POP MUSIC REVIEW

Meet the new Who, not the same as the old Who

It wasn't the band's latest stuff drawing big cheers at the Bowl, but the songs are worthy.

By Richard Cromelin

Times Staff Writer

The last time the Who played the Hollywood Bowl, in 2002, the band had no problem generating urgency. It was the first show after the death of bassist John Entwistle just four days earlier, and the emotion of the occasion lent the performance a sense of drama that had been long missing in the classic English band's periodic returns to the road.

Returning to the Bowl on Saturday, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey demonstrated a less painful way to rescue the Who from the grip of routine nostalgia: Play some songs from a new album.

Seems simple, but the recently released "Endless Wire" is the first one they've managed to knock out in 24 years. And although it's inspiring to see this '60s-era band doing something new, the process underscores a dilemma facing "classic-rock" artists: What's good for the creative soul might not be what the concert fans care about.

[See Who, Page E5]

LORI SHEPLER Los Angeles Times

CLASSIC: Roger Daltrey, left, and