If this is what a nostalgia act sounds like, then bring us some more.

The Who—intent on proving that decades-old music can still be played with passion—delivered a formidable, keenly focused and musically generous set Saturday night at the Astrodome during the final weekend of their 25th Anniversary Tour of America. The group’s final U.S. date was Sunday at the Cotton Bowl.

While the band hasn’t released a studio album since 1982, its nearly 2½-hour show was full of surprises, and paced nearly perfectly. Following opening sets from the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, emcee Randy Quaid, who earlier in the day was host for the “Biggest Party in History” at the Astrodome parking lot, introduced The Who.

Pete Townshend strode to his microphone and thanked the opening acts for warming up the crowd. “Now that you’re warmed up, we’re going to put you in a … microwave,” he exclaimed, and with that the band’s three members—Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle—tore into "Substitute," backed by a 10-piece group that has delivered the group’s classics with a force and clarity beyond anyone’s reasonable hopes.

When this tour was announced earlier in the summer, there was a feeling that the big band, Townshend’s tinnitus (preventing him from playing lead guitar on many songs) and the group’s lack of new material would make for an overwrought, lumbering mix of stillborn Who music.

But instead, the band rocks with much more force than it did on the 1982 tour, and Townshend has turned a handicap—having to play acoustic guitar on many numbers—into an advantage. The textural surprise of opening "Pinball Wizard" acoustically seemed to resuscitate that song, and the full-band backing for "Eminence Front" made that intriguing song from 1982’s "It’s Hard" come alive as it never did when

Review a five-piece Who took the stage to tour with it seven years ago.

Earlier in the day before the show, Roger Daltrey said he was singing better than ever, and indeed he still possesses some of the best pipes in rock. Daltrey was dipping back into rhythm and blues on Saturday night, playing Bo Diddley’s "I’m A Man" minutes before giving another fine reading of a medley of songs from "Tommy," ending with the anthemic "See Me, Feel Me."

In many ways, this was the show The Who should have put on in 1982. Then they were preoccupied with their pre-eminence in the rock world and arguing among themselves about whether they would ever go on the road again. Townshend and Daltrey spoke of just putting out albums, Entwistle threatened to quit without the promise of hitting the road.

The "It’s Hard" tour lived up to its name, with Daltrey determined to open with "My Generation," even though he was singing to an audience a generation removed from the song and the group closing shows with a limp, slight "Twist and Shout."

This time around, though, the band has set personal politics aside and focused on the music. Only the time-worn Entwistle song "Boris the Spider" sounds out of place, flimsy next to the triumphant rock being conjured up by the rest of the band. Simon Phillips’ drumming continues to be the biggest factor of the new tour, as he pounds out a back beat with a fervor and feel not unlike Keith Moon’s, while Steve Bolton has taken some of the load off Townshend with his lead guitar work.

Townshend is thus more animated throughout the show. He kicked a leg over his microphone stand on "Baba O’Riley" and delivered a powerful reading of his solo hit "Rough Boys" (from the album "Empty Glass," on which he and Phillips first collaborated).

The Who always has had a special fascination

AP Pete Townshend of The Who performs in Houston’s Astrodome Saturday night.

with the United States, and after closing the set with "Won’t Get Fooled Again," they paid their respects during two encores. One was a slow, bluesy version of Jimi Hendrix’ "Hey, Joe," with limited guitar theatrics and a focus on Daltrey’s almost-tender vocal reading. Next up was the swamp rock of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Born on the Bayou," which turned into the night’s closer, "Who Are You."

After extended applause, Daltrey thanked the Texas crowd for its frenzied response (“and these domes aren’t the easiest places in the world to create the atmosphere”), and Townshend walked to the mike again. Smiling, he said, “Thanks a lot. We’ll see you next time.”

It wouldn’t have been possible to imagine such a comment three months ago, and even less possible for it to be something worth looking forward to. After Saturday, it’s likely that a lot of reinvigorated Who fans can’t wait.