The Who crossed over to the Great White North on Saturday for a concert at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Arriving as part of The Who Hits Back! tour, the concert featured the band’s first performance of the Face Dances track “Another Tricky Day” in 18 years.
For The Who Hits Back! the British classic rock act helmed by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend is touring with an orchestra that helps fully realize the guitarist’s classic compositions. The show started off with a survey of Townshend’s 1969 rock opera Tommy, beginning with the opening “Overture” and including “1921”, “Amazing Journey”, “Sparks”, “Pinball Wizard”, and the album-closing “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The orchestra also assisted on “Who Are You”, “Eminence Front”, “Ball and Chain” from 2019’s WHO, and “Join Together”.
Even with the orchestra, The Who is still a rock band at its core. After shedding the stable of classical musicians, the band went back to the basics for takes on “The Seeker” which Pete dedicated to a late friend. Following “You Better You Bet”, The Who busted out “Another Tricky Day” from 1981’s Face Dances, the band’s first album following the death of drummer Keith Moon in 1978. After that, The Who returned to the classics with “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Behind Blue Eyes” before bringing the orchestra back out. With the lineup expanded once more, The Who wound down the show with Quadrophenia heavy hitters “The Real Me”, “I’m The One”, “5:15”, “The Rock”, and the climactic “Love, Reign O’er Me” before finally finishing the evening with “Baba O’Riley”.
Check out a gallery of images from The Who at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto courtesy of photographer Eric Fefferman. The band’s tour continues tomorrow, October 4th, in Detroit. For tickets and a full list of tour dates head here.
The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again” – 10/2/22
[Video: HappyPsychoBunny1]
The Who – “Baba O’Riley” – 10/2/22
[Video: HappyPsychoBunny1]
Setlist: The Who | Scotiabank Arena | Toronto, ON | 10/2/22
With Orchestra: Overture, 1921, Amazing Journey, Sparks, Pinball Wizard, We’re Not Gonna Take It, Who Are You, Eminence Front, Ball and Chain, Join Together
Band Only: The Seeker [1], You Better You Bet, Another Tricky Day [2], Won’t Get Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes
With Orchestra: The Real Me, I’m One, 5:15, The Rock, Love, Reign O’er Me, Baba O’Riley [3]
[1] Pete dedicated song to his late friend
[2] LTP 3/25/04
[3] w/ Band introductions
