The Who bid farewell at Acrisure Arena with no special guests, just pure rock legacy

The Who chose Palm Desert for its final performance. But is the band really done?

The renowned British rockers wrapped The Song is Over North American Farewell Tour on Oct. 1 at Acrisure Arena, and it was everything a great rock ‘n’ roll show should be, but the musicians didn’t do anything special to mark the last time they’d be performing together. Instead of a big tribute or surprise, the show simply ended with a brief thank-you speech by guitarist and co-founder Pete Townshend.

Even though Acrisure Arena put a poll on its Facebook page asking fans to vote on who was most likely to appear as a special guest for The Who (and named everyone from Paul McCartney to Pearl Jam to Aerosmith, nobody appeared. The only other artist that played were the members of opening act The Sedonas, a Knoxville blues-rock band.

Instead, the night belonged entirely to The Who.

See the full setlist: The Who setlist 2025 included everything from ‘Baba O’Riley’ to ‘Pinball Wizard’

Frontman Roger Daltrey, Townshend and the rest of the band sounded like a well-oiled machine starting off with two of its early classics, “I Can’t Explain” and “Substitute,” followed by the 1978 hard rock tune “Who Are You,” and going right into “The Seeker” and “I Can See For Miles.”

“We were thinking (the tour) could be a disaster, but it’s been quite the opposite,” Townshend told the crowd early in the set.

Halfway through the set, Townshend reflected on Shakespeare and the phrase “Long live the King” and how it’s struck him since childhood. He also said, Our king hasn’t been very well, but he’s a nice man,” referencing King Charles III, but this was a prelude to the song “Long Live Rock.”

A highlight of this part of the set was “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me” from the band’s “Tommy” era, which included stunning animated visuals incorporating the album cover art.

Before playing “Another Tricky Day,” Daltrey said trying to get to Palm Desert from Los Angeles was difficult because of traffic and joked that Townshend had a recent knee replacement, which is why they didn’t have much of a soundcheck earlier in the day. Townshend said “One of these knees was replaced, but I can’t remember which one, I’ll have to look for the scar” and asked the audience if they wanted to see before he started hopping around.

“There’s nothing wrong with (my knee). I just didn’t want to come to soundcheck,” Townshend said, to laughter and applause.

One surprise in the later portion of the setlist was the song “Going Mobile” from the 1971 album “Who’s Next,” which was sung by Townshend’s brother and live guitarist, Simon. The “Quadrophenia” era followed, with “The Real Me,” “I’m One,” “5:15,” and a vocally outstanding performance of “Love Reign O’er Me” by Daltrey, which brought the entire audience to its feet for a standing ovation.

As The Who performed “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley,” the show’s end felt close, and when the volume and energy were brought down with “The Song Is Over,” that set the stage for “Tea & Theatre,” a reflective and personal song between Daltrey and Townshend reflecting on late band members, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle.

Many bands and legacy acts have done retirement or “farewell” tours only to announce they changed their minds a couple of years later. It’s hard to say if that’s the case with The Who.

If that was The Who’s last performance, both Daltrey and Townshend went out strong on an excellent performance with a setlist that wasn’t just hits, but a journey through the band’s legacy. The setlist was a nod to the fans they inspired: the ‘60s rockers, the mods, the punks, and the arena rockers.

Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: The Who The Song is Over Tour ends on simple yet legendary note