Live review: The Who – Quadrophenia And More Tour – Motorpoint Arena, UK (18th June 2013)

The Who brought their massive Quadrophenia And More world tour to the UK, performing their classic 1973 album Quadrophenia in its entirety to an audience of 13,500 blissed out music lovers at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena.

The Who, fronted by remaining band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, stepped out onto the giant stage filled with multiple screens flashing up retro images that harped back to their early days.

The pair whipped the audience into a frenzy, Daltrey with his classic screaming vocals and Townshend with his trademark ‘windmill’ guitar playing, as they took the audience on a musical and visual journey trough their classic concept album.

But the fact that two band members are no longer with us did not put the rest of the band off of doing songs originally prominently featuring the departed musicians. Instead they utilised archive footage and vocals to incorporate them into the show. Drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, tackles Bell Boy, while bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002, rocks out his famous bass solo on 5:15. The effect was fantastic and the tributes touching.

Pete Townshend joked with the packed audience about Peter Stringfellow who hailed from Sheffield, as well as reminiscing abut the bands early gigs in the city.

Bringing the Quadrophenia section of the show to a close with Love, Reign O’er Me, the who kicked into some of their greatest hits, including Who Are You, Wont Get Fooled Again and Baba O’Riley. The roar of approval that greeted these fan favourites coming from fans both old and young alike was in itself testimony to their popularity.

Bringing the show to a subdued close with Tea & Theatre, the audience walked away feeling that although they were suffering with a slight bout of tinnitus, they The Who still had what it takes to bring the house down.

The Who setlist

I Am The Sea
The Real Me
Quadrophenia
Cut My Hair
The Punk And The Godfather
I’m One
The Dirty Jobs
Helpless Dancer
Is It In My Head?
I’ve Had Enough
5:15
Sea And Sand
Drowned
Bell Boy
Doctor Jimmy
The Rock
Love, Reign O’er Me
Who Are You
Behind Blue Eyes
Pinball Wizard
Baba O’Riley
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Tea & Theatre

The Who Quadrophenia And More tour dates

01/11/2012 – BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
03/11/2012 – Amway Center, Orlando, FL
05/11/2012 – Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA
08/11/2012 – BI-LO Center, Greenville, SC
09/11/2012 – Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
11/11/2012 – CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
13/11/2012 – Verizon Center, Washington, DC
14/11/2012 – Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
16/11/2012 – TD Garden, Boston, MA
20/11/2012 – Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada
21/11/2012 – Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Canada
23/11/2012 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
24/11/2012 – Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
27/11/2012 – Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
29/11/2012 – Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
30/11/2012 – Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
02/12/2012 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
05/12/2012 – Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
06/12/2012 – Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
08/12/2012 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
09/12/2012 – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
28/01/2013 – Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
30/01/2013 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
01/02/2013 – Oracle Center, Oakland, CA
02/02/2013 – Reno Events Center, Reno, NV
05/02/2013 – Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
06/02/2013 – Jobing Arena, Glandale, AZ
08/02/2013 – The Joint, Las Vegas, NV
10/02/2013 – The Joint, Las Vegas, NV
12/02/2013 – Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
14/02/2013 – BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
16/02/2013 – KFC Yum! Center, Columbus, OH
19/02/2013 – Copps Comiseum, Hamilton, Canada
21/02/2013 – Nassau Ceterans Memorian Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
22/02/2013 – Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
24/02/2013 – Verzon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH
26/02/2013 – Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, RI
08/06/2013 – The O2, Dublin, Ireland
10/06/2013 – Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Ireland
12/06/2013 – SECC, Glasgow, UK
15/06/2013 – The O2 Arena, London, UK
16/06/2013 – The O2 Arena, London, UK
18/06/2013 – Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, UK
20/06/2013 – Metro Radio Arena, Glasgow, UK
23/06/2013 – Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK
25/06/2013 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, UK
28/06/2013 – LG Arena, Birmingham, UK
30/06/2013 – Echo Arena, Liverpool, UK
03/07/2013 – Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
05/07/2013 – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
08/07/2013 – Wembley Arena, London, UK