A long goodbye decades in the making, The Who’s last tour may truly be the end, but their sound remains timeless and fierce
I saw The Who’s Farewell Tour in 1982.
It was the first time I saw them, and I’ve seen them six times since then. They’re my favorite band but, yeesh, how many times does it take to say farewell? This time, though, I think they really mean it.
Pete Townshend is 80 and Roger Daltrey is 81.
The days of Daltrey‘s microphone twirling and Townshend’s sky-high split-leg leaps are long gone.
The last time I saw them, Townshend tried a jump and fell on his backside. I pictured a headline the following morning: “Old Man Breaks Hip At Bridgestone Arena.”
He was fine. He just got up and kept on playing.
So I looked forward to seeing them this one last time at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunshine, Florida.
It was the first stop on their – I promise – last tour ever.
Named after one of their songs, it’s “The Song Is Over Tour.” I went to the show in Florida because my college roommate Rob lives there.
We’ve seen The Who together several times, and regular TNOCS readers might remember that I went to see the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening and Ex-TC with him recently.
I always thought Led Zeppelin did the right thing, breaking up when drummer John Bonham died.
The Who didn’t do that.
Drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle died in 1978 and 2002 respectively, and the band kept on going.
They were each crucial parts of the group’s identity and sound, and still inspire cheers when they appear on the screen behind the band.
While their two albums without Moon and two more without Entwistle were good, they weren’t The Who anymore. They were a close approximation.
On the other hand, a close approximation is still pretty great. I wouldn’t have been able to see them at all if they had broken up in 1978, and I’ve kept on going to see them. They’re really that good live.
This was the first show of the North American tour.
The opening acts will be different from one town to another and include Billy Idol, Joe Bonomassa, The Joe Perry Project, Candlebox, Booker T. Jones, and others.
On this first stop, the opener was Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters.
It’s small of me, but I’ll admit I wasn’t excited and didn’t mind that my flight was delayed.
I was wrong though. Thornton put on a good set.
It was fairly standard, mid-tempo, bluesy Rock but much better than I expected. His singing voice is higher than his speaking voice and has no drawl at all. He knew nobody was there to see him and introduced each song by telling us how many songs they had left in their set, as if to say:
“You only have to put up with us for five more songs.”
He graciously thanked us for our patience. They finished with a cover of “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” a Kinks B-side.
After an intermission and a filmed message from Roger Daltrey about the Teenage Cancer Trust, The Who opened with “I Can’t Explain.” Not many bands that can still start shows with their first single:
Especially from 60 years ago. But the song holds up.
And so does Daltrey‘s voice.
The man’s 81, so I really didn’t expect him to have the vocal power of his youth.
He’s had a reputation of occasionally having off nights, but he was strong and on pitch. It reminded me of the full-throated, barrel-chested voice of Tom Jones.
Though Rob said he kinda looked like Marge from the bridge club.
If Daltrey was weak at all, it was in his phrasing.
He’d sometimes start lines early or late. I don’t know if he just got lost or if he couldn’t hear the band. It may have been the latter, because a similar issue led to long-time drummer Zak Starkey being dismissed from the band. Twice.
Now, Scott Devoures capably fills the role.
They aborted “Behind Blue Eyes” a few measures in and a technician came out with a new receiver for Daltrey‘s in-ear monitors. Daltrey quipped that the tech was just attaching it to his belt and “not playing with my ass.” Once fixed, they restarted the song and performed it perfectly.
Technical issues aside, there were a few mistakes here and there, but as Daltrey said, “You never remember the perfect show, you remember the f*ck-ups.” Still, the backing band was tight and had the right feel for the songs.
After “Substitute” and “Who Are You,” Townshend thanked the audience, though he couldn’t help but joke.
“It’s so great you’ve all come out to see us this one last time,” he said, “but if any of you’ve got very, very, very deep pockets, Roger and I are always available for private parties.”
He’s not known for humility, but he went on to sincerely thank us.
Townshend later introduced a song by saying he could no longer hit its high notes and that his younger brother Simon was going to sing it.
Simon has played guitar with The Who for a couple decades now, and has a solo career of his own, but he’s never sung lead at a Who show before.
While his voice isn’t quite the same as his brother’s, it’s close enough and his version of “Going Mobile” was fun and engaging.
It was also the first the band performed the song live ever.
The older Townshend was on form all night.
He might not be able to hit those high notes anymore but his voice is supple and as distinct as ever. He handled the lead vocals of “Eminence Front” with ease.
And no one plays guitar like Pete Townshend. His rhythm parts include flamenco flourishes and his leads mix flat and finger picking.
He palms the pick like a magician palms cards so he can finger pick a phrase, and then produces the pick again for strumming.
His lead lines use Country-inspired licks with Rock phrasing. It’s unique.
While he doesn’t jump like a kangaroo anymore, he still threw in some windmills. And didn’t fall on his butt.
The set list had a couple surprises.
The raucous early single “My Generation” evolved into a version of “Cry If You Want,” a song from the post-Moon album It’s Hard. There was also a medley of “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me,” the only two songs they did from Tommy.
Towards the end of the night, there was a section of the set of five songs from Quadrophenia.
Rob’s favorite part of the night was a cool improvised section during “5:15.”
That was followed by their two most recognizable songs, “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Food Again.”
I expected that to be the end of the night and many people left, even as Townshend and Daltrey started “Tea & Theater.” I guess some in the audience heard what they came for and wanted to beat the traffic. Their loss.
The Who finished with the tour’s namesake, “The Song Is Over.”
It’s from 1971, but they’ve never performed it live until this year. It’s a special song for me.
I have a clause in my will that if there’s a wake for me, “The Song Is Over” should be “played at volume sufficient to preclude conversation.”
I want people to really listen to its idea that life is music and music is life. It’s fully appropriate for it to be the last song of the last tour.
Aside from the deep cut “Cry If You Want,” the set was filled with hits and fan favorites. However, they made some unusual choices in new arrangements of familiar songs.
Both “Love Reign Over Me” and “The Song Is Over” were given gentle endings, unlike the bombast of the studio versions.
Daltrey altered melodies to show his power without going for too high notes.
Age and bad knees may prevent them from leaping about the stage like they did 50 years ago. But Who concerts are never boring.
This show was the best I’ve seen them in the past 20 years, since Entwistle died.
They’re truly passionate about this one. It may be too late to buy tickets, but see them if you can.
After this tour, the song is truly over.
The Who
Sunrise, Florida August 16, 2025
Set List:
- “I Can’t Explain”
- “Substitute”
- “Who Are You”
- “The Seeker”
- “I Can See for Miles”
- “Bargain”
- “Love Ain’t for Keepin'”
- “Behind Blue Eyes”
- “Going Mobile”
- “Pinball Wizard / See Me, Feel Me”
- “Eminence Front”
- “My Generation / Cry If You Want”
- “You Better You Bet”
- “The Real Me”
- “I’ve Had Enough”
- “I’m One”
- “5:15”
- “Love, Reign O’er Me”
- “Baba O’Riley”
- “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
- (band introductions)
- “Tea & Theatre”
- “The Song Is Over”
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