ST. PAUL
Roger Daltrey hasn't forgotten the last time he was in town, when the Who headlined Xcel Energy Center in December 2006.
"I had the flu," he said during a phone interview from Toronto last week. "You always remember those nights. It takes a lot to lay me out like that, but I literally collapsed. It's the choice a singer makes every night. You can't just change the strings like a guitarist, you don't have that luxury. I missed the encore, but Pete (Townshend) went out and sang a few songs."
Daltrey, 67, won't have Townshend to back him up Tuesday for his solo gig at Target Center, but he does have another secret weapon. He'll be performing the Who's classic 1969 rock opera "Tommy" in its entirety (save for the 10-minute instrumental "Underture") followed by a selection of other favorites from the Who and Daltrey's solo catalog.
Townshend is again avoiding the road, as he continues to struggle with his hearing, but he gave the "Tommy" tour his seal of approval, saying: "I will be there in spirit. Roger has my complete and most loving support." And Townshend's brother, Simon, will be there in the flesh, as a guitarist and vocalist in Daltrey's band.
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Here's what else Daltrey had to say about bringing the tale of a deaf, dumb and blind kid named Tommy back to life:
On creating the original "Tommy" album:
"We just thought, 'In for a penny, in for a pound.' It was such a wild idea. Pete had one song, 'Amazing Journey,' where he
envisioned living a life just through musical vibrations. We thought that would be a great idea for the basis of an album, and we came up with the idea of the cousin and the uncle and the camp. It grew organically. We worked together, very much as a band should."
On revisiting "Tommy" in 2011:
"I present it as a classical piece of music, rather than as the abbreviated, kind of circus-like way the Who used to do it. I treat the band like a classical orchestra, albeit one with modern instruments. The only thing I don't do is 'Underture.' We made that (in the studio) by piecing together bits of jamming from other tracks because we had too much material for a single album but not enough for a double. But it's not needed, as all that music shows up elsewhere on the album."
On the tour's staging:
"It's a band playing the music (in front of a) screen. It's all animation and footage produced by students from a university in England. I told them my vision of the show and that's what they came up with. It is a musical show rather than a theatrical piece. I don't try to do 'Tommy on Ice.' "
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On choosing the songs his band tackles after "Tommy":
"I like to change it every night. I try to do songs -- some of which the Who have played recently -- in my own way and bring in my own personality. With 'Who Are You,' for instance, if you strip all the synthesizers out of it, it's just a Shepherd's Bush blues song. There's only one song I don't really change, 'Baba O'Riley.' I feel it's such a classic-rock anthem. You can't do that differently, you can only do it worse."
On what he does to keep his voice in shape:
"I use it a lot. You can only keep your voice going by using it. Pete doesn't like to work, but I know if I have three years off at my age, my voice won't be there. It's vocal athletics. If you stop, it just turns to lard. I've had a few problems in the last few years and had a bit of a pre-cancerous scare, but I had surgery that was very successful. Sadly, it left me totally allergic to cigarette and pot smoke. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, so I tell people to please just bring brownies."
The info
Who: Roger Daltrey, performing the Who's rock opera "Tommy"
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Target Center, 600 First Ave. N., Mpls.
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Tickets: $126-$40.50
Call: (800) 745-3000
Distributed by MCT Information Services
