The Who's representatives say they have nothing to do with the upcoming "Rhode Island ticket exchange," which made headlines late last week. It seems that Dunkin' Donuts Center General Manager Lawrence Lepore, who is allowing ticket holders for the Who's canceled 1979 gig when the venue was called the Providence Civic Center, to trade them in for 2013 tickets, is acting independently from the band. So independently it seems, that Pollstar reported that Who reps called the ticket exchange "a hoax" upon hearing of it on Thursday (July 19th). The Who was originally scheduled to perform on December 17th, 1979 at the Providence Civic Center, but the show was canceled following a city council vote after the stampede death of 11 fans on December 3rd, 1979 at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum.

 

Lawrence Lepore explained, "I thought it was a nice gesture, we could do something for charity, and they seem to have gotten a lot of mileage out of it. What am I going to get, maybe 10 tickets back? I doubt it. But if I've got to buy 10 of the best seats, in the end it's all worthwhile." So far, one fan has traded their 1979 ticket for the Who's February 26th tour closer -- which marks the band's first Rhode Island gig since 1975.

 

The Who's then-drummer Kenney Jones recalls that although a heart-wrenching situation for the Who, the Cincinnati tragedy, truly had nothing to do with the band: "We were in the clear. And we had all the families who had lost their kids write to us all -- collectively and individually -- saying, 'Look, please don't feel guilty in any way, please don't blame yourselves.' And it was, literally, the promoter's fault as I remember. Y'know, this bus arrived late, apparently, and then heard we had already started and they didn't wanna miss it, so they rushed for this one door -- that was the only door open -- and straight down a flight of steps. One fell over, the other one fell on top of that one, and that's what happened."

 

 

The Who North American tour dates (subject to change):

November 1 - Sunrise, FL - BankAtlantic Center 

November 3 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center 

November 5 - Duluth, GA - The Arena At Gwinnett Center 

November 8 - Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center 

November 9 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum 

November 11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Consol Energy Center 

November 13 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center 

November 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 

November 16 - Boston, MA - TD Garden 

November 20 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre 

November 21 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place 

November 23 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre 

November 24 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena 

November 27 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center 

November 29 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena 

December 2 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena 

December 5 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Arena 

December 6 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center 

December 8 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center 

December 9 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena 

January 28 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center 

January 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center 

February 1 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena 

February 2 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center 

February 5 - San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center 

February 6 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena 

February 8 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel / Casino 

February 12 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center 

February 14 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center 

February 16 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center 

February 17 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center 

February 19 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum 

February 21 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 

February 22 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall 

February 24 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena 

February 26 - Providence, RI - Dunkin' Donuts Center

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