Reflecting on the end of The Who

It's the end of an absolutely legendary career if this is indeed the end of The Who. While they've been around for 60 years, I personally came to love the band back in 2011, when I was in the midst of being obsessed with the band Queen.

Many of my musical loves stem in some shape or form from Queen, and the Who is no exception. As a high school student, I worshipped the specter of Freddie Mercury. In my quest to consume all Freddie related media, I discovered Roger Daltrey when he sang with Queen for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Daltrey performed "I Want it All" and he absolutely killed it. It was then that I dove further into The Who.

What a journey it was, going album to album, concert to concert. Those guys had energy. Raw, primal energy. Their concerts were of rock n roll legend. Destroying guitars, drums, and everything else. Buried under that was, in my opinion, one of the finest songwriters of all time; Pete Townshend. Pete is an underrated guitarist because he wasn't super flashy with his playing, but when it came to songwriting, he truly shone. Early The Who songs reflected the times, sounding closer to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It was Tommy that really proved that Pete could tell a story. That was repeated over and over again. My personal favorite of Pete's rock opera's will always be the incredible Quadrophenia, though I also found love for his solo work, White City: A Novel. I also found joy in Roger's solo work, even the much maligned Can't Wait to See the Movie.

These guys were just incredible. They had their own tragedies, as so many bands do. Keith Moon, perhaps the greatest drummer of all time, was hopelessly addicted to alcohol. It would cost him his life at a young age. Later, John Entwistle, known as The Ox, was found dead in his hotel room right as the band was beginning to reach a new generation.

By the time I got on board, it was just Pete and Roger. The crazy times of the 70s were gone and instead there were two aging rockers who just wanted to play music. 2019 was a great year for the band, as they finally released a new album, WHO, which was absolutely a return to form. I was fortunate enough to see the band in 2022 with my wife. I was shocked at how good they were. Pete did the windmills. Roger did the mic swing. Roger even did the scream during Won't Get Fooled Again. I knew it was never going to be at the level of the concerts before my time, but still, I was shocked. I felt honored to have witnessed these legends, even in their twilight years. Now, we are at the potential end of their career. It is bittersweet. Every musician quits eventually, whether voluntarily or through death, but not every musician reaches legendary status. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend certainly attained that and more. For now, enjoy a clip from that concert in 2022. You'll have to excuse the poor quality; it was recorded on a phone.