29 Jul 2025

Tuesday 22 July 2025 Parco della Musica di Milano, Milano, Italy

OK here we go, again, for show #2 of this rather brief Italian run. And it’s hot as hell, still. Maybe just a touch less today, so we are grateful. But this is a big outdoor venue – like a massive parking lot between industrial buildings near an airport. Our dressing rooms, catering etc. are almost a quarter-mile away from the stage, so it’s a lot of back-and-forth for our team while we build this one. However as the sun sets, it becomes quite a beautiful sky, and the open space feels good. We were warned of massive mosquito populations here – so the whole team has prepared with lots of repellent/lotion – and it seems to work.

The last show was good enough, and likely it all can get better tonight from a decent start. The show scheduled tonight is quite late – Doors open at 7pm and there is no opening act – and The Who go on at 10.00pm for almost two hours! That’s three hours of just waiting around if anyone comes at opening – and they are waiting outside. We hear the odd timing is due to the flight path of that airport being right over our stage. For us and for the planes, we’ll have to wait until the airport basically shuts down for the night. So 10.00pm it is.

Milan is a great world city – old and new mixed together, a big metropolis. There are a lot of people and a lot of money around, so we’re likely to have a much bigger crowd today, maybe twice as big. I meet people out in the crowd; the happy and good-looking Italians of course, but also people from Greece, Germany, Americans – and certainly more around us. I love getting out and finding people with a cool look (especially those in their Who shirts or merch) and they seemed to be pleased to be photo’d for this site.

Without our orchestra the stage around us looks so huge. The band keep a tight situation onstage, mainly to encourage the physical proximity, so they can see and react to each other. It feels “big” when you’re in the middle of it, but the stages themselves can handle much more. Other groups like to spread out, run around more, have ramps and upper levels – have a look at the typical Guns N Roses or Iron Maiden show – there are platforms and doors and whatever. Not here – it still feels almost like a club band. Even the drum riser and keyboard platform aren’t more than a foot high; it’s not Van Halen. Less ego, really, is what it comes down to.

Same for visuals, staging, presentation – both Pete and Rog have “stage clothes” (Pete is dressier) but far removed from any sort of rock costuming. If they were out at the shops, their would blend right in with anyone else walking around. Even their 1980s outfits were far more showy and time-stamped. Now, like their music, they are just classic.

Tonight just before the show, we got the news that Ozzy Osbourne had passed away. Only 17 days ago, he was onstage in his hometown of Birmingham, England, playing with the original Black Sabbath members one last time. (I’m a HUGE Black Sabbath fan since I was a kid and have seen them many times. I even saw Ozzy’s “No More Tours” in 1992 – can you believe he actually toured after he said he was gonna quit?! Imagine that. I also saw The Damned on three of their four “Farewell tours” so I don’t ever say it’s over until something like this happens with Ozzy.) So tonight, Louis Buxin, our video director made up a great “Ciao Ozzy” slide to run just before the band came on; it causes a huge cheer in the audience – although I realize some people may not have heard the news yet. RIP John Osbourne, well-done! What a life, man!

The show starts well, and it is a big crowd. Pete dedicates the first song to Ozzy, and then launches into I Can’t Explain. I’ve never heard them mention Sabbath even once, but I know Roger’s not a big fan of heavy metal styles then or now.

Video courtesy of Masa’s from the Venue 

Before the show starts, I’m noticing something here that we don’t often talk about – or even allow: A festival-seating crowd. In other words, no reserved seats. Usually, this is forbidden at Who concerts, except at festivals, because of past tragedy. But it does one big thing: It lets the rabid fans who do not have much money come down to the front. So the whole front sea of faces is new to the band, and these are crazy and excited humans. They know every word, and have possibly never seen The Who up-close ever before, if ever! So it must be amazing, and from the first moment, the band is feeling it too. (I suspect having three hours to drink beer in the crowd doesn’t hurt the mood either.)

