Townshend on stage for the current leg are Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey, on drums; Townshend's brother, Simon Townshend, on guitar; and rockers Billy Idol and Gary Glitter as "Ace the Face" and "The Punk." At Madison Square Garden, Townshend played acoustic guitars and let his brother mimic his famous "windmill" technique.

Though the show features "Quatrophenia" in its entirety, it concludes with such Who classics as "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Magic Bus" and "Behind Blue Eyes."

In addition to getting ready for the current tour, Entwistle has been busy with other projects.

He hopes to finish the first volume of a humorous three-part book on The Who this year.

Entwistle's sixth solo album, "Thunderfingers: The Best of John Entwistle," is due Nov. 19 and features guest musicians Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton and Eddie Jobson.

Drawing material from each of his five previous solo albums, the album includes such songs as "Pick Me Up (Big Chicken)," "I Believe in Everything," "The Window Shopper," "Made in Japan" and "Too Late The Hero."

Though Entwistle's longtime nickname has been "The Ox," Daltrey came up with "Thunderfingers" in the mid-'70s. "I'm not sure if he made it up himself or heard it from a fan," Entwistle said.

Last year, Entwistle toured with the Ringo Starr All Star Band and gained the dubious distinction of playing "Yellow Submarine" more times than Paul McCartney.

"Including rehearsals, I think I played it about 80 times," Entwistle said, chuckling at the thought.

In the early '70s, Entwistle recorded his first solo album almost out of frustration.

"A lot of my material wasn't suitable for the Who. I'd written a lot of songs that had nowhere to go. There was no way out but to record them myself," he said.

Entwistle hopes to take his own band, featuring drummer Steve Luongo, keyboardist Alan St. Jon and guitarist Godfrey Townshend, on a U.S. tour next year. But that will depend on what The Who plans to do.

"I think basically we're going to play it by ear and see how we feel after this tour. I don't know if there'll be any new albums. If we're not going to carry on, then I'll go out with my band."