On November 20, 1973, the Who were opening their Quadrophenia US concert tour at the Cow Palace in Daly City, a suburb just south of San Francisco. Halpin, a 19-year-old who had recently moved to the area from Muscatine, Iowa, was there with a friend using tickets they had bought from a stranger. They arrived at the show thirteen hours early to get good seats. The Who opened the show with three of their earlier hits before launching into material from Quadrophenia, playing eleven of the album's seventeen songs and then continuing on to other hits. About seventy minutes into the show, drummer Keith Moon, whose fondness for drugs and alcohol was legendary, began to falter during "Won't Get Fooled Again", slumped over his drum kit, and was helped off by roadies while the others finished the song without him. Backstage, Moon was placed in a shower by roadies in an attempt to revive him. Their efforts worked. An injection of cortisone got him back onstage after approximately a thirty-minute delay. The show continued with "Magic Bus". The percussion of the song's opening verses consisted only of Moon hitting two wooden blocks against one another. However, at the song's conclusion, Moon passed out completely, slumping onto his drums. He was carried off—this time not to return. Guitarist Pete Townshend later said in an interview that Moon had consumed large tranquilizer pills, meant to be given to animals, with a large volume of brandy. The remaining three band members then played a short jam, before going into "See Me, Feel Me", without drums, with vocalist Roger Daltrey adding a tambourine for percussion. The song received a huge response, and Pete Townshend thanked the crowd for putting up with a three-quarter-strength band, saying "I think it should be us applauding you". Instead of leaving the stage, though, Townshend asked the crowd, "Can anybody play the drums?" He repeated the question, adding forcefully, "I mean somebody good!" At this time, Halpin and his friend were at the left edge of the stage, and his friend, Mike Danese, began noisily telling the security staff, "He can play!" In truth, Halpin had not played in a year, but Danese made enough of a commotion that he had attracted the concert's promoter, Bill Graham. Halpin was given a shot of brandy for his nerves before sitting at his first drumset since leaving Iowa. Townshend shook his hand as he sat down. Moon's drum roadie Mick Double pointed out that the Hi-Hat pedal was locked closed, which would normally be unlocked by most drummers. Daltrey introduced Halpin as "Scott", and went straight into the riff of "Smokestack Lightning". This was a very loose blues jam, Halpin's drum work fitting in well enough, and it shortly became "Spoonful". Less successful, however, was his contribution to the more complex "Naked Eye", and he struggled to provide the contrasting tempos despite Townshend attempting to give him instructions. Halpin did not look at all flustered, though, and established a steady beat throughout. The show ended after "Naked Eye", and Halpin took a center-stage bow with Daltrey, Townshend, and bass guitarist John Entwistle. Afterwards, he was taken backstage, along with his friend Mike, and given a Who concert jacket, which Halpin said was stolen later that evening. Despite Moon's collapse, the concert lasted around the same length as most Who gigs at this time. In later interviews, Daltrey praised Halpin's ability, claiming that the "papers missed it". Interviewed by Rolling Stone, Halpin admired the Who's stamina, admitting, "I only played three numbers and I was dead." On January 27, 2009, the Who posted a link on their website announcing a memorial blog in memory of Halpin.
Death
From 1995 until his death, Halpin resided in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife Robin and son, James. According to local newspapers in the Bloomington area, Halpin died February 9, 2008, of an inoperable non-malignant brain tumor.
