Pete Townshand walks out on The Who

[That 70s Guy]

ultimateclassicrock.com



Last night (Nov. 1) in Sunrise, Fla., the Who kicked off their ‘Quadrophenia + More‘ tour, but all did not go so well at the BB&T Center. Towards the end of the show, Pete Townshend walked offstage because the volume onstage was too loud.

Much to everyone’s confusion, Townshend left the stage as the band was performing ‘You Better You Bet.’ When he refused to return, Roger Daltrey said, “Pete’s having guitar troubles.” The band attempted to play ‘Baba O’Riley,’ but without Townshend’s power chords and classic vocal break, it lost much of its power, and the band called it a night after that.

Shortly after the concert ended, Simon Townshend, second guitarist and Pete’s brother, tweeted “Pete walked off tonight because it was too loud. was a good show but had some technical problems.”

Townshend’s hearing problems have long been an issue. He played an acoustic guitar for much of the 1989 reunion tour, leaving the bulk of the lead work to Steve “Boltz” Bolton. In the 1979 documentary ‘The Kids Are Alright,’ Townshend relays a story to Keith Moon about visiting an ear specialist, who proceeded to tell Who manager Bill Curbishley that maybe Pete should “learn to lip-read,” causing Moonie to crack up.

The Who Nov. 1 ‘Quadrophenia + More’ Setlist

1. ‘I Am the Sea’
2. ‘The Real Me’
3. ‘Quadrophenia’
4. ‘Cut My Hair’
5. ‘The Punk and the Godfather’
6. ‘I’m One’
7. ‘The Dirty Jobs’
8. ‘Helpless Dancer’
9. ‘Is It in My Head?’
10. ‘I’ve Had Enough’
11. ’5:15′
12. ‘Sea and Sand’
13. ‘Drowned’
14. ‘Bell Boy’
15. ‘Doctor Jimmy’
16. ‘The Rock’
17. ‘Love, Reign O’er Me’

Encore

18. ‘Pinball Wizard’
19. ‘Behind Blue Eyes’
20. ‘Who Are You’
21. ‘You Better You Bet’
22. ‘Baba O’Riley

 

[LG]

I sympathize completely with Pete on this one, if your hearing is almost gone and you feel uncomfortable on stage performing then he didn't do anything wrong...except perhaps agree to tour at all.

When your hearing is shot, it overwhelms you when you are exposed to loud volume sound of any kind. You can't concentrate or think clearly all you want to do is find a quiet place and hope it calms down.

I wonder if he's using the protective hearing aids they have for musicians now...if not he should and so should everyone that intends to have a long career playing music.

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Just looking at the picture at the top I don't see him wearing any, LG. I agree with you though. Pete wasn't in the wrong. Most rockstars are just being prima donnas when they storm off stage and while Pete has his moments of diva-ism I think he was justified in this.

 

[Magic]

Pete has been around long enough to know that concerts are loud. I agree with Cosmic, I dont see any protection in his ears in the photo. He should have protected himself, especially if he has hearing issues.


I have been to concerts where my ears "rang" for hours after the concert. So I can just imagine how it would be to experience the sound on the stage. I would imagine it would be instant headache, confusion, and a feeling of being off balance. If I felt like that, I would walk off stage too!!!

 

[runtfan]

I have been to concerts where my ears "rang" for hours after the concert. So I can just imagine how it would be to experience the sound on the stage. I would imagine it would be instant headache, confusion, and a feeling of being off balance. If I felt like that, I would walk off stage too!!!

Actually, stage volume is often much less than out in front of the P.A., especially nowadays. Some people don't even have an amp onstage anymore ( Geddy Lee for one). In-ear monitors, which most people use these days, act as both a monitor AND ear protection. These days there's really no reason for the profound hearing loss that musicians like Townsend suffer.
Volume can easily be managed in a variety of ways. Something obviously needs to be done regarding Townsend's personal monitoring setup.

 

[Magic]

I assumed with today's technology, sound would be controlled on the stage, but they still need to protect their ears.


I agree, Pete probably needs something custom made for his ears

 

[Vehicle]

I can see both sides. Walking off stage probably wasn't the best way to handle it.

It doesn't look like he has any protection. This is an age that has things small enough to be invisible, though.

Either way he left because he couldn't hear things the way he needed to, I suppose. Whether it was diva behavior or not, I don't know.

The problem should never have happened to begin with.

You'd think they (sound people) would have the sound solved before the lights go down, you know? They handle sound, acoustics, etc, etc, for a living, for Pete's sake. (sorry, that one just slipped by before I had a chance to stop it.)