Sharing the stage with various U.S. and Canadian orchestras, the band will cross the country through May and then pick up again in October before wrapping with a two-night finale at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas.

Founded in 1964, The Who has earned more awards and accolades than can reasonably be listed and in 1990 was inducted by U2 into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Songs such as "Baba O'Riley," "Who Are You," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Pinball Wizard," "I Can't Explain," "I Can See for Miles," "You Better You Bet," and "Tommy," a rock opera from the album and movie of the same name, are some of the most acclaimed in rock history.

Touring with an orchestra might be a far cry from what some would expect from a group that once held the Guinness World Record for being the loudest band in the world. But the orchestra is not toning down The Who's sound, Daltrey explained, so much as ratcheting it up.

"It leads to a sound that literally takes your head off," he said. "Even I was astonished at the power of it."

While it might be difficult to imagine anything more powerful than Daltrey's vocals, coupled with the soul-shaking brilliance of Townshend's windmill-style guitar parts, that is precisely what happens with the addition of an orchestra, Daltrey said.

"You live with the sound of synthesizers making string noises and orchestral noises, which you can do, very simply, on a few keyboards," he said. "But then, you hear a real orchestra and a real violin, viola and cello and a couple basses going 6 it touches the human body, it touches our senses in a different way. It's a big experience."

To keep up his energy night after night and perform vocal marvels like the infamous, roaring scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again," Daltrey said he does breathing exercises, weight training and cardio.

"Townshend's songs are incredibly demanding for a singer," he said. "They're lyrically complicated, there's never two songs together in the same key, so it's moving about all over the place, and it takes a lot of stamina. Just