Opening Night | The Who Hits 50 Begins In Abu Dhabi

On Sunday night, The Who kicked off The Who Hits 50! World Tour with their first-ever show in the Middle East. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, along with their talented backing band, treated fans in Abu Dhabi to a lengthy set chock full of the group’s greatest hits.

.@TheWho. Rocking stages for 50 years! #TheWhoAtF1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/5CqqkleZAw

— Yas Marina Circuit (@ymcofficial) November 23, 2014

The biggest surprise on opening night was the inclusion of “Squeezebox,” which hadn’t been performed by The Who since December 17, 1982 -a span of nearly 32 years. “I Can See For Miles” and “Substitute” also found their way into the set. The former was last regularly played during a Who tour in 1989, while the latter had been missing in action since 2009.

While The Who’s last tour focused on Quadrophenia, four songs from that classic album made Sunday’s set -an encore of “5:15,” “Bell Boy,” “Love Reign O’er Me” and “The Real Me.” Tommy was well-represented by “Amazing Journey/Sparks,” “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You.” Surprisingly, The Who’s newest song -“Be Lucky” -did not make the setlist.

Watch fan-shot footage of “Substitute,” “I Can See For Miles,” “Who Are You,” “You Better You Bet,” “Magic Bus” and more thanks to Omar Shafey:

Here’s a look at the setlist from opening night via The Who Concert Guide:

I Can’t Explain, Substitute, The Seeker, The Kids Are Alright, I Can See For Miles, Who Are You, Behind Blue Eyes, Magic Bus, Squeeze Box, You Better You Bet, Baba O’Riley, Eminence Front, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, Won’t Get Fooled Again, Amazing Journey, Sparks, Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me, 5.15, Bell Boy, Love Reign O’er Me, The Real Me