain" and "Pinball Wizard," but also adding songs not often played, such as "Pure 'n Easy," "After the Fire" ("it wasn't really a Who song, but Pete wrote it for me," says Daltrey) and "Don't Even Know Myself." 

"I'm just having a really good time now," says Daltrey. "I used to be a worrier — and would always be pushing, pushing, pushing — but now I just accept what's there and enjoy it. And I think we all realized how much we bloody missed each other. We feel that whatever time we've got left, we want to make the most of it. It's as simple as that." 

"I especially missed Pete," he adds. "We go back such a long way and have been through so much together. I think Pete feels the same way now. And I've always had a feeling in my gut that with the kind of writing that Pete does, and with the kind of audience we have, we could possibly do our best work at our ages now." (Daltrey is 56, Townshend, 55, and Entwistle, 54.) 

"I feel like we're at a whole new level," says Daltrey. "And I don't think I've lost any of the edge off my voice. It's still there and, if anything, has developed into other areas. I'm really looking forward to trying to make a new album. If we come up with 15 songs of rubbish, we won't put it out. But there's something wonderful about being the ages we are now." 

The return to a five-piece band ("this is much more rock 'n' roll and is like the old Who shows," says Daltrey) was prompted by a short charity tour as a five-piece last year. That included the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View in October 1999. This summer, the band is mainly playing for-profit shows, but also mixing in some benefits, such as a recent one in New York for the Robin Hood Foundation, which raised a startling $10 million. 

"I think it's going into the Guinness Book of Records as the highest amount of money raised in one night for one foundation by one band," says Daltrey. "I think if you're in a position where you can do it, I think you should." 

Hefty ticket prices 

The Who, however, has been attacked by some critics for high ticket prices on this mostly for-profit tour. 

"Everybody is taking knocks for high ticket prices," says Daltrey. "But we're still a lot cheaper than the Stones. And we have to be realistic. Many of our hardcore fans, the people who grew up with us, are now CEOs of companies and can afford it." 

There are two more reasons for the high prices. One is that SFX, the entertainment conglomerate, bought the entire 25-city tour and paid the band huge guarantees, and thus must try to recoup them. And second is that the Who's "Quadrophenia" tour made no money, Daltrey says, because it was so expensive to produce: "It was the most expensive tour we ever did." 

The group is keeping expenses down now, not only with fewer band members but with a minimal stage set that "is really funky and stripped-down, almost as though we're playing in a club." 

Next year, he hopes the band will undertake another tour, possibly of universities (undoubtedly with cheaper tickets). "We want to show young people what they've been missing," he says. "When we were in our 20s, all our idols were Chicago blues guys who were in their 60s. The age difference didn't matter. So my feeling is, why not play universities?" 

scott
3 days until wpb!!!
5 days until tampa!!!
long live rock!!!