Roger Daltrey

With the future of The Who uncertain at the moment, lead singer Roger Daltrey is not being stagnant and is in the midst of a solo trek.

Daltrey had a pretty impressive solo career in the '70s and '80s, churning out some ambitious albums (e.g. "Ride a Rock Horse", "Daltrey", "One of the Boys", and the criminally underrated soundtrack to the movie, "McVicar").

While his partner in The Who, Pete Townshend, is currently involved in the stage production of "The Who's Tommy", Daltrey brought his solo act to the Leader Bank Pavillion in Boston, Massachusetts on June 20, 2024.

Opening with a cover of Townshend's 1980 hit, "Let My Love Open The Door", Daltrey sounded fantastic and followed up with an interpretation of the Largo song, "Freedom Ride" and a synthesizer-free version of "Who Are You"?

Backed up by a first-rate group of musicians that includes Simon Townshend (Pete's brother) on lead guitar (who later sang a killer version of "Goin' Mobile", which his brother sang on the "Who's Next" album); Billy Nichols on guitar (a fabulous songwriter himself); ace percussionist Jody Linscott (who toured with The Who on reunion tours in 1989 and 1996) added extra atmosphere and additional power to the songs; and electric violinist Katie Jacoby (who is a firecracker onstage).

An extremely hot night in Boston eventually led to a major rain downpour (a tent at the Pavillion shielded most of the crowd) during which Daltrey led a well-timed and emotional "Love Reign O'er Me". One of Daltrey's greatest solo cuts, "Giving It All Away" (penned by Leo Sayer) was majestically crooned out.

A run of Who tracks was kicked off with "The Kids Are Alright" (a timeless cut, it's very hard to believe it was actually released 60 years ago!), "Squeeze Box" (which Daltrey turned into an audience sing-a-long), and "Another Tricky Day" (a scorching rocker from 1981's underrated "Face Dances" record). Before pulling out The Who's epic "Won't Get Fooled Again", Daltrey said he would no longer do the iconic scream near the end of the song and asked the crowd to scream for him (which the Boston crowd, still glowing from a Boston Celtics basketball championship win this week, were very happy to oblige).

To add intimacy to the night, Daltrey read questions from audience members during the show. While some were a bit strange (one asked about his body hair!), one asked if he could share something about the late Keith Moon that nobody knows.

Daltrey stated that his favorite vocalist is former Creedence Clearwater Revival singer/guitarist, John Fogerty (CCR highly impressed Daltrey during the first Woodstock Festival in 1969) and churned out a pair of CCR covers; "Born on the Bayou" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"

After Daltrey's biggest chart hit, "Without Your Love" and a cover of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble", they ended frantically with a stellar "Baba O' Reilly" (where Jacoby shined during the electric violin solo on the songs coda) and ended magnificently with a powerful "Young Man Blues".

Daltrey may have turned 80 this year, but he possesses the energy/voice of a man decades younger. If The Who does not tour anymore, Daltrey proved tonight that his solo career will endure.


Photo credit: Brian Babineau