You Am I pay tribute to the power and dynamics of The Who's rock opera Tommy

Anyone that's listened to You Am I's seminal '90s albums Hi-Fi Way or Hourly Daily can recognise that songwriter Tim Rogers was profoundly influenced by Pete Townsend's rollicking guitar theatrics.

"When we were young there were lots of family members, and for me it was neighbours, who would pump out lots of great Who stuff and you would hear it and it sounded pretty dynamic and powerful," You Am I bassist Andy Kent says.

"Pictures of Pete Townsend wearing big work boots and a boiler suit and he had these guitars he was absolutely mangling, and it sounded so powerful.

"Obviously the drumming is mental and the bass is mental. They're literally running at it at full pace and then you compare it to a lot of other stuff which is very middle of the road and very precise and well put together."

Tommy was released in 1969 and sold more than 20 million copies. It's often credited for inventing the "rock opera" genre and influencing Pink Floyd's The Wall.

The double album tells the story of Tommy Walker, a boy who is traumatised by his father murdering his mother's lover. It causes a dissociative disorder and he also suffers from sexual abuse, but he then finds solace in becoming a "pinball wizard" and a messianic figure.

Kent had listened to the album many times, but it wasn't until You Am I started learning to perform the record for their upcoming Tommy tour, that its complexities were revealed.

Using new technology, You Am I separated the individual stereo tracks for the vocal, bass, guitars and drums.

Kent particularly loves the album's instrumental tracks Overture, Underture and Sparks.

"You can feel, by listening to them individually, that they were working the songs through visually looking at each other and going, 'let's go to this bit'," he says.

"It has a truly organic feel, as opposed to music these days which comes out of a computer and is so dissected, and half of it isn't even played by humans. It's the opposite of this.

"To get in there and play these really dynamic instrumentals with the dudes is something to look forward to for me."

Joining You Am I on their Tommy tour - which will also feature other songs by The Who - are The Superjesus' Sarah McLeod and Hayley Mary from The Jezabels.

"If you listen to Tommy, a lot of the vocals are quite high," Kent says.

"They're not necessarily that masculine in places, so the girls actually fit in quite well with what it is.

"They're great singers and great frontwomen. We weren't looking for a man or a woman, we were just looking for a couple of people who could absolutely nail it."

You Am I performs Tommy at Twin Towns, Tweed Heads (July 28); Civic Theatre, Newcastle (August 2); Anita's Theatre, Thirroul (August 4); Arts Centre, Frankston (August 9) and the Albury Entertainment Centre (August 10).