Billed as The Who Hits 50!, the Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for the Who. The tour consisted of 70 dates with the band performing in Asia, Europe and North America.

An announcement about the tour came through the band's website and social media networks on 30 June 2014.thewho.com / Blog / Story / The Who 50th anniversary British and Irish tour this autumn (first access date = 1 July 2014). Pete Townshend described the show as "Hits, Picks, Mixes and Misses", for the band would play all their classic anthems as well as tackling deeper cuts from their catalog;

In addition to longtime veterans Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, and Simon Townshend, the same backing musicians from the group's previous tour were retained, minus the horn section.

In September 2015, the band announced that the fall 2015 North American leg was being postponed due to Daltrey contracting viral meningitis and told by doctors to rest. The tour resumed in February 2016 and ended on 29 May 2016.

History The tour kicked off with the group's first ever show in the United Arab Emirates, followed by a UK leg. The band included several numbers not included in any recent tours, including the first full performance of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" since 1970 and the first full band appearances of "So Sad About Us" (Townshend and special guest Paul Weller performed it acoustically at the Royal Albert Hall in 2000) since 1967; "Pictures of Lily" and "Join Together" had not been played since 1989. The North American leg, with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts featured as the opening act, kicked off in April 2015. Eddie Vedder joined the band for a performance of "The Real Me" in Chicago. Daltrey suffered a throat infection in September 2015 forcing the band to postpone the 2015 fall North American dates until February 2016. Tal Wilkenfeld was featured as the opening act when the North American tour resumed on 27 February 2016. Pete Townshend was suffering from his own ailments when the band hit Washington, D.C., on 24 March 2016. Townshend was suffering from a cold and losing his voice, so his brother Simon took over his backing vocals. However, he was able to make it through "Pinball Wizard" and "I'm One" despite his rough sounding voice. "Eminence Front", which had been featured in all of the shows, was dropped in favor of the unrehearsed and rarely played "Slip Kid" due to Townshend's hoarse voice. For most of the 2016 tour dates in North America, British band Slydigs performed a four-song opener for the Who, though the band's final North American concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace did not feature an opening act.

Tour band

Original members Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, tambourine Pete Townshend – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals John Entwistle – bass solo on "5:15" (via video and audio recording from Live at the Royal Albert Hall) Keith Moon – drums, vocals on "Bell Boy" (via audio recording from Quadrophenia)

Backing musicians Zak Starkey – drums, percussion Pino Palladino – bass guitar Simon Townshend – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals Loren Gold – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, jaw harp Frank Simes - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, banjo, mandolin John Corey - keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, bass harmonica

Set list This set list is representative of the performance on 26 May 2016 in Brooklyn, New York. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

