The Who's Pete Townshend

Photo credit: Michael P. Malarkey

The Who took midfield on Sunday for a pyro/laser light-heavy halftime performance that kicked off with Peter Townshend attacking an acoustic guitar with gusto for “Pinball Wizard,” and then turning to his  Fender Strat® to rip off a few slow motion signature windmills during “Baba O’Riley.”

Roger Daltrey whipped out his harmonica for an instrumental segment before segueing into “Who Are You.” During this number,  Townshend viciously stabbed at his guitar in his solo and then, bathed in red lighting that matched his Strat, the English rocker finished the number with about nine consecutive fast and furious windmills.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers also played a few notes of “See Me, Feel Me” before wrapping up with “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Spectacular fireworks erupted during the finale as the circular lights surrounding the stage flashed between “The Who” and a giant-sized silhouette of Townshend windmilling.

The halftime performance, by the way, was watched by more than 106.5 million people, making it the most watched program in TV history. The previous record dates back to the 1983 finale of “M-A-S-H.”

Also spotted during pregame, Daughtry bassist Josh Paul rocking his Fender bass during the Super Bowl tailgate party.  The band’s “Life After You Air” aired on CBS during the pregame show. Below is a You Tube clip of their performance.

The Steve Miller Band also played at an NFL Super Bowl party on Saturday night at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Fla. The video is available on our Fender Facebook page.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey autographed a pair of Mad Catz Rock Band Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster Guitar controllers that are now being auctioned on eBay™ in support of Teenage Cancer Trust, a leading UK charity which helps young people fight cancer.

The auction began yesterday and is expected to run until the evening of Feb. 10.

To view or bid on the auction items, please use the following links:

Auction 1

Auction 2

In addition, Mad Catz has pledged to donate 15% of all proceeds from the sale of its Rock Band Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster Guitar Controllers for Xbox 360® through its online UK and US retail destinations: store.gameshark.net (UK) & store.gameshark.com (US) between now and Feb. 10.

Teenage Cancer Trust funds and develops specialist teenage cancer units within hospitals which enable young people to be treated together, by an expert team, in the best possible environment for their age group. Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on quality of life and aims to improve the chances of survival for young people with cancer.

To further support Teenage Cancer Trust, Mad Catz also will be donating a range of its popular video game and entertainment accessories to all of the charity’s specialist units in the UK and pledge to continue supporting the important work carried out by Teenage Cancer Trust.

Photo credit: Michael P. Malarkey

The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend provided a preview of Sunday’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance during today’s press conference at the Super Bowl Media Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The English rockers started out the media session with an acoustic performance of classics “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Pinball Wizard,” finishing with “Won’t Get Fooled Again” after fielding a few questions from the media contingency.

The audience even caught just a glimpse of Townshend’s signature windmill maneuver during his response to a question about plans to play in Mexico after previously canceling a show in that country.

“At the moment, I’m struggling with some health issues, which may mean I have to limit the amount of touring that I do in the future, partly to do with my hearing and partly to do with me having shown off so much that my shoulder is in danger of coming out of its socket,” said Townshend as he pantomimed his shoulder wind. “So we don’t have any plans right now, but I have to tell you––Mexico City, we’ve talked about this––we do feel that we goofed by not being able to come, but it was health issues that caused it as you may know. We are longing to come and play in Mexico and we will find a way. We will find a way.”

In my last decade plus of attending Super Bowl halftime entertainment press conferences, Prince is the only other entertainer besides the Who that I can recall actually performing. However, Carrie Underwood and Queen Latifah did come close today as this year’s Super Bowl pregame performers did bust out a few lines of “Pants on the Ground” during their session with the media.

As for who these musicians will be cheering for to win on Sunday…

After beating around the bush, Daltrey finally remarked that he thought the Saints could use a “little bit of luck.” Townshend then quipped, “In that case, I’ll go for the Colts.”

Carrie Underwood: “I think it’s going to be an awesome game. I really hate picking sides but I’ll probably be 51 percent rooting for the Saints. I love Sean Payton. He came to a concert. That’s where the extra 1 percent comes from.”

Queen Latifah: “I shot a movie in New Orleans. I lived there for a month. This was pre-Katrina. I really got to enjoy the spirit of that city, the food, the culture. I try to root for the underdog. It would almost be a Cinderella story for the Saints to (beat) a player as dominant as Peyton Manning.”

It was also announced that a special recording of the Who’s halftime performance will be made available to purchase, download and play in the groundbreaking music video game, Rock Band. “The Who Super Bowl S-mashup” will be available immediately following the game for a 1.99 at the Rock Band Music Store.

Give a listen to My Name, the latest EP from Jonathon Blake Salazar, a talented artist based in Orange County, Calif. Salazar has won several local music awards including the 2009 Malibu Music Award for best singer-songwriter, the 2009 So Cal Music Live Award for best male performer and the 2008 Orange County Music Award for best male overall.

John Mayer invited University of South Carolina students to join him last night for an impromptu free show at their Carolina Coliseum.

The singer had been using the venue to rehearse for his two-year long Battle Studies world tour, which kicks off Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.

According to the Daily Gamecock, Mayer played a 17-song set for his “beta testers,” including tunes from the new album as well as “Why Georgia” and “Your Body is a Wonderland.”

Mayer blasted his invite out on twitter: “SC students: come watch us run the show tonight. Free.Tickets are at Russel House info desk. Show ID, get a tic. Tix 6pm, Doors 7.”