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“Carnegie Hall, I apologize for what I’m about to do,” said surprise guest Patti Smith last night at a Who tribute concert at the famed New York venue before launching into a snarling punk version of “My Generation,” during which she spit on the hallowed stage at least three separate times. (Iggy Pop did some damage to the very same stage at the Tibet House benefit last week.) Earlier in the night, Bobby McFerrin did the same song, though he used no instrument other than his mouth and the sound of his hand banging against his chest. Patti’s was stronger (mainly because it didn’t bear resemblance to the Cosby Show theme), but it proved that the Who’s vast catalog is strong enough to survive nearly any re-interpretation.

Check out our huge collection of Who photos.

The night — which was a benefit concert for numerous organizations including Music Unites — began with a children’s choir and the house band performing “Overture” and “Tommy Can You Hear Me.” They were followed by Living Colour, who did an absolutely killer funk-metal “Eminence Front.” It was a hard act to top, but Robyn Hitchcock’s acoustic “Substitute” and the Smithereens’ fierce one-two punch of “The Seeker” and “Sparks” came pretty close with an incredibly frantic energy. Bettye LaVette slowed things down with a beautiful torch ballad rendition of “Love Reign O’er Me” that was definitely the vocal highlight of the night.

Mose Allison, looking pretty spry for 82, was the only performer who did an original. He played “Young Man Blues” (which was a staple of the Who’s set list in the 1960s and ’70s) and its recent sequel “Old Man Blues.” Beatles cover band Fab Faux stepped one inch outside of their comfort zone by playing “Tommy’s Holiday Camp” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Every note and harmony from the Tommy finale was hit with stunning precision. The Gaslight Anthem tore into “Baba O’Riley” Pearl Jam style, while Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould dipped deep into the Who’s catalog for a frenzied cover of “Can’t Reach You” from The Who Sell Out. The night ended with all the performers jamming on a sloppy but fun “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” featuring an unprecedented two primal screams — one by Willie Nile and another by Nicole Atkins, who nailed it better than Daltrey has in quite some time.

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While Pete Townshend’s ongoing tinnitus problem threatens to dock the Who for the foreseeable future, Roger Daltrey is already lobbying to work with another guitar god who’s on the lookout for a vocalist. “I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I’m a great blues singer,” Daltrey told BBC 6Music. “I don’t sing the blues with the Who, but that’s what I used to be before Townshend started writing. I used to be a great blues singer.”

Get a look at rock’s biggest supergroups.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Page seemed eager to return to the live stage in 2010 after spending last year mostly on the sidelines, watching his Led Zeppelin counterparts like Robert Plant, who released Raising Sand with Alison Krauss and is reportedly working on a solo album, and John Paul Jones, who joined the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, take on other musical projects. “Next year I have every intention of playing music live and manifesting it,” Page said late last year. “I’ve got the music waiting, and that’s what I’ll be doing.”

Before any possible collaboration with Page takes place, Daltrey will first hit the road with another of rock’s greatest guitarists. As Rolling Stone reported, the Who frontman and current RS cover star Eric Clapton will embark on a joint tour starting February 25th in Pittsburgh.

Starting with their Super Bowl XLIV halftime show, 2010 was expected to be a big year for the Who, with a tour to follow the band’s most-watched performance ever. However, Townshend continues to suffer from the tinnitus that has plagued his hearing for years. The guitarist was introduced to a new in-ear monitor that might prevent any further damage, and he’ll give the device a test drive when the Who play their only scheduled date of 2010, a March 30th Teenage Trust Cancer benefit concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall where the band will perform its classic Quadrophenia in its entirety.

Related Stories:

• The Who’s Future Uncertain as Townshend’s Tinnitus Returns
• Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Plans Return to Stage in 2010
• Eric Clapton Plots 2010 U.S. Tour With Roger Daltrey

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Two weeks ago, during Super Bowl XLIV’s halftime show, the Who rocked out in front of the largest audience of their 46-year career. With 150 million viewers tuning in to the band’s 12-minute medley, the performance was supposed to springboard Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend into a busy 2010. Instead, the Who’s future is uncertain because of Townshend’s returning tinnitus. As the guitarist tells Rolling Stone in our new issue, “If my hearing is going to be a problem, we’re not delaying shows. We’re finished. I can’t really see any way around the issue.”

