AUBURN HILLS – Pete Townshend looked like a kid who found a pony under the Christmas tree as he left the stage Sunday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The wide, loopy grin, the eyes blinking as if they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing, the spontaneous outbursts — "Thank you, thank you, Detroit. This is us; we're back" – were the marks of a very happy man.

As well he should be.

With the rest of the Who – Roger Daltrey and John Entwhistle – and a fine stage of back-up artists that included drummer Zak Starkey, Ringo's son, Townshend had just pulled off "Quadrophenia," a rock musical he wrote more than two decades before.

And the capacity crowd, many concertgoers paying $70 a seat to examine the goods, were fully in tune with his still-relative story of a young man growing up musically. In fact, they were stand-on-your-seats-and-scream-bloody-murder delirious, which surely must warm a composer's heart.

The evening began on a telling note, Linda Perry building a textural set with her throaty musings, culminating in a jamming "House of the Rising Sun."

Almost immediately, the house took up a chant of "Who! Who! Who!," driving stage crews to dismantle the opening stage in record time.

The lights dropped, three massive video screens filled with surf crashing on a rocky shore, and Daltrey's clear, strong vocals cut through the air with "The Real Me."

It was an electric moment, exploding into a full-scale assault, Townshend on acoustic guitar holding his own against a horn line, back-up singers, keyboards, and his own brother, Simon, on a second guitar.

Beams of light cut through the lingering smoke, turning the arena roof into a cloud-filled skyscape. Powerful strobes stabbed the crowd, and across the video screens, young Jimmy (Phil Daniels) shared his angst.

Roars of approval greeted every new element, from Daltrey and Townshend's vocal sparring – well-modulated measures up against power-driven rock – to the introduction of Gary Glitter as a pompadoured Godfather and Billy Idol as the Mod.

"I'm the best in the market," Idol sneered, and it was obvious few in Sunday's crowd disagreed. But let another step in the spotlight, say, Townshend for a solo piece of work with guitar in hand in "5:15," and it was anyone's game.

While "Quadrophenia" is hardly the Who's most familiar work – this is no "Tommy" – it worked on so many levels, it was a piece of artistry finally coming into its own. There was nothing dated about the work – like the Who, it's weathered the years well.

As the young man despaired at his fractured psyche – "They said I was schizophrenic but I was really quadrophenic," he moans at one point – the musicians offered a cohesive backdrop, exciting in its execution.

And it never got better than when Glitter, Idol, Daltrey and Townshend launched a free-for-all "I've Had Enough," sparring with words rather than eye-puncturing mike stands.

As "The End" flickered across the screen, the house lost any semblance of control, roaring for more. And why not? Townshend never sounded better, Starkey was a pure delight, and while "Quadrophenia" flew by like so many minutes, longtime fans hungered for the classics.

Opening the encore with the core trio, Daltrey keeping a beat with a microphone dangled by his stomping boot, the Who revived "Won't Get Fooled Again."

"Behind Blue Eyes" opened with the same "Unplugged" feel, exploding midsong into a full-force production. On stage and off, as it turned out, the fans echoing Daltrey and Townshend's vocals.

By the time they reached "Who Are You," the meld was complete, the stage talent drowning in the response.

All of which, it seemed, made Townshend a very happy man. He wasn't alone.