<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Words: Alan Light<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is the 36th time we\u2019ve performed at Madison Square Garden,\u201d said Pete Townshend<\/a> as The Who took the stage at \u201cThe World\u2019s Most Famous Arena\u201d on Saturday night, \u201cand it probably won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n There it was, before we heard a note\u2014probably<\/em>. This was the New York City stop on the Song Is Over farewell tour, though as we know, The Who first claimed that their touring days were over in 1982, becoming a punch line for every artist who\u2019s announced their retirement ever since. Nor did these dates launch smoothly, from Townshend and Roger Daltrey baiting each other in the press to the still-mysterious sacking of drummer Zak Starkey during rehearsals to two out of the first four shows being postponed for an unexplained illness in the band.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n But whatever the future turns out to hold, they rolled into MSG\u2014the site, most memorably, of their stunning, show-stealing performance at the 2001 all-star Concert For New York City following the 9\/11 attacks\u2014ready to play. Delivering 22 songs across two hours, Daltrey and Townshend displayed remarkable strength and consistency, not just for two octogenarians but by any standard.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019re well aware of their own reputation\u2014\u201cWhen we\u2019re shit, we\u2019re really shit,\u201d Townshend said at one point\u2014and while a Who show sixty-plus years into their career doesn\u2019t offer the explosive chaos of the glory days, Daltrey\u2019s voice was steady and strong and Townshend\u2019s guitar work went for filigree over brute force.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n They stuck mostly to the hit-filled setlist from the first few shows; the night\u2019s big news was the inclusion of Long Live Rock for the first time in over a decade, on which Townshend revealed a growly but impressively powerful delivery. NYC local Katie Jacoby, who joined them on several recent tours but not this one, raced onstage to play the violin solo on Baba O\u2019Riley. A bit perversely, the tour\u2019s major nightly addition has been the first-ever live performances of\u00a0Goin\u2019 Mobile, but with the vocals handled by Pete\u2019s brother, supporting guitarist Simon (which, to be fair, he pulls off nicely).<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Daltrey and Townshend don\u2019t move too much\u2014no scissor kicks or knee-slides at this age\u2014but Pete made a point of starting his first solo on the opening I Can\u2019t Explain with some high-speed windmills, and Roger even got in a couple of abbreviated mic swings before the night was done. Most crucially, Daltrey\u2019s sometimes erratic voice has become a bit more declamatory, but it seldom wavered; he hit the big notes in Behind Blue Eyes and Love Reign O\u2019er Me, and when he didn\u2019t quite nail the ending on the latter, Townshend signaled him to do it again and he stuck the landing.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t be a Who show if everything was perfect. Daltrey forgot the words in the middle of Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again and complained about the air conditioning. Cry If You Want from\u00a0It\u2019s Hard<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is an odd, meandering addition to the set. Last-minute replacement drummer Scott Devours, from Daltrey\u2019s solo band, plays all the right parts (the crashing re-entry in Who Are You, the thunderous break in Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again), but they felt overly studied and polite.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n As the Who seemingly wrap up their work, it\u2019s notable how\u00a0Quadrophenia<\/a><\/em>\u00a0has taken the spotlight from Tommy<\/a><\/em>\u00a0as their great statement. The tragic mod opera got full feature treatment\u2014a four-song mini-set, including a heartfelt I\u2019m One from Townshend and a dazzling 5:15 that offered the night\u2019s most fevered performance\u2014while\u00a0Tommy<\/em> was represented only by Pinball Wizard with a See Me, Feel Me coda.<\/p>\nMadison Square Gardens, New York, Saturday August 30, 2025<\/h3>\n