Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, October 21, 1976 – The final song The Who played with drummer Keith Moon in North America. Includes a guitar smash by Pete at the end! Overall, a fitting finish for Keith’s last stand in America.
Keith Moon played his final tour date with The Who on October. 21st, 1976, at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. It was the final date on the band’s 1976 tour. Within two years, Moon would be found dead from an overdose of Heminevrin, a sedative used to combat his alcoholism. Though Moon would perform with the Who in a couple of special gigs filmed for use in the documentary, The Kids Are Alright, this would be his last official Who date.
After tours spotlighting mammoth works of the rock opera Tommy and Quadrophenia, the 1976 trek was more of a back-to-basics jaunt and by most accounts, a truly rocking round of shows. The tour, however, was not without its share of incidents. The band crossed the U.K. and Europe before heading to the U.S. By the time the tour made it to the States, Moon had become ill, forcing the rescheduling of the opening date. Despite the drama, the band was still capable of the firepower that made it so great.
Keith Moon embodied the spectacle and glory that made the Who such an amazing live act. In the early days, he and Pete Townshend would often try and one up each other’s stage antics. Townshend stated in The Kids Are Alright, “As soon as I started smashing something up, Keith, who’s a great sort of joiner-inner used to smash up his drum kit!”
“A lot of people really, really, really, have never understood how important Keith’s drumming style was to the Who,” said Roger Daltrey in the Classic Albums – Who’s Next DVD. “I kind of describe it as, if you imagine Pete and [bassist] John [Entwistle] as two knitting needles, and Keith was the ball of wool. He would kind of keep it all together.” Townshend added, “Keith Moon’s drumming was an expression of his personality and his ego and his grandiosity and his ridiculousness and his theatricality and his sense of humor.”
The band’s onetime manager Chris Stamp put it best: “He was, in a sense, the soul of the band.” when Keith Moon died on September. 7th, 1978, at age 32, and rock ‘n’ roll hasn’t been the same without him.
Setlist:
1. I Can’t Explain
2. Substitute
3. My Wife
4. Baba O’Riley
5. Squeeze Box
6. Behind Blue Eyes
7. Dreaming From The Waist
8. Magic Bus
9. Amazing Journey
10. Sparks
11. The Acid Queen
12. Fiddle About
13. Pinball Wizard
14. I’m Free
15. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
16. We’re Not Gonna Take It
17. See Me Feel Me/Listening To You
18. Summertime Blues
19. My Generation
20. Join Together
21. My Generation Blues
22. Spoonful (tease)
23. Who Are You
24. Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Fat Angel Sings 