The Who Tour 1976

History

After spending most of the last three months of 1975 supporting The Who By Numbers, the group again embarked on a series of tours in 1976, with two stints in North America and several shows in the United Kingdom and Europe.

The group added "Slip Kid" to the act in February–March, playing to a backing tape recording much like with "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", but it was dropped from the act after eight shows; otherwise, "Squeeze Box" and "Dreaming from the Waist" were the only songs performed from the new album. As in 1975, the band's set was dominated by a lengthy selection from Tommy.

1976 was also drummer Keith Moon's final year touring with the band, as the London performances on 15 December, 1977 at Kilburn and 25 May, 1978 at Shepperton Studios weren't actually part of any tours, but rather were special shows filmed specifically for inclusion in The Kids Are Alright film. The first show of the group's first North American tour of the year in Boston began disastrously, with Moon collapsing on stage after only two numbers, forcing a makeup performance three weeks later. Lead singer Roger Daltrey explained that Moon was very ill, adding "Why do our tours always start like this," obviously referring to the incident at the Cow Palace during the first show of their 1973 North American tour, when Moon also collapsed. The band's second North American trip featured Moon's final U.S. concert at the Seattle Center Coliseum in Seattle, Washington on 14 October, as well as his final concert before a paying crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 21 October.

The group would not perform at all between the Toronto and Kilburn shows, the only band activity during that time being early sessions for Who Are You.

Live releases

Live material from 1976 that has seen release all comes from the group's performance at Vetch Field in Swansea, Wales on 12 June and has appeared on the following:

Tour band

European warmup dates

This short segment began 27 February in Zürich and ended on 2 March in Paris. The four shows acted as the warm-ups for the main US tour. Here is a fairly typical setlist (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless stated otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Squeeze Box"
6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
7. "Slip Kid"
8. "Dreaming from the Waist"
9. "Magic Bus"
10. "Amazing Journey"
11. "Sparks"
12. "The Acid Queen"
13. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)
14. "Pinball Wizard"
15. "I'm Free"
16. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)
17. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
18. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
19. "My Generation"
20. "Join Together"
21. "Road Runner" (Ellas McDaniel)
22. "My Generation Blues"
23. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

First North American tour

This leg began with an aborted show on 9 March at the Boston Garden and ended on 1 April with a makeup show at the same venue. "Slip Kid" was dropped from the act after the 15 March show in Oklahoma City. Here is a fairly typical set list for this leg of the tour (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless stated otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Squeeze Box"
6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
7. "Slip Kid" (dropped after 15 March)
8. "Dreaming from the Waist"
9. "Magic Bus"
10. "Amazing Journey"
11. "Sparks"
12. "The Acid Queen"
13. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)
14. "Pinball Wizard"
15. "I'm Free"
16. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)
17. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
18. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
19. "My Generation"
20. "Join Together"
21. "Road Runner" (Ellas McDaniel) (performed on 15, 16, 18 and 21 March)
22. "My Generation Blues"
23. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

The 11 March show at Madison Square Garden in New York City was the only date to feature an encore:

The Madison Square Garden show was originally scheduled for 10 March, but a rescheduling was announced, rumored to be due to Keith Moon's being too intoxicated to play. The show was produced on the following day.

"The Who Put The Boot In" Leg

This leg started on 22 May in Colmar, France and ended on 12 June in Swansea, Wales, with the three U.K. shows billed as "The Who Put the Boot In" in reference to their playing in football stadiums. This leg also featured the Guinness World Record-holder (at the time) for the loudest concert ever at The Valley in Charlton, England. Its volume from 50 meters away was at 120 decibels. Moon's final European concerts also took place during this leg. Here is a typical set list for this leg of the tour (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless stated otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Squeeze Box"
6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
7. "Dreaming from the Waist"
8. "Magic Bus"
9. "Amazing Journey"
10. "Sparks"
11. "The Acid Queen"
12. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)
13. "Pinball Wizard"
14. "I'm Free"
15. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)
16. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
17. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
18. "My Generation"
19. "Join Together"
20. "My Generation Blues"
21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

There were no encores. The list stayed mainly the same throughout the leg, but the first two shows of the leg featured some bonus songs in the "My Generation" medley:

Whirlwind Leg

The Who played just four dates in the U.S. on this leg, starting on 3 August with two shows at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland and continuing with shows on the 7th in Jacksonville and Miami a few days later. The set list did not change from the previous leg (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless stated otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Squeeze Box"
6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
7. "Dreaming from the Waist"
8. "Magic Bus"
9. "Amazing Journey"
10. "Sparks"
11. "The Acid Queen"
12. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)
13. "Pinball Wizard"
14. "I'm Free"
15. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)
16. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
17. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
18. "My Generation"
19. "Join Together"
20. "My Generation Blues"
21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Second North American tour

The final leg of the year began on 6 October the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona and ended on 21 October at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The tour included two dates in Oakland with The Grateful Dead, promoted by Bill Graham. Here is a typical set list for the leg (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless stated otherwise).

1. "I Can't Explain"
2. "Substitute"
3. "My Wife" (John Entwistle)
4. "Baba O'Riley"
5. "Squeeze Box"
6. "Behind Blue Eyes"
7. "Dreaming from the Waist"
8. "Magic Bus"
9. "Amazing Journey"
10. "Sparks"
11. "The Acid Queen"
12. "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)
13. "Pinball Wizard"
14. "I'm Free"
15. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)
16. "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me, Feel Me"
17. "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
18. "My Generation"
19. "Join Together"
20. "My Generation Blues"
21. "Won't Get Fooled Again"

The 10 October date at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland was the only show to feature an encore, which the band dedicated to The Grateful Dead and their fans:

There were other songs played on this leg which are not on the lists above: