Insert your own ‘Who Sell Out‘ joke here. I’m sure they’ve heard them all before. And deserved to, based on this hilariously tacky beer-sponsorship poster for their 1982 Tour. Everything about this is bad: The giant logos, the cheeseball graphics, the awful illustration. I especially love the expression on Daltrey’s face: It looks like he’s trying to figure out who farted. Not sure where I got this one; I know I didn’t seem them on this tour. If you recall, it was supposed to be The Who‘s farewell tour. Well, we all know how that worked out. Hardly the historic sendoff they were planning. So I guess I didn’t really miss much. Thankfully, I did see them on a slightly more momentous occasion: One of their final shows with Keith Moon. It was their gig at Winnipeg Arena on Oct. 18, 1976. They were touring behind Who By Numbers. Granted, nobody would call that their best album. Even so, I wasn’t going to miss that show. And I’m glad I didn’t. I remember the performance being pretty amazing. The set included tons of hits, Pete Townshend did the windmill, Roger Daltrey whipped the mic cord like a lasso over the crowd, Moon was suitably frenzied, John Entwistle was his usual stoic self, and hey, there were lasers! I remember Kim Mitchell telling me years later that he and the rest of Max Webster were at that show (they had played Winnipeg a day or two earlier, opening for Rush at the Playhouse Theatre — clearly that was a good week for live music). As for the historical significance: It was the second-last gig on The Who‘s 1976 tour — and after that, they only played live three more times before Moon died in 1978 (and one of those was the show filmed for the posthumous documentary The Kids Are Alright). I’ve seen The Who a couple of times since, but nothing can really compare to that experience. No matter how much fine Schlitz products you drink. Oh, and if you’d like to own this poster, I’ll be glad to sell out — just email me.
