Peter Townshend, who's currently on tour with the Who behind a revival of their 1973 rock opera Quadrophenia, took time out to update fans on his state of mind as the Who delve into their first road trek in four years -- as well as talking a bit of politics.

 

On Wednesday (November 7th) Townshend posted on his blog on TheWho.com, saying:

 

"Great to be in the U.S.A. on Election Day. I would have been happy for either candidate to win. There are pros and cons. The only longing I have is for the President to work more closely with the UK than he appears to have done before. As unpopular as they ended up with the deep thinkers, George W. Bush and Tony Blair were friends, and that -- to me -- exemplified what I feel is most important about the relationship between the UK and the U.S.A. We are above all else friends. Friendship is not 'special' (as in the 'special' relationship'), it is normal, and accepting.

 

And so the Who tour kicked off in the teeth of a hurricane, and our immediate duty to our millions of fans in the Northeast is to promise that we will hopefully do more than just offer our prayers. While we're here we'll try to do something practical, as I am certain will all of our rock and pop buddies. Watch this space.

 

The shows so far? I'm doing great. The stage level is very quiet, and that suits me. I want to hang on to my hearing, which is still good enough to mix music like I did for the Quadrophenia: Director's Cut, and to cut my own demos at home. Roger is singing incredibly well. His vision is an interpretation of Quadrophenia rather than a straight narrative, and that seems to suit the period we are in as the two surviving members of the old Who, and our age. It FEELS great to me (I can't see the screens behind me and I haven't been able to see the entire set of projections because I was working right up until rehearsals) and that is the best measure for me. Roger and his creative team have clearly done a great job.

 

The audiences so far have been wonderful, and the shows promise to continue to improve. It's great to see some old faces, but as always I'm glad to see a few younger people in the crowd, and I hope they haven't been dragged along to check us out by nagging parents (or grandparents!) Thanks to all of you who have bought my book.

 

Pete Townshend told us that although the Who's fan base continues to grow, he finds that the band's newer fans differ from the die-hards of the 1970s: "They don't have the same kind of parochial loyalties and needs that they used to have. They're much more eclectic, they're much more generous in spirit, they're much more broadly-based. Do you know what? They love music. Just music. Well, hey-ho!"

 

Roger Daltrey, who's now 68, says that there's no reason for rockers to stop being relevant artistically just because they hit the 60-year-old mark: "I've always laughed at people who say, 'Oh, you're too old to rock n' roll.' I don't. . . to me, it's got nothing to do with your age or any of that -- it's to do with the music, and what that music itself generates." 

 

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, 30 - 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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