Kathy's Zak Starkey Site: On Tour with The Who

Nov 8 2005 - "Tommy and Quadrophenia Live" 3 DVD set released features an entire Quad performance (from 96 footage)

USA and UK 1996

After another slight staging revision, Quad hit the road, this time billed as "The Who".

The other major changes involved the departure of Phil Daniels, and Geoff Whitehorn. A live narrator was no longer part of the presentation. Instead, a younger Jimmy was doing the narrating on the video screen, which featured new and reworked video segments; For some, this tended to take away some of the "theatrical" feel of event. But Pete explains:

"I think we confused things a bit by having a boy called Jimmy on the screen, a narrator called Jimmy on the stage in the shape of Phil Daniels and then Jimmy's various inner voices strutting about the stage. It got a bit confusing. We're in the process of tidying that up a bit. We're shooting a lot of film, another half-a-million dollars worth of movie." - PT to Ira Robbins, Oct '96

With the departure of Geoff Whitehorn, the excitement level rose considerably among fans who had been clambering for Pete to pick up the electric and wail! But he was making no promises:

"I'm playing a bit of electric guitar. My brother Simon is still playing most of the work, but I decided I would actually get myself a rig like the one I used in '89, which certainly didn't hurt my ears, and play a few solos, basically because I felt that Geoff Whitehorn was getting a bad rap. I thought he played beautifully and elegantly, and people seemed to think in some way that he shouldn't have been there. So I just thought that I would bow to public opinion and play a bit of electric." - PT to Ira Robbins, Oct '96

The hopes of fan's who attended the first two shows of the tour were not dashed. Pete played electric almost the entire show. But beginning with Vancouver, he was making his stage entrance with an acoustic, which he would hang on to until "The Rock" and "Love Reign O'er Me". The initial reason given (by Bob Pridden to an inquisitive fan) was on account of Pete tearing his thumb nail in Tacoma. Fan's prayed for it's quick recovery. Pete would then go on to say that he was just getting too into it, and fearing what that might lead to, he decided to cut back. Simon was up to the task, though it seems from fan reports it may have taken a night or two for him to settle into the role he was now shouldering alone.

As did the NYC summer shows, this tour featured a "hits" mixed with "unplugged" encore.

1996 - USA/Canada (date, city, venue - encore numbers, notes)

Oct 13: Portland, OR, Rose Garden Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R & P), Behind Blue Eyes, Boris The Spider (extended), Naked Eye, Substitute.
Pete played electric on The Real Me, The Punk and the Godfather, Dirty Jobs, I've Had Enough, 5:15, Sea and Sand (last 3rd only), The Rock (last 3rd only), Love Reign O'er Me, Boris the Spider, Naked Eye and Substitute. As one fan reported: "Pete seemed to be constantly fighting the urge to windmill or leap."
Oct 14: Tacoma, WA, Tacoma Dome - Won't Get Fooled Again (R & P), Behind Blue Eyes, Boris The Spider (extended), Naked Eye, Who Are You.
Pete on electric most of the night again. He sang 'I've got a Gibson without a case, but I can't get that INTERNET look on my face' during I'm One. He also apparently stole back some of the spotlight from John during 5:15 by soloing both before and after John's solo. The windmills were more frequent and ended Who Are You (and the show) with several, before stepping back, raising his guitar over his head and throwing it to the floor at the base of the mic stand.

