The reigning kings of arena-stadium tours, The Who perform at the VH1 Rock Honors at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA in Los Angeles in July. They'll rock Copps Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Who was the greatest live rock band to ever take the stage. If you ever saw them in the '70s, you know this as fact. If you doubt it, listen to their 1970 classic, Live At Leeds.

I was convinced the first time I heard Roger Daltrey scream out Young Man Blues on a scratchy Silvertone in a high school friend’s basement. It still sends shivers down my back.

I was lucky enough to see the band while the great Keith Moon was still drumming with them. It was The Who By Numbers tour. Maple Leaf Gardens, November 1975. I stood in line all night outside Sam’s on Yonge Street for tickets. They were the last tickets the store had. The next guy in line was outta luck.

Two hours later I accidentally left the four tickets on a table in the Spadina Restaurant. They were gone by the time I returned.

It may have been the stupidest thing I have ever done. I still have nightmares about it. I had to fork out big bucks to scalpers for myself and my three friends. It was worth it.

To this day, I’ve never seen a band put out more energy. Pete Townshend leaped into the air, slid across the stage on his knees, and, yes, smashed his guitar. Moon trashed his kit, but only after leaping over it in a suicide jump from his stool. Daltrey pranced and preened, his chest bare and his golden locks flowing as he did that amazing lariat thing with the microphone cord. Bassist John Entwistle stood stoically to the side.

That was the last time I saw the band with Moon. Booze and drugs took him three years later. (Drugs would also claim Entwistle in 2002). I have had the pleasure of seeing The Who several times since that first show. In 1982, I even had the honour of covering their “final” two shows at Maple Leaf Gardens for United Press International. The story ran on front pages around the world. The Who was that big a deal.

Fortunately, seven years later the band regrouped. There have been many Who concerts since. (You can see them yourself Wednesday at Copps Coliseum).

The Who were much more than just a great live band. In many ways they changed the face of rock. So here’s who The Who are.

Pete Townshend

A magnificent guitarist, eloquent spokesman, polished writer, spiritual devotee of Meher Baba, recovering drug addict and true genius of rock ’n’ roll, Townshend is the creative fire behind the band. Without him there is no Who.

A native of London, Townshend authored a number of hits in the mid-’60s including rock’s first anthem, My Generation (Hilary Duff uses it to close her concerts). The windmill is his signature guitar move. Anyone else who tries it is a poser. He started smashing instruments in 1964, after accidentally pushing his guitar’s head through the roof of a low-ceilinged club in Harrow. He smashed what was left into pieces.

From the outset, his writing tended to delve deeper than average pop fare. Instead of writing of boy-girl love, his Pictures Of Lily focused on fantasy, lust and self-gratification. Townshend tackled gender confusion on I’m A Boy and poserism on Substitute. His My Generation became the first anthem of rock (to be followed a few years later with Won’t Get Fooled Again and Baba O’Reilly.)

Themed suites started showing up on The Who’s early albums, but in 1969 he raised the music to another level, writing Tommy, the first rock opera. He continued writing thematically. Who’s Next, the band’s most popular album, was released as remnants from Townshend’s failed Lifehouse opera, and the epic Quadrophenia was loosely based on a mid-’60s English riot between Mods and Rockers.

Townshend’s solo career also provided several excellent albums, including Rough Mix (with Ronnie Lane), Empty Glass, White City and The Iron Man (which culminated in the successful Iron Giant animated film). His brilliant 1979 acoustic performance at the Secret Policeman’s Ball for Amnesty International has been cited as the start of the “unplugged” fad that blossomed in the ’80s.

Townshend has also taken a few blows over the years from things such as tinnitus, an ear problem probably caused by his band’s deafening roar. It has left him nearly deaf. There are also the years lost to cocaine and heroin at the turn of the ’80s. And, of course, the famous arrest after his credit card number wound up on a site it shouldn’t have. After searching more than a dozen of Townshend’s computers, the English cops found no signs of child porn and let him off with a warning.

Showtime What: The WHO with Inward Eye When: Wednesday, doors open at 7 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m. Where: Copps Coliseum Tickets: $69.50, $99.50 and $147.50, plus fees. Available at Copps Coliseum box office, ticketmaster.ca or 905-527-7666.

The Who select discography 1965 My Generation 1966 A Quick One 1967 The Who Sell Out 1968 Magic Bus, The Who On Tour 1969 Tommy 1970 Live At Leeds 1971 Who’s Next 1971 Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy 1972 Tommy, With The London Symphony Orchestra 1973 Quadrophenia 1974 Odds & Sods 1975 Tommy, Soundtrack 1975 The Who By Numbers 1978 Who Are You 1979 The Kids Are Alright 1979 Quadrophenia, Soundtrack 1981 Face Dances 1982 It’s Hard 2006 Endless Wire