Aside from six warm-up shows in Europe, the tour focused primarily on the areas of North America not covered in the band's previous tour, which had focused on the northeastern United States. The set list was very similar to what they played on that tour, save the omission of "The Punk and the Godfather", which was only performed once in 1980. "Relay" was played for the first time since their 1972 European tour, and the group also briefly resurrected "Getting In Tune" for one show during the European warm-up tour, although it did not remain in the act. Yet-unreleased songs "How Can You Do It Alone" and "Dance It Away" returned from the previous tour as well, with the latter having developed into a full song similar to the bonus track on the reissue of Townshend's 1982 solo album All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes. A very early version of "Another Tricky Day" from the band's next album Face Dances also featured in one of the band's jams during "Dance It Away" in Los Angeles.
As in the second half of 1979, the band employed a brass section, which was showcased in numbers such as "Music Must Change", "Drowned", and "5.15", among others. Notable Pink Floyd sideman Dick Parry handled saxophone duties on this tour.
This short leg started on 26 March 1980 at the Grugahalle in Essen, West Germany and ended on 1 April 1980 at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Frankfurt. Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):
There were some set list substitutions, variations, and order switches during the tour.
First North American leg
This leg began on 14 April at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver and ended on 7 May at the Montreal Forum. Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):
The band returned after a six-week break for the second leg of the tour, which began on 18 June at the San Diego Sports Arena. This leg included two shows at The Forum in Inglewood, California and five more at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and ended before a huge crowd at Toronto's CNE Stadium on 16 July, the group's last performance until the following January. At the invitation of Pete Townshend, Willie Nile accompanied the Who on their summer of 1980 - Second North American Leg as an opening act.[2][3] Here is a fairly typical set list (all songs written by Pete Townshend unless otherwise specified):
