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It was a chance to see The Who in the flesh again. Guitarist Pete Townshend is touring the U.S. and Canada with Roger Daltrey for 17 North American shows this fall. During an interview with Rolling Stone, he reflected on touring life as an octogenarian. “I have to tell you, it can be lonely on the road for me,” Townshend said. “I’ve thought, ‘Well, this is my job, I’m happy to have the work, but I prefer to be doing something else.’ Then I think, ‘Well, I’m 80 years old. Why shouldn’t I revel in it? Why shouldn’t I celebrate’”

Townshend, 80, knows all about gratitude in the face of hard work. For 60 years, The Who have graced stages the world ove,r and at some point, you come to a realization. The Who is no longer just The Who. “We’re a brand rather than a band,” he added. “Roger and I have a duty to the music and the history. The Who still sells records — the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. There’s also something more, really: the art, the creative work, is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band.”

Moon, the band’s original drummer, died in 1978, and Entwistle, their bassist, passed in 1979. Daltrey and Townshend both recently celebrated birthdays and marked milestones in their health as the tour continues. This hasn’t stopped Townshend from growing restless, however, and reflecting on his personal life after decades on stage. “It does whet an appetite to think about how we should bow out in our personal lives — what we do with our families and our friends and everything else at this age,” he said. “We’re lucky to be alive. I’m looking forward to playing. Roger likes to throw wild cards out sometimes in the set, and we have learned and rehearsed a few songs that we don’t always play.”

It is not all a giant swan song for Townshend, however, as he and Daltrey have played songs for decades. There remains an element of surprise on stage to keep it from becoming too predictable.

Roger Daltrey: “It’s Grueling”: Tour, Health, and Retirement Plans

In many ways, Daltrey, 80, echoes Townshend. The Who have been part of his life for 60 years, and this tour has been a different experience. “I hope it works out so that we’ve got a good relationship with the audience,” he told Rolling Stone. “But it’s grueling.”

The other major difference has been in health, which Daltrey discussed in more detail with an audience at a Teenage Cancer Trust charity event in London at the start of the year. “Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy,” he said. Tommy is the title character of The Who’s pioneering rock opera from 1969. Daltrey then quoted the album’s famous line from “Amazing Journey”: “Deaf, dumb and blind kid.”

Daltrey later gave a fuller interview to The Times about the future of The Who, where he suggested the possibility of finality. “This is certainly the last time you will see us on tour,” he said. “It’s grueling.”

In many ways, this represented the inevitable exhaustion of so many years in one of rock’s most famous bands. “In the days when I was singing Who songs for three hours a night, six nights a week, I was working harder than most footballers,” Daltrey remembered. This level of physical strain can wear on the body over a long period. While Daltrey is 80, he now still finds it more difficult. “It is much more of a challenge,” he added.

When it comes to possible one-off shows in the future, Daltrey remains uncertain. “As to whether we’ll play [one-off] concerts again, I don’t know. The Who to me is very perplexing,” he said. This reflects the complexity of what The Who represents to fans and for themselves. It is all three at the same time, an enduring institution, a nostalgic celebration, and a work in progress.

Despite the unknowns, Daltrey was optimistic in a simple way. “My voice is still as good as ever,” he said. For fans who have wondered about Daltrey’s capacity to sing at this stage of his life, the news is good.

For fans, this is likely their last opportunity to see Townshend and Daltrey on tour together, at least in North America. For the duo, this marks both the end of an era and a celebration. It is an acceptance of what The Who means to a generation, but also an examination of what it means to age with the weight of an all-encompassing rock n’ roll life on their shoulders.

In a sense, The Who is not only a dedication to continuing to keep the music alive, but also to the people, families, and friendships which those songs have touched for more than half a century. This is why Townshend will keep playing live: “We’re lucky to be alive.”