The Who treat fans to rarity during Long Island concert
As The Who reunite for their tour of North America, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend treated fans in Long Island to a rare live performance of a classic. The track has only been included in setlists on a handful of occasions over the past four decades.
After returning to the stage for their encore, Daltrey swung his microphone as Townshend started strumming the opening chords of ‘Young Man Blues’. The classic track, originally recorded by jazz musician Mose Allison in 1957, was famously covered by The Who during their early live sets in the mid-1960s.
The early live favourite appeared on The Who’s popular Live at Leeds album in 1970 and later as a part of the soundtrack to The Kids Are Alright.
The group haven’t played the cover since a one-off in 2014, and it’s only been played on five other occasions over the past 40 years of the rock legends’ prolific touring history.
Earlier this year, The Who’s North American tour took them to Cincinnati, Ohio, for their first performance in the city for nearly 45 years after an infamous accident. During the band’s visit to the city in December 1979. A crowd crush that occurred while fans were entering the Riverfront Coliseum left 11 dead and dozens more injured.
A documentary covering the tragedy, titled The Night That Changed Rock, aired in 2019 and featured in-depth interviews with Daltrey and Townshend.
In response to the tragedy, The Who waived their fee for the performance on Friday, instead donating all ticket proceeds to local charities. The families of nine of the 11 victims, meanwhile, were given VIP front-row tickets to the show.
Over the summer, it was revealed that Daltrey was to be joined by two generations of Townshends during his recently concluded run of solo tour dates. The Who frontman booked both Simon Townshend, Pete’s brother, and Simon’s son, Ben, to support him on stage.
Simon has played live with The Who in the past, while Ben has played on several of Simon’s records as well as albums by The Cornerstones.
Watch The Who play ‘Young Man’s Blues’ in Long Island below.
