The Who Sets Performance at Polaris

By Amy Deeds

Gannett News Service

It may be only half the band it used to be, but don’t suggest that the Who is finished yet.

The group weathered the drug-related death of its madman drummer, Keith Moon, in 1978. With the death of bassist John Entwistle in Las Vegas this June of a cocaine-related heart attack on the eve of a summer tour, the roster of original band members is reduced to two: vocalist Roger Daltrey, and guitarist and creative force Pete Townshend.

They have elected to continue with the tour, with Zak Starkey on drums and Pino Palladino replacing the impassive Entwistle on bass.

When you go ■ What: The Who, with Robert Plant ■ When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday ■ Where: Polaris Amphitheater, 2200 Polaris Pkwy., Columbus ■ How much: Lower Pavilion seats $154.50; Upper Pavilion seats $89.50; lawn, $34.50.

On www.petetownshend.com, just after his lifelong friend’s death, Townshend wrote, “I made it clear to him (Palladino) we do not expect him to emulate, parody or copy John Entwistle in any way.

“Unlike others I entirely respect (including many of John’s friends and family) I don’t feel I know for certain that John would have wanted us to go on…. Roger left entirely to me the decision as to whether or not to go on with the tour. I think he hoped in his heart it would not be over so suddenly.”

Later, after playing several dates in New York, Townshend wrote, “This is a short note of thanks to all of you who have supported us on the tour. I should also say to those of you who feel that we made the wrong decision to go on, that I respect your views, too.

“When Keith died we went on, and later — for several years — I truly felt we had made a mistake.

“Probably, because of that, I knew this time it didn’t matter what I thought, or indeed what any potential detractors might come to think. I just had to get on with it all and work it out later. It seems to be working out OK.”

The core of the Who was formed when Entwistle, Daltrey and Townshend met as schoolboys; by 1963, they had hired 16-year-old Keith Moon as drummer, after he smashed a borrowed drum set after his audition. “I Can’t Explain” was a top 10 hit in Great Britain in 1965, closely followed by “My Generation,” which made it to number two on the British charts.

The year 1967 saw “I Can See for Miles” become the band’s first top-10 American hit, and in 1969, the release of the first full-length rock opera, “Tommy,” cemented the group’s place in the pantheon of rock ’n’ roll.

A 1994 “Playboy” interview stated, “Keith Moon’s debauched antics got the most press attention, and Roger Daltrey’s yellow curls and golden voice helped the group win pop appeal. But it was Townshend who defined the Who. He wrote the songs and his live performances were epic. He leapt into the air, his right hand sweeping in a full windmill and crashing into the strings of his guitar until his fingers were bloody.

In an interview in “Rolling Stone” this month, Townshend observed that the last Who album he was “unequivocally proud of” was 1973’s “Quadrophenia.” “You have to remember, I do think that the Who’s halcyon years were short. And most bands’ were ….”

At a Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979, eleven fans were trampled to death vying for festival seating. The band decided to continue the tour, but Townshend later questioned that decision.

By 1982, Townshend’s alcoholism and chafing at the confines of the group contributed to the dissolution of the Who, although the band has reunited at least seven times to play together live. To those who accuse them of doing so for the money, the charge is hardly new. Remember, “The Who Sell Out” was released in 1967.

“My immediate mission is to complete this tour in good heart, and to remember John in my quiet and private times,” Townshend wrote on his Web site on June 29, two days after Entwistle’s death. “We are musicians, entertainers. We can do it. We have the right tools.

“No worries.”