The Who
The Hits Back Tour 2023
The Who review – rock operas get an orchestral uplift in a show stuffed with classics
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are as playful as ever in a crowd-pleasing set featuring strings, brass and, in the audience, thousands of air guitars.
It was impossible to escape the sense of occasion on this, the last Eden Session of 2023 and probably the biggest band to perform there, since the Eden Sessions began. Joined by the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the last things I expected from one of the biggest rock and roll bands, but they were incorporated seamlessly as they played through some of the classics from the 1969 album Tommy, such as 1921, The Acid Queen and Amazing Journey. They also played the classic hits from the iconic film Quadrophenia.
The Who performing live at this years Eden Sessions, Cornwall, Image Credit: Ian Mayou Photography
A rippling squall of sound echoes forth from the stage as Roger Daltrey whirls his microphone with the passion of a man half his age. Besides him, Pete Townsend lobs the occasional windmill arm in the air, detonating beefy chords from his fretboard with the impact of a bomb crater. The Who have come to Cornwall, and they want everyone to know they're in town.
Simon Townsend joins his brother and Roger on the Eden stage. Image Credit: Ian Mayou Photography
At seventy-nine, Daltrey is still outpacing the ravages of time with a glint of golden-air mischief, even as his voice continues to fade with age. Like a Cockney wink-wink-nudge pastiche of Peter Pan, he stands in contrast to Townsend, craggier at a year younger, uncharacteristically grandfatherly beneath his beanie and sunglasses.
Roger Daltry swirling the microphone above his head. Image Credit: Ian Mayou Photography