"Guest vocalist Gary Glitter seemed happy to have a job, while guest vocalist Billy Idol didn't. And the backing band - five horns, two keyboards, two vocalists, Pete's brother Simon on guitar, a percussionist and especially drummer Zak Starkey - were first rate. They truly helped the Who of now sound like the Who of then." - Tom Phalen, Seattle Times
Oct 16: Vancouver, BC, GM Place - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,& J), Behind Blue Eyes, Substitute, Who Are You.
Three changes. Pete back to acoustic guitar, and wouldn't pick up an electric until Substitute. For the first time, John joins Roger & Pete for WGFA. However, Boris is dropped from the encore, and no other Entwistle song is added.
Oct 17: Vancouver, BC, GM Place - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You.
Pete still on acoustic, but straps the electric on for The Rock and Love Reign O'er Me. This would be the pattern for the remainder of the tour.
"Zak Starkey (son of Ringo) perfectly embodied the spirit of the late Keith Moon as he flailed away with wild precise abandon. During "Had Enough" and the chaotic instrumental "The Rock," you could close your eyes and imagine that it was Moon the Loon behind the drum kit. Simon Townshend also fared well on electric guitar, especially on "The Rock" and "Love Reign O'er Me," where he and brother Pete (who finally strapped on the ol' electric) combined for some spine tingling harmony lines."
"John Entwistle was stellar throughout the night. His jaw-dropping solo in "5:15" brought the house down."
"But if I had to choose one time capsule moment it would have to be the four-part harmony singing (of Daltrey, Idol, Glitter and Townshend) in Had Enough[sic]. I was completely in awe and you couldn't have wiped the smile off my face with a machine gun." -Darren Kerr, Drop-D Magazine
Oct 19: San Jose, CA, San Jose Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You, Substitute.
Oct 20: San Jose, CA, San Jose Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
"-- for most of the San Jose crowd, including this 30 year Who fan, this manifestation of The Who is more than good enough: It is powerful, strong both in solo and ensemble, convincing in this theater piece, and still has its own, distinctive sound." - Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner.
Oct 22: Inglewood, CA, Great Western Forum - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Naked Eye, Who Are You.
Oct 23: Phoenix, AZ, America West Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Oct 25: Anaheim, CA, Arrowhead Pond - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You.
Oct 26: Las Vegas, NV, MGM Grand Garden - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Oct 29: Denver, McNichols Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Oct 31: Chicago, IL, United Center - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 01: Chicago, IL, United Center - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You.
"As unlikely as it may sound, their best hire was Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, on drums. He mimicked the late Keith Moon perfectly, wearing all white and recreating the chaotic explosions that hold "Quadrophenia" together. His presence alone energized the surviving trio.
The other good choice was "Quadrophenia," which the band played end-to-end for two hours Friday night at Chicago's sold-out United Center. It holds up after two decades infinitely better than the impossible-to-kill Tommy" - Steve Knopper,
Nov 03: Auburn Hills, MI, The Palace - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 04: Dayton, OH, E.J. Nutter Center - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 06: Cleveland, OH, Gund Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 08: Pittsburgh, PA, Civic Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (w/J?), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 09: Buffalo, NY, Marine Midland Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (w/J?), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 11: Largo, MD, US Air Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R & P), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 12: Worcester, MA, Centrum - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 14: Worcester, MA, Centrum - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 15: Union Dale, NY, Nassau Coliseum - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 17: Philadelphia, PA Core States Center - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 18: Albany, NY, Knickerbocker Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Nov 19: East Rutherford, NJ, Continental Airlines Arena - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Substitute, Who Are You.

1996 - UK (date, city, venue - encore numbers, notes)

P.J.Proby took the place of Gary Glitter as The GodFather, as Glitter was busy with his annual Christmas concerts.

Dec 06: London, Earls Court - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
Dec 07: London, Earls Court - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,P,J), Behind Blue Eyes, Substitute, Naked Eye, Who Are You.
"It's an ambitious and at times pretentious saga, but what makes it great is the sheer quality of the music: not just individual songs such as The Real Me and 5:15, but the seamlessness with which they flow into each other, giving the whole enterprise a sense of continuity, building all the while to a soaring climax.
On stage it was rendered, as it had been in Hyde Park, with vitality and fidelity, with Starkey again playing as though possessed by the spirit of Keith Moon.
Townshend was on an acoustic for most of the show, while his brother Simon played rhythm and lead. Simon is clearly no slouch on the fret board, but it all sounded a bit thin until Pete finally strapped on his Stratocaster for the climax of the main piece." - David Cheal, Electronic Telegraph
DEC 11: Manchester, Nynex - Won't Get Fooled Again (R,J,P), Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You

Things went so well, that they took the show on the road again for a 1997 - European Tour, followed by a return to the USA summer '97.

Zak Starkey live with The Who: Quadrophenia Tour 1996

USA and UK 1996

1996 - USA/Canada (date, city, venue - encore numbers, notes)

1996 - UK (date, city, venue - encore numbers, notes)

Zak Starkey live with The Who:
Quadrophenia Tour 1996