Concert crowd gets just Who it came for

EDITOR'S NOTE: This review is a day late because of technical difficulties transmitting it Tuesday night.

By KENNETH JOHNSON

Pop Music Writer

The Who's performance of "Quadrophenia" Tuesday night at Blockbuster Pavilion went over pretty well with the crowd of 10,000.

REVIEW

Those classic "Who moments" — John Entwistle slapping out a powerful solo on his bass, Roger Daltrey twirling his microphone 20 feet in the air, Pete Townshend making his trademark windmill motions on his guitar — went over smashingly well.

True, those scenes, and an encore of well-known hits (an acoustic "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Behind Blue Eyes"), drew the most frenzied response from the crowd.

And though the legendary English rock band's performance of its 1973 coming-of-age concept album, complete with a video show, singing actors and a seven-piece band with five-piece horn section, failed to generate as much electricity in the audience, it was far from a dud.

On the contrary, the live performance befit what is generally regarded as the band's greatest recorded work.

Townshend seemed particularly pleased with the proceedings. Despite having suffered serious hearing loss over the years and being ever closer to retirement age, the heart and soul of The Who had moments of sheer ballistic inspiration. His windmills on his guitar during vigorous versions of "5:15" and "Sea and Sand" were delivered with such passion and force it seemed as if his arm would dislodge from its socket and fly into the 15th row at any moment. (Townshend alternated between electric and acoustic guitars while

PATRICK SCHNEIDER/Staff The Who's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, puts on a show Tuesday night at Blockbuster Pavilion.

his brother, Simon, handled a large portion of the leads.)

Like the true proto-punk rocker he is (really, would we have had the Sex Pistols and Nirvana without him?), the 52-year-old Townshend never let up on the panic button throughout the 2½-hour show. He wrangled the final guitar chords of the night's closing song, "Who Are You?" with the spunk and intensity of a 19-year-old (well, maybe a 29-year-old . . . ).

No, he didn't smash his guitar — a guy with less hair than my stepfather doesn't smash many guitars these days — but the video footage of a mid-'60s Townshend splintering a six-string into a half-dozen chunks of wood was a decent substitute.

Singer Roger Daltrey remains a small blond dynamo. Appearing extremely fit and trim — i.e. buffed — Daltrey stalked the stage with the grace of a tiger. His vocal cords, meanwhile, were as blustery and powerful as they were 20 years ago.