"I Can't Explain" "The Seeker" "Who Are You" "The Kids Are Alright" "I Can See For Miles" "My Generation" "Behind Blue Eyes" "Slip Kid" "Bargain" "Join Together" "You Better You Bet" "I'm One" "Love, Reign O'er Me" "Eminence Front" "A Quick One (While He's Away)" "Amazing Journey" "Sparks" "Pinball Wizard" "See Me, Feel Me" "Baba O'Riley" "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueTickets Sold/AvailableBox OfficeOpening ActLeg 1 — Middle East23 November 2014Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emiratesdu Arena — —Leg 2 — Europe30 November 2014GlasgowScotlandSSE Hydro11,356 / 11,356$1,214,3202 December 2014LeedsEnglandFirst Direct Arena — —5 December 2014NottinghamCapital FM Arena — —7 December 2014BirminghamBarclaycard Arena — —9 December 2014Newcastle upon TyneMetro Radio Arena — —11 December 2014LiverpoolEcho Arena Liverpool — —13 December 2014ManchesterPhones 4u Arena10,961 / 12,389$1,185,69015 December 2014CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena Cardiff — —22 March 2015LondonEnglandThe O2 Arena29,416 / 32,631$3,160,04023 March 201526 March 2015Royal Albert Hall — —Leg 3 — North America15 April 2015TampaUnited StatesAmalie Arena9,389 / 11,489$905,569Joan Jett & the Blackhearts17 April 2015MiamiAmerican Airlines Arena — —19 April 2015JacksonvilleJacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena — —21 April 2015RaleighPNC Arena — —23 April 2015DuluthArena at Gwinnett Center8,609 / 9,605$823,01725 April 2015New OrleansFair Grounds Race Course —27 April 2015AustinFrank Erwin Center — —29 April 2015HoustonToyota Center7,671 / 9,343$860,0802 May 2015DallasAmerican Airlines Center — —5 May 2015Kansas CitySprint Center — —7 May 2015St. LouisScottrade Center — —9 May 2015LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center — —11 May 2015NashvilleBridgestone Arena8,914 / 8,914$626,54713 May 2015RosemontAllstate Arena — —15 May 2015ColumbusNationwide Arena — —17 May 2015PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center12,383 / 12,383$1,192,33720 May 2015UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum — —22 May 2015Atlantic CityBoardwalk Hall — —24 May 2015UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arena7,327 / 7,359$1,023,82626 May 2015BrooklynBarclays Center11,800 / 13,536$1,131,70530 May 2015Forest Hills, QueensForest Hills Stadium — —Leg 4 — Europe21 June 2015BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena — —23 June 2015DublinIreland3Arena — —26 June 2015LondonEnglandHyde Park —28 June 2015PiltonWorthy Farm135,000 —30 June 2015ParisFranceZénith de Paris — —2 July 2015AmsterdamNetherlandsZiggo Dome — —13 February 2016LondonEnglandThe SSE Arena, Wembley — —Leg 5 — North America27 February 2016DetroitUnited StatesJoe Louis Arena13,468 / 13,468$1,170,833Tal Wilkenfeld1 March 2016TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre9,514 / 10,636 $675,9543 March 2016New York CityUnited StatesMadison Square Garden14,863 / 14,863$1,597,5047 March 2016BostonTD Garden13,054 / 13,054$1,289,31810 March 2016ChicagoUnited Center12,104 / 12,104$1,254,81312 March 2016LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center9,326 / 10,002$747,94614 March 2016PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center10,375 / 11,220$969,88416 March 2016PittsburghConsol Energy Center10,272 / 11,216$829,13419 March 2016NewarkPrudential Center12,648 / 12,648$1,282,64621 March 2016MilwaukeeBMO Harris Bradley Center10,212 / 10,689$820,16224 March 2016Washington, D.C.Verizon Center11,119 / 12,277$1,143,93826 March 2016St. LouisScottrade Center9,515 / 10,316$800,97629 March 2016DenverPepsi Center9,508 / 10,562$732,86227 April 2016TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre7,716 / 9,042$694,197Slydigs29 April 2016Kansas CityUnited StatesSprint Center9,823 / 10,160$881,2211 May 2016MinneapolisTarget Center8,212 / 10,031$743,6924 May 2016WinnipegCanada MTS Centre6,822 / 7,853$539,5766 May 2016SaskatoonSaskTel Centre7,308 / 8,138$632,0028 May 2016EdmontonRexall Place8,382 / 8,941$789,40710 May 2016CalgaryScotiabank Saddledome9,472 / 10,630$805,81613 May 2016VancouverRogers Arena11,484 / 12,021$927,12415 May 2016SeattleUnited StatesKeyArena11,863 / 12,099$1,132,06917 May 2016PortlandModa Center8,777 / 9,208$837,40819 May 2016OaklandOracle Arena9,842 / 12,119$1,055,20622 May 2016AnaheimHonda Center7,971 / 9,017$866,20125 May 2016Los AngelesStaples Center10,882 / 11,951$1,184,47227 May 2016San DiegoValley View Casino Center9,709 / 9,876$848,33129 May 2016Las VegasThe Colosseum at Caesars Palace4,103 / 4,103$1,092,885N/ATOTAL267,907 / 286,163 (94%)$26,531,986

Cancellations and rescheduled shows 26 November 2014Dublin, Ireland 3Arena Postponed to 23 June 2015 due to unforeseen logistical difficulties.17 & 18 December 2014London, EnglandThe O2 ArenaPostponed to 22 & 23 March 2015 due to Daltrey's illness28 & 29 June 2015Paris, FranceZénith de ParisCancelled in order for the band to appear at Glastonbury Festival.

Notes

References

External links The Who Online Concert Guide