22 Jul 2025
Rehearsal Report: 17 July 2025
We hit London last week to setup and rehearse. As many changes are being made, we needed a substantial amount of time to work on things; songs, mainly, for the band. We started in a SMALL studio in Acton (let’s see Acton!) that barely held the band. ‘Twas Pete’s idea – to not hire out the huge mega-warehouse when they’re just going over song parts and endings, working on harmony vocals, etc. Good idea – but the place was just about 20% too small for us. So we all did our best and it was rather tight.
There are some promising things in the work done. We all know The Who have a set of songs they’ll have to play – every band does have a core catalogue. But then I think again and realize we did shows without ‘Love Reign O’er Me’, or My ‘Generation’, or even ‘I Can See For Miles’ at times. There’s certainly a lot of material, and not all of it can fit in. Some things we are hopeful they can add newly to the mix. If you look at any basic Who setlist (aside from Quadrophenia and Tommy tours) you’ll always see those typical numbers. Once in a while, we had surprises like ‘So Sad About Us’ or even ‘A Quick One’. And the times they’ve had a new album brought about album cuts like ‘Cry If You Want’, ‘The Quiet One’, ‘Sister Disco’, ‘Sound Round’, ‘Fragments’, ‘Big Cigars’, ‘Hero Ground Zero’. Those are album songs that rarely come back around…
But earlier this year there was talk of yet another tour, and how to break the spell, how to try something different without losing the big Who Show. I’d suggested looking at John’s songs again, there are some real classics there. When I told Pete that any crowd would erupt if they opened with ‘Heaven and Hell’ – he laughed out loud, but you know it would be popular! Or anything else like ‘My Wife’ or ‘Trick Of the Light’. (They also looked back at what pieces might “go away” – some things they’ve been playing a lot that don’t HAVE to be in the set, to make room for something a little cooler and different.) Roger’s singing unbelievably well, and Pete is now 80, Rog being 81 – they also need to look out for longevity and practicality. Keeping the shows from being overly long with just a little bit less burnout at the end may be healthier for all.
Scott Devours is back on the drums, no news to anyone here, I’m sure. Having started with Roger in 2009, he’s not only done so many RD tours since then, but also was the Who drummer for 20 or more shows in 2013. So he’s a familiar person to all around here. He’s got a new sparkling silver Sonor drum kit, which has a kind of vintage look. They’re using a special new trigger mount under the heads – a Jobeky Drum system (see below) which is working great. And the bigger benefit is the drum sound now – which is much more acoustic and natural, not so electronic, so it sounds more like an older Who gig out front. They took quite some time to dial in vintage-style sounds for these shows and it works really well.
Our man John Hogg is also back on backing harmonies, also a member of Roger’s touring band. His voice is just stunning, and he’s been great at rehearsals. (Someone has leaked our secret for the coming North American tour – that Jody Linscott is back in The Who! That’s something we’d hoped could happen – as she’s always been around and welcome. She’s been on Pete’s solo tours, Roger’s solo tours, of course The Who in the past, and thousands of pro gigs as one of the world’s top percussionists. But for us, we need her boost of stage energy and her positivity offstage. And so we’ll see her in a few weeks, but not just yet).
Hot weather is predicted at the coming Italian shows, and Roger threatens to walk off if it gets too crazy. So Pete asked if Roger remembers the Paris show at Le Zenith dome? Of course he does! That was the hottest temperature ever – thousands of people sealed in a small dome on the hottest day of summer with NO air conditioning at all. Sweat was dripping in pools onstage. It was only a day or two after the filmed show at Hyde Park, but I thought it was one of the greatest Who shows I’ll ever see. It was insane – and Roger remembers because he feels like that was the day he caught meningitis that nearly killed him; he was in the hospital for months recovering. Rough! And so we won’t repeat any shows like that. Pete and Rog remembered also that Liam Gallagher of Oasis was there on side stage, wearing HIS COAT that he would not take off even in the heat. And synth wizard (and Pete’s friend) Jean-Michel Jarre was there with beautiful then-wife Charlotte Rampling and neither of them broke a sweat. Finally, Pete said the promoter disappeared with ALL the money that night – so they never got paid for the most difficult-yet-stunning show. (I have Roger’s microphone saved from the night as I thought it was one for the books…)
Read Brian’s Blog for the 2015 Le Zenith show here
Next it’s all move into a mega-huge hangar-sized room for the final rehearsal. Time to set up ALL the gear (sans lights and video) for a full rehearsal in one day. And it’s ok – pretty much the same songs worked over as we did in the small studio, but with real sounds and mixes. Everybody is already playing well – for a rehearsal. Everyone will get better on-tour, it’s always how things go with this band. You’ll see my list (below) of what was done: Most of it is likely to get played sometime somewhere – all cool Who songs and it looks like a hell of a set of shows coming, if they play music like this list!
Onward!
