An Intimate Evening with Roger Daltrey

Roger Daltrey and nearly the entire WHO band, (minus Pete Townshend), came to Santa Rosa on Friday evening Sept 4 and played a 90 minute set at the LBC. I'm writing this piece as a lifelong WHO superfan. I've attended most of their tours on both sides of the pond, since the 70's and I've also attended many of Roger's solo shows. As well as catching Simon Townshend's solo show in 2014 at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco (Pictured below).

Levon Helm's daughter Amy Helm opened for Daltrey, playing a handful of songs. She was good, connected to the audience and played and sang well. I'm familiar with Amy Helm only because the day of the show, I spoke to a friend telling her of my plans for the evening, photographing the Daltrey show. She told me her God Daughter is opening that night for Roger.

So it seems that Amy has lots of successful musicians in her family as she is not only, drummer, Levon Helms' daughter and her mother is singer Libby Titus...As well as my musician/singer friend, Maria Muldaur, is her God Mother. So, no doubt Amy's childhood was full of amazing music and plenty of top notch musicians, as both of her parents and her God Mother are and were, in the music biz!

Amy Helm and her guitarist, Anthony da Costa

After Amy Helm's 30 minute set, Roger Daltrey walked onstage at about 9 o'clock and played till 10.30. When he started off, he seemed to be in a jovial mood. He told the audience that his voice isn't what it used to be and he 'will fuck up and forget some lyrics'. Which I thought was very admirable, being able to warn us that it may very well happen. He is 82 years old and as we age - these things happens to us all. I admire those who can apologize and even forewarn others of their shortcomings and/or faults....Respect. He came out admitting that these things may and probably will occur, and they did. At one point before Baba O'Reilly he asked for audience participation to get us through the song...so that was fun.

During his set, he stopped the music twice. Once because his inner ear monitors were not working to his satisfaction and the other time was due to the venues' air conditioning system that apparently affected his voice. When the latter occured, he made kind of a big deal about the air and proceeded to open a bottle of water and he poured it all over the stage beneath his feet. Yes, this is where the electric cables, and pedals reside. I'm guessing he was using the water on the stage as a home-made humidifier or perhaps just protesting against the venue because they switched on the air conditioning system? One cannot know what was going through his head in that moment. I've seen him complain at other shows that people were smoking weed (outdoors) and he cant sing if there is smoke in the air. I'm not a vocalist, and I'm not sensetive around weed smoke or air conditioning, but I do have compassion for those who may be. And I don't doubt if someone, especially a singer, is ultra sensetive to smoke, or air conditioning it may indeed affect their singing. So there's that. But he is a rockstar and it's not like smoking weed at a concert is an unusual activity. But, the fact that Roger had admitted at the beginning of the show, that he can no longer hit those notes and the screams in the songs and anthems that he has sung for decades, is also something to be mindful of and held with compassion. During his performance, he also referred to himself numerous times as a doddering 'old man.'

I wasn't surprised to hear hm complain, because I've heard him voice these things about the air before, at many other shows, but I must say, I was pretty shocked when he poured the whole bottle of water on the stage beneath his feet around all the electrics needed for the performance! In that moment I was truly gobsmacked!

However, he made it successfully through most of the songs, some with audience participation, all with a very happy group of people thoroughly enjoying the show. He sang a variety of The Who songs, some of his solo material (written by Leo Sayer) and a John Fogerty/CCR tune. Then, Roger ended the evening with the Neil Young song, "Rockin in the Free World." Despite a few screw ups and stops and starts, everyone seemed to have a lovely evening. A note about The Who and their future... I saw a recent interview with Roger and although their last tour, "This Song is Over" ended in 2025, and The Who announced they were giving up touring...alas, they recently re-hired Zak Starkey and may possibly not be done after all. So we can watch this space together....being that their first 'Farewell Tour" was in 1982, and their last one to date ended September 2025! 🤣

On a personal note, I just lost a dear friend recently, Jeanie Poling, beloved wife of Chuck Poling, (and amazing musician of anything with strings). Although she'd been battling cancer, I didn't think she'd be taken so soon. 💔 When I end my articles with variations of this paragraph below, I mean each and every word. Life IS soooo short and it gets shorter each day. Please love each other. And tell the ones you love that you love them. Jeanie was loved, and will be very missed by so many. RIP my friend, I love you. 😢❤️🎵

Jeanie at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2025 (her happy place)

Soooo as always....Life is short and gets shorter everyday. Live life NOW. Please, be kind to each other - especially now in these terribly dark times living under a regime that is so unskilled and so very unpredictable. Greet each day with love in your heart. Never regret anything that made you smile. Make amends to those we may have hurt along the way. Remember that life can end at any moment, and we may never get the chance if we wait for the right moment.... Turn up the music and see art! With loads of love and gratitude, Cheryl, at The Music Soup ❤️✌🏻🎵

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Check out and subscribe to my You Tube channel! There are videos from this show posted. And more being posted daily! Need of a photographer?...Contact me: AltermanImages@gmail.com Attention music and photography fans: If you're in or near Sonoma County, and would like to check out over 2000 square feet of a music photography exhibit. Visit the only Music Photography Gallery in the North Bay...3011 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa. It's upstairs, above Dobe Cafe, right between Cycle Gear and Doobie Nights Dispensary. Artist is present every Saturday noon-3pm. ©Cheryl Alterman Photography 2026