The Who Announce 2012/2013 ‘Quadrophenia and More’ Tour

The Who will embark on a 37-date North American tour entitled ‘Quadrophenia and More’ this fall. Surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will perform the 1973 album in its entirety, along with other popular songs from their catalog. 

It will be the band’s first North American tour in four years. As Townshend explains, “We’ve been trying to find something we can do together, Roger and I, for a while… ‘Quadrophenia’ was something that we both felt we could get together on and look again. The last time we did it (on tour) was in 1997. We’ve been anxious to work together before we drop dead.”

Daltrey also seems game to once again climb what he refers to as the album equivalent of “Mt. Everest for a singer,” and looks forward to bringing new visual and thematic elements to the production: “What’s great about doing it now, is that it’s still a work in progress. Hopefully, it’ll keep developing into something new. I don’t know how many more years I’m going to be able to sing this music.”

Although Townshend makes it clear that “we miss the other two guys (original drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle) very much,” he also admitted to relishing the “liberating” challenge of presenting the music instead with the group’s longtime supporting musicians, including Zakk Starkey (Ringo‘s son) on drums, Townshend’s brother Simon on guitar and Pino Palladino on bass.

You can forget about any 2Pac-style holograms of Moon or Entwistle on stage, according to Daltrey: “We thought about it, but everybody’s doing it now. It’s very expensive to carry, I don’t know if we need it — there’s other things you can do. It’s only a gimmick.”

It’s been a busy time for ‘Quadrophenia.’ The album was given the deluxe reissue treatment — with great results — last year. A documentary exploring the album, ‘The Who: Quadrophenia – Can You Still See the Real Me?,’ will air in movie theaters across the country on Tuesday, July 24, and the ‘Quadrophenia’ film will be given the high-class Criterion Blu-ray and DVD treatment on Aug. 28.

The tourdates are listed below. A special two-day exclusive ticket sale takes place July 20 for members of the band’s official fan club. Then American Express cardholders get three days of exclusive sales, and THEN the general public gets a chance at most shows on July 27.

2012/2013 The Who ‘Quadrophenia and More’ Tour:

2012

11/1 — Sunrise, Fla. — BankAtlantic Center

11/3 — Orlando, Fla. — Amway Center

11/5 — Duluth, Ga. — The Arena at Gwinett Center

11/8 — Greenville, S.C. — Bi-Lo Center

11/9 — Greensboro, N.C. — Greensboro Coliseum

11/11 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — Consol Energy Center

11/13 — Washington, D.C. — Verizon Center

11/14 — Brooklyn, N.Y. — Barclays Center

11/16 — Boston, Mass. — TD Garden

11/20 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre

11/21 — Ottawa, ON — Scotiabank Place

11/23 — Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre

11/24 — Detroit, Mich. — Joe Louis Arena

11/27 — Minneapolis, Minn. — Target Center

11/29 — Chicago, Ill. — Allstate Arena

12/2 — Nashville, Tenn. — Bridgestone Arena

12/5 — New York, N.Y. — Madison Square Garden

12/6 — Newark, N.J. — Prudential Center

12/8 — Philadelphia, Pa. — Wells Fargo Center

12/9 — Uncasville, Ct. — Mohegan Sun Arena

2013

1/28 — Anaheim, Calif. — Honda Center

1/30 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Staples Center

2/1 — Oakland, Calif. — Oracle Arena

2/2 — Reno, Nev. — The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

2/5 — San Diego, Calif. — Valley View Casino Center

2/6 — Glendale, Ariz. — Jobing Center

2/8 — Las Vegas, Nev. – The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

2/12 — Denver, Colo. — Pepsi Center

2/14 — Tulsa, Okla. — BOK Center

2/16 — Louisville, Ky. — KFC Yum! Center

2/17 — Columbus, Ohio — Schottenstein Center

2/19 — Hamilton, ON — Copps Coliseum

2/21 — Uniondale, N.Y. — Nassau Coliseum

2/22 — Atlantic City, N.J. — Boardwalk Hall

2/24 — Manchester, N.H. — Verizon Wireless Arena

2/26 — Providence, R.I. — Dunkin’ Donuts Center