This setlist is pretty much the same. And I won’t bore you with all the details other than tonight, Pete was having some issues. I’m on the side nearest his amps and his guitar tech Simon Law. Pete starts hearing sounds cutting in/out as he plays. I think most of this may not be audible to the crowd among the big mix they hear. But to Pete, it’s quite annoying. The trouble is pretty strong on I’m One, which certainly starts with just his acoustic guitar. He even stops the intro and has Simon bring out another guitar. As he takes off the first/flawed guitar the crows yells something to him… “Yeah, I know what I’m SUPPOSED to do with it…” Pete acknowledges – but no smashing. Guitar splinters are indeed quite rare now.

Video courtesy of Eddie Rock 

(Many, many years ago, our guitar tech Alan Rogan told me he’d given a bunch of broken guitar parts – necks and bodies and pickups – to a music store in London. It was a place he and Pete had often used. I asked if they were still there? He called the shop, and the owner said “I think so…” so I hounded him for months, telling him I wanted to buy a neck or body – or anything or all of it. After a while – he got back to me and said, “No, it’s gone now, it was here for ages and we didn’t know what to do with it because it was all broken up. So we chucked it all out sometime.” Oi! For what’s it’s worth, for most guitarists on the planet, a broken guitar has much less value. For Mr Peter Townshend, a broken guitar may actually be worth MORE than an intact one!)

And for the zillionth time, because of tonight’s guitar issues, we see something that happens always: When Rog is having troubles during an evening, Pete stays strong and tries his best to carry the show. Same for tonight on the other foot; Pete is struggling and Roger does his best to ignore any issues and present the big crowd with a great performance regardless. (And his voice – need I mention it again – superb.)

I think everyone is playing better today, I know they worked on the monitor mixes today with Jon, Loren, and Scott just to get their levels balanced. We always focus on Rog and Pete, sometimes to the detriment of the others, so it felt great to give the backing band the time to dial in their specific sounds for the show (which will be retained for coming shows, too.) This is why rehearsals and early tour shows are a growth process. It usually gets better over time for everyone.

Video courtesy of Grateful Wolf 

As we’re about to launch into ‘Eminence Front’, Pete started noodling, a solo electric guitar excursion for some time before nodding to me to start the Yamaha organ backing track. And having him just “blow” – making guitar improv in notes and sounds – that’s a great thing. It sort of feels like Pete doesn’t have the kind of ego that wants a “solo guitar solo” – but we all admit to loving it when he’s trying out pedals or amps and just starts blazing away at our sound-checks. It sounds SO good by itself. Since 2002, when John Entwistle died, Pete’s guitar work has become more proficient and inventive. If he indeed decides to continue this mode of onstage exploration – we’re all for it! It sounded truly cool – and nobody was expecting it.

‘Baba O’Riley’ and “Won’t Get Fooled Again’ get the crowd into a frenzy, and then ‘The Song Is Over’ closes it all. It’s a solid tune, and Roger just belts out those almost-impossible notes with ease. But after the massive crowd-pleasing favorites, there is a strange drop in energy here for a finish that’s “not big”. They’ve used smaller endings before – most notably in the beautiful ‘Tea And Theatre’ duo version since 2006. But The Song Is Over has become the theme of this coming tour – maybe it works well but not in this current spot.

Video courtesy of the Gazzas

Milano, over. And we all get some time to re-think and reset for the coming weeks of touring in North America! Will we see you there??

Onward! 

TONIGHT’S SET LIST
Warning: Look away now if you don’t wish to know!

I Can’t Explain
Substitute
Who Are You
Love Ain’t for Keeping
Bargain
The Seeker
Pinball Wizard
Behind Blue Eyes
The Real Me
5:15
I’m One
I’ve Had Enough
Love, Reign O’er Me
Eminence Front
My Generation
Cry If You Want
See Me, Feel Me
You Better You Bet
Baba O’Riley
Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Song Is Over