ROCK REVIEW

Who’s left?

Remnants of the legendary Who carry on; the question is Why?

By Greg Kot

Tribune rock critic

“Who are you?” singer Roger Daltrey roared.

It was the question of the moment, as the remnants of one of rock’s greatest bands, The Who, played the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park over the weekend. In Pete Townshend’s double-edged lyrics, “Who Are You” suggests both the onset of a back-alley brawl and a morning-after moment of reckoning in the bathroom mirror. It is a question that this crippled commercial juggernaut must face as it crosses North America at 50 percent power.

The death of bassist John Entwistle in a Las Vegas hotel room two months ago on the eve of the tour means that two of The Who’s four founding members are gone; drummer Keith Moon passed away in 1978. By deciding to continue the tour without the original rhythm section, Daltrey and Townshend in effect are saying they still can be The Who. But any fan with ears knows that can’t be true.

Even though Moon was a shell of his former self when he died of a drug overdose, his manic drumming defined many of The Who’s finest songs. His sound remains inimitable, despite the best efforts of Kenney Jones in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and now the rock-solid Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr.

The decision to proceed without Entwistle is perhaps even more troubling, because the bassist was still at the top of his game when he died of a drug-induced heart attack June 27. The unenviable task of replacing him was handed to Pino Palladino, an accomplished musician whose groove-based style bears little resemblance to Entwistle’s thundering, octave-leaping

PLEASE SEE THE WHO, PAGE 5

Tribune photo by Logan Mock-Bunting

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, performing at Tweeter Center Saturday, are all that’s left of the original Who, and their attempt to keep the band going has produced an identity crisis.