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The Who announce their farewell tour: last stop is Las Vegas (for N. America anyway) on September 28

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raisingoo

raisingoo

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I read with interest today that The Who has announced their farewall tour. The last stop will be in Las Vegas on September 28. "Last stop" for the continent of North America, anyway.

Link below. Per board rules, I am only summarizing and not copying the entire article.

I thought someone might find this interesting. What a career they have had, spanning six decades.

Some questions:

1) Venue is MGM Grand Garden Arena. "The Google" says this venue holds 16,800 capacity. Ticket prices aren't posted yet. I cannot even fathom what the tickets might cost, especially on the resale (scalper) market. Last possible show (again in the continent, anyway) at such a relatively small place. Can you speculate on what tickets might actually cost?

2) Any reason why they can't play somewhere larger? "The Google" when asked shows that they played much, much, much larger shows back in the day. NYC Central Park in 1986 with 800,000 attendees (!). A show in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro with an estimated 3.5 million attendees (?) if you believe that is even possible (?). Surely there is a larger venue?

3) How much would YOU pay for this kind of show? :)

4) Will it really be their last tour? Sometimes aging rock bands reconsider what a "farewall tour" means in the future.

Well, thought I'd post. Thanks for any responses.


 
Some thoughts:

1) Can't say what tickets will cost, but most arena shows these days start at around $100 for nosebleed and go up from there. They are also going to offer VIP packages, so the very best seats will probably be around $500 - $1,000 at face, depending on what's offered in the package (just merch, hospitality, soundcheck?). And if they are like most bands, they may use platinum or dynamic pricing, so face value is going to go up if there is demand.

2) Several reasons why they are only playing arenas or outdoor sheds on this tour. They (or the promoters) may be hedging on not being able to sell out a stadium. They may prefer playing in smaller venues - their 2022 US tour was also arenas or sheds, except for JazzFest.

3) I would not pay top price, but I have seen them before and I'd have to weigh seat location (I'm super-picky) with cost. I'd probably pay around $300 for a decent, non-VIP seat if I was going.

4) I think this may well be their last tour, for real. Their manager announced their "final tour" in 1982 and they have never lived that down. But Roger is 81 and Pete is 79, and they may be done with the touring grind. I don't see them completely retiring, just limiting themselves to one-off appearances vs. a full-on tour.
 

  • comped room (me?!) & connoisseur class; life is good
Should be epic. I'm also surprised that the venue isn't larger. I love watching YouTube clips of shows in Rio de Janeiro (AC/DC, Rush, etc), with HUGE crowds. Rock 'n Roll!
 
I stand corrected, I took another look at their tour dates and they are doing two shows at Fenway Park in Boston - so a baseball stadium is tossed in there.

It's also possible that there are 2nd shows already set up for some of the cities (like New York or Chicago) that will suddenly go on sale as the original show gets close to selling out---"Additional Show Added!!" So multiple nights indoors would increase capacity.

Actually, I'd rather see them at somewhere like MGM Grand or Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City; the smaller the better for me. Stadium shows are a pain lol.
 

  • comped room (me?!) & connoisseur class; life is good
I would love to see them again. Saw them on their last tour and although it was a very cold May night at an outdoor venue Pete and Roger were still very good. Ticket prices weren’t all that pricey either. I think I paid no more than $200 a seat to be in the 20th row of the center section. Now of course tickets for this tour will probably be more just because it’s the last chance.

I do believe this will be their last tours of the Americas. Roger has said in the past he thought that them touring the Americas was a thing of the past just because of the cost to tour here. Happily they must have decided to do one more. I have also heard Pete say he only does Who shows because Roger still likes touring, he only does it because it’s easy.

Sadly none of the dates work for me to see them.
 
They played 8 or so songs in Houston on their last tour before Daltrey left the stage due to voice issues.

I might be interested if they play close to here. I was enjoying that show…but the ending sucked…
 
I saw the Who several years ago at the 4,500 seat Santa Barbara Bowl—great show. As for paying like $300 to see them now—only if it was the Sphere.
 

  • Santana at HOB/Wizard of Oz at Sphere
raisingoo said:
2) Any reason why they can't play somewhere larger? "The Google" when asked shows that they played much, much, much larger shows back in the day. NYC Central Park in 1986 with 800,000 attendees (!). A show in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro with an estimated 3.5 million attendees (?) if you believe that is even possible (?). Surely there is a larger venue?
Click to expand...
In 2022 The Who played at Dolby Live at the Park MGM (I was there). It seats 6,400. I doubt at this point The Who is growing in popularity.

I saw their farewell tour in 1982. I think everyone is now skeptical of the "last show" tag. Elton John played his last Farewell Yellow Brick Road show back in 2023. This week he's playing a charity gig in San Diego. I thought the show I saw in 2022 might be my last time to see The Who. I'm going to try and get a ticket for the MGM show.
 
I think "farewell" means something different in 2025 than it did in decades past.
More of a marketing thing: Hey! Buy tickets to see us! It might, maybe, could-be, possibly our last show! Or not. You never know.
 
I guess the jokes on me
I traveled the country seeing almost every show on their farewell tour
In 1982
 
SoCalDude said:
I saw their farewell tour in 1982. I think everyone is now skeptical of the "last show" tag. Elton John played his last Farewell Yellow Brick Road show back in 2023. This week he's playing a charity gig in San Diego.
Click to expand...
"Last tour" can be different from "last show." Elton is done touring on a large scale, but a charity one-off is a different thing. The Who may indeed decide they are done doing any shows in the US, but I wouldn't be surprised if they continue their appearances at the Teenage Cancer Trust charity gigs in the UK.

And I found more info on the VIP packages; there is indeed one that includes seats in the first five rows plus access to soundcheck. Expect those to be at least $1,000 each, probably more.

 

  • comped room (me?!) & connoisseur class; life is good
Sgt_Shultz said:
I guess the jokes on me
I traveled the country seeing almost every show on their farewell tour
In 1982
Click to expand...
Yes, this is their 17th farewell tour, not making that number up, so who knows if this is really it.
 
The song was over 20 years ago....Roger lost his voice and Pete lost his hearing. It's now a Who review show .Sad.
 
The Who were before my time, but I love them. One of my favorite classic rock bands.

But they're ...80! No offense. They played Woodstock! Which is kind of cool that you can still see a band that did that. But they're getting up there in years and I'd have reservations about the quality of the performance.
 
I'm not sure The Who know what a farewell is. I saw their farewell tour in 1989 at the Tacoma Dome. Tickets were $25.
 
Last show of the farewell tour…. doubt you could get a money back guarantee from Ticketmaster if not……. but consider their age…..,,love farewell tours..cause it seems they never actually leave us. :cry:
 
I mean ... I went to the "farewell tour" in 1982 at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY. And the Clash were far better than they were on that stage, then. I can't imagine paying to see these guys now.
 
GMS said:
I mean ... I went to the "farewell tour" in 1982 at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY. And the Clash were far better than they were on that stage, then. I can't imagine paying to see these guys now.
Click to expand...
The Who with Kenny Jones on drums never quite worked. They are much better with Zak Starkey. The Who shows I saw in the 2000's & 2010's with Zak were great. Now, as another poster pointed out, Rog & Pete are in their 80's. They still put on a good show, but not like they were.
 
I went to see them in Vegas some years back, they had been touring the USA and the final show was in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. I had quite a good seat and I don't think I paid a extortionate price for a ticket.
 
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