The band tells RS a planned spring 2010 tour and appearances at the Coachella and New Orleans Jazz Festivals were ditched when Townshend’s tinnitus returned while he was working on his musical Floss. Neil Young put Townshend in touch with an audiologist who recommended an in-ear monitor that may prevent any further damage. Townshend will give the device a test drive when the Who perform at their only scheduled gig of 2010, a March 30th charity show in London where they’ll play Quadrophenia in its entirety. “It’s a good test of Pete’s hearing,” Daltrey tells Rolling Stone. “We won’t know until we try.”

For more on Townshend’s plans for Floss and their big Super Bowl gig, grab the new issue, on newsstands now.

Related Stories:

• The Who Rock Super Bowl XLIV With Explosive Medley of Big Hits
• The Who’s Townshend Reveals the Story Behind Big Super Bowl Set
• Fans React to the Who’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Photo: Mazur/WireImage

On Sunday, the Who became the latest in a growing list of classic rockers — along with the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Prince — to play a Super Bowl halftime. Why did they do it, what was it like being onstage at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, and why a hits medley? For the answers, we went directly to the Who’s Pete Townshend the day after the performance. For more from Townshend, grab the next issue of Rolling Stone, on stands February 17th.

Relive the Who’s explosive Super Bowl set in photos.

What was your first reaction to being invited to play the Super Bowl?
I really wanted to do it. I felt it would be easy to do [chuckles]. I felt that doing this would be a great thing to do at this particular time because it would let people know that we’re alive and kicking and that Roger and I still do stuff together and intend to do whatever we can in the future together. You feel part of something that’s bigger than you and you feel part of a huge team. It’s a monster gig.

How did it feel being onstage, in the midst of that spectacle?
A couple of people said to me they could have done with more Who and less football. But I suppose it’s best if I tell the truth. I felt nothing. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a great big football stadium or a little club somewhere. As soon as I get close to a stage, I feel very at home and very safe and secure. It feels completely normal. When the NFL started to talk to us about this, one of the things they started to talk about was the numbers. I looked at Roger and looked at them and I said, “I’ve done a solo show in front of 80 million people on TV.” The abstract numbers make no difference.

I heard that Roger and Simon Townshend [Pete's brother and guitarist in the Who touring band] came up with the medley, not you.
That’s right. I thought we’d just do the CSI songs ["Won't Get Fooled Again," "Baba O'Riley," "Who Are You"]. My pitch was just to do three regular-length songs. We could fall back on what was very familiar. But Roger felt he needed something that gave him more narrative scope, as he described it. He and Simon and one of the lieutenants in the crew put together a track and surprisingly I thought it worked really well. Roger and I have a great relationship these days; it’s very warm and close. So I trusted him to do that job.

Were you wearing sunglasses up there?
No, I was wearing reading glasses. I like to be able to see the guitar.

What was it like finally experiencing an American football game?
English people still find the rules almost incomprehensible, like Americans finding cricket incomprehensible. It’s very difficult to understand how the game operates. But it’s a real sporting event and very exciting backstage and very dignified and serious. Some of my friends have been quite sniffy and said, “We watched it and it was like fucking Disneyland.” But when you’re on the inside of it, there’s a real sense of it being a job, a passion. I learned a lot about it yesterday, and it was all good.

What was the most surprising thing about it?
Not seeing a single cheerleader. Not anywhere. It was terrible. There are lot of girls who’ve said, “I used to be a cheerleader once.” But as hard as you try to persuade them, they won’t do it again.

Check out photos of music’s big names rocking football’s big game.

Related Stories:

• The Who Rock Super Bowl XLIV With Explosive Medley of Big Hits
• Fans React to the Who’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance
• A History of Rock Stars in Super Bowl Commercials

The headline may seem a bit disjointed – okay, maybe very disjointed, but the whole Super Bowl thing featuring what’s left of The Who got me thinking about some of our favorite aging rockers and whether or not they should still be rocking, or in the case of The Who, attempting to rock.
Before I continue, [...]

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