Pearl Jam, Flaming Lips prepare for The Who tribute
Rock bands such as Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters and the Flaming Lips have been polishing their cover versions of The Who hits for a Saturday night tribute to the British band.
U.S. cable channel VH1 is feting the band in Los Angeles as part of its third annual VH1 Rock Honors, which highlights the music of veteran bands.
The show reunites The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey with band mate Pete Townshend for a 45-minute concert, to follow the tribute show.
Daltrey, 64, and Townshend, 63, are the only surviving original members of the band, formed in 1964. Bassist John Entwistle died in 2002 and drummer Keith Moon overdosed on pills in 1978.
For their set in Los Angeles, Pino Palladino will be bassist and Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, will play drums.
For many of the bands participating, a tribute to The Who is a labour of love.
The Flaming Lips have been asked to play a medley from the rock musical Tommy, which was part of their repertoire back in the 1980s.
The Lips' Wayne Coyne told Billboard Friday that he always "wanted to be a rock star based on their kind of mould."
Stealing tricks from Daltrey
Brandon Boyd, lead singer of Incubus, also declares he's always admired Daltrey.
"I've stolen a lot of my tricks from him, to be completely honest. Simple things like figuring out how to not let my cord yank out of the back of the microphone," he said.
Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament said he loved The Who's Quadrophenia, its second rock opera, as a kid and returned to it later, after a period when he only liked punk rock.
"Ed [Vedder] talked a lot about how Quadrophenia was his reference point for living his life. It made me kind of go back and pay a little bit more attention to the lyrics, because when I was a kid I was more interested in the emotive qualities of the song," Ament said.
The Who, who created the rock tradition of smashing their instruments, are known for hits such as My Generation, I Can See for Miles and Magic Bus.
Their last album, 2006's Endless Wire, was their first studio album for more than 20 years. They did a world tour in 2006-7 in support of Endless Wire.
The band also has announced four dates later this year in Japan.
In the past year, Daltrey says, he's been jamming with an acoustic band and considering recording a solo album.