[no subject]

The Who gets a substitute to keep tour going 
A 'tribute' to late bassist -- and millions in tickets

by Joel Selvin, Chronicle Staff Writer

British rock superstars the Who caught the music world
by surprise Friday when they announced that they will
begin their U.S. tour only five days after the death
of bass guitarist John Entwistle. 

The Who -- one of rock's oldest and most influential
bands -- will hit the stage with only half of its
original members, singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist
Pete Townshend. 

At stake are tens of millions of dollars in ticket
sales. A cancellation of the tour would have been a
serious loss to promoter Clear Channel Communications
during the important summer concert season. 

The 27-date tour had been set to start Friday night at
the Hard Rock Hotel- Casino in Las Vegas. Now it will
begin Monday at the Hollywood Bowl. Wednesday's stop
at Shoreline Amphitheatre still is scheduled. 

The Who's shows were widely expected to be the
highlight of the summer concert season. While Bruce
Springsteen will hit the road in August, Paul
McCartney is expected to start another tour in
September and the Rolling Stones will start their tour
Sept. 3, the summer's shows have been dominated by
package tours such as Moby's Area 2 and Ozzy
Osbourne's Ozzfest. 

With an estimated $20 million worth of tickets sold,
canceling the tour would have been a blow to Clear
Channel, already hurting from recent tours by 'N Sync,
the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears that failed to
live up to sales expectations. 

EACH SHOW WORTH MILLIONS
The Who's 2000 U.S. tour earned $21.1 million. A
source close to the band said the Who already has been
paid $25 million for the current tour. With tickets
priced as high as $250, gross revenues for each show
could run between $2 million and $3 million.
Additional tour dates were announced only two days
before Entwistle, 57, died Thursday in Las Vegas of an
apparent heart attack. The Clark County, Nev.,
coroner's office conducted an autopsy Friday. 

The Who's management released a statement that the
tour will continue as a "tribute to John Entwistle." 

Entwistle's son Christopher said, "This is what he
would have wished." 

"We're prepared to do a show," said concert video
director Paul Becher of San Francisco-based Nocturne
Productions. "It's going to be weird for everyone, I'm
sure." 

Entwistle's two surviving bandmates, Townshend and
Daltrey, left a message on the band's Web site: "The
Ox has left the building -- we've lost another great
friend. Thanks for your love and support. Pete and
Roger." The Ox was Entwistle's nickname. 

EXHIBIT OF DRAWINGS
A source close to the band told Reuters on Thursday
night that a devastated Daltrey and Townshend spent
several hours in Los Angeles after learning of their
bandmate's death. Entwistle had arrived in Las Vegas
ahead of the others to open a traveling exhibition of
his cartoon-like drawings at Grammy's Art of Music
Gallery in the Aladdin Hotel-Casino. That exhibition
and photographs of Entwistle will open at the San
Francisco Art Exchange on Geary Street on Friday. 

Entwistle will be replaced by British studio musician
Pino Palladino. Original drummer Keith Moon died of a
drug overdose in 1978. He was first replaced by Kenney
Jones and later by Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey.
Palladino played with Townshend on his 1993 U.S. solo
tour and recently backed a lineup of rock royalty
performing in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Golden
Jubilee celebration at Buckingham Palace. A tour
organizer said that Palladino had been keeping his
schedule open in case Entwistle's heart condition
caused him to miss shows on the tour. 

"I think it's the best thing they could have done,"
said Sherry Wasserman, executive senior vice president
of Bill Graham Presents, the Bay Area division of
Clear Channel. "It took them a long time to get back
together. I think they realized the music and the
money didn't need to wait to continue." 

E-mail Joel Selvin at jselvin@sfchronicle.com. 


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