Review: Roger Daltrey sings the Who and more, opening solo US tour

Jacoby, who has been touring with Daltrey and the Who since 2018, expertly delivered the “Baba” solo, bringing the set to a frenzied crescendo, and she also distinguished herself in “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

That masterpiece of “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” cynicism was also the occasion of Daltrey’s one attempt at his trademark mic twirl-and-catch, which he pulled off seamlessly.

Before that song he announced that he had retired the cathartic scream that left him without a voice too many times, so he was counting on the audience to step up in his stead. They did, and made a mighty roar.

Other choice song selections: “Squeeze Box” put the accordion to good use, and “The Kids are Alright” was an optimistic jolt of mid-’60s innocence. Taj Mahal’s “Freedom Ride” and a touching “Going Back Home” from a 2014 Daltrey album with Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, who died in 2022, drew from the blues Daltrey grew up on.

It sounded great in the room, but Daltrey was plagued by first-night-on-tour problems with his onstage monitors. He frequently gestured mid-song to an offstage technician, explaining that either he couldn’t hear himself at all, or it was suddenly too loud.

He was irritated, but forgiving, admitting that being his new sound man might not be the easiest job. “He doesn’t get my hand signals; he doesn’t know how deaf I am.” For his troubles, the tech got a song dedicated to him: “Another Tricky Day.”

One crumpled piece of paper pulled from Daltrey’s pocket asked: “Any fond memories of Philadelphia?”

“They’re all fond,” said Daltrey, who has played benefit shows for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia through Teen Cancer America, which he called “the Who’s pet charity.”

He shouted out the Spectrum, where the band played frequently in the 1970s, and further pleased the partisan crowd by dissing New York, calling Madison Square Garden a “s—hole.”

“Philadelphia was always a great city for the Who,” he said, referring to a long history that stretches back to the band playing the original Electric Factory at 22nd and Arch in 1969.

The impression that the city made on him in that era can be heard on "Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970," on which he introduces a song called “Water” by saying “in Philadelphia, they call it 'wooder.'”