The Who came back better than when they left

By Rick Nelson

The News Tribune

They said it wouldn't be The Who, that it was just sort of a celebration of the veteran British band's music featuring three of the original members, one of them so hearing-impaired that 12 sidemen were coming along, as Pete Townshend said, 'to fill out the sound.'

Balderdash, tommyrot and some well-chosen British curse words. The packed house at the Tacoma Dome was treated to a first-rate rock 'n' roll show Wednesday night with above average sound quality.

Instead of just propping up three geezers past their prime, the 12 sidemen helped get the show off to a great start with a 30-minute trip through the rock opera "Tommy," complete with "Overture," "Underture," "Acid Queen," "Pinball Wizard" and "We're Not Gonna Take It."

Closed-circuit screens gave everyone a look at a lean Roger Daltrey (slightly hoarse), a trim Townshend (obviously in good spirits), a dapper John Entwistle (a monster with flying fingers on bass) and offered closeups of key band members such as guitarist Steve Bolton, drummer Simon Phillips and keyboardist John Bundrick (all of whom were impressive). Bolton's guitar playing was no mere slavish interpretation of Townshend's old work; he really stretched out on some numbers and pumped new life into the familiar tunes.

And for all the talk about Townshend having to protect his hearing by sticking to acoustic guitar, it didn't take him long to switch to electric. Once "Tommy" was past tense, Townshend tuned up a red ax for "Eminence Front" and cranked out his stylish riffs at a volume level that had to be over 100 dB. There was no sign of diminished ability there, and Townshend soared through the tricky guitar lines as well as he ever has.

"Face to Face," "I Can't Explain," "Substitute," "I Can See For Miles" and "Boris the Spider" were some of the songs that followed, giving the audience a wide range of Who hits to roar for — and roar they did. The crowd was in the band's corner all night and greeted every twist and turn in the show with approval.

Based on the audience reaction alone, Wednesday's show was a bigger hit than the '82 "last tour" date in Seattle. But there was more to it than just a crowd dynamic. The music really was better than in '82. Sure, it wasn't the old tight four-piece Who, but it was a tight 15-piece ensemble (three vocalists, five horns) playing interesting arrangements and having a good time doing it. That last element was probably the weak link in the '82 show.

At deadline, the show was still rocking out and showed every sign of going into overdrive. Before intermission, "Who Are You" had people bopping all over the dome. After intermission, one of the tunes that threatened to raise the roof was the '65 hit, "My Generation."

Some of the high points: the epic start of the "Tommy" segment; Townshend's blazing intro to "Pinball Wizard"; the horns punching out rhythmic accents in "We're Not Gonna Take It"; Daltrey's passionate delivery of "See Me, Feel Me"; and percussionist Jodi Linscott, who was a busy banger on a large array of percussion gear.

Maybe the new Who aren't "same as the old" Who, but they were a great rock 'n' roll band Wednesday.