Credit: Fabrice Demessence
Who frontman Roger Daltrey embarks on a short run of U.S. solo concerts tonight at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Like a similar series of gigs he played last fall, the veteran rocker will be backed at the new shows by a group that includes every member of The Who’s touring band except guitarist Pete Townshend and drummer Zak Starkey.
Daltrey tells ABC Radio that he enjoys the solo concerts because he gets the chance to dig deep into The Who’s back catalog.
“I’m singing songs that we never, ever played live,” he points out. “So in these smaller shows…there’s something about the atmosphere and the fact that it’s just me on my own, it gives me much, much more freedom.”
Roger reveals that his set lists will change at each show, adding that he plans to sing some Quadrophenia tunes he didn’t perform at last year’s concerts, including “The Punk and the Godfather” and “The Real Me.”
On how he decides what rarities to include in his sets, he explains, “We try them out, usually [at] the sound check before the show. If we find one that works, we’ll throw it in. It’s gonna be that loose.”
Daltrey also will be playing at The Joint this Saturday, before moving on to gigs in Stockton, California, on March 13 and Oakland, California, on March 15.
He tells ABC Radio that The Joint is “an extremely good venue,” but he also finds it “emotionally difficult” to play there, because Who bassist John Entwistle died at the Hard Rock Hotel the night before The Who was to kick off its 2002 tour there.
After wrapping up these four dates, Daltrey will launch his “Roger Daltrey Performs The Who’s Tommy” symphonic tour in June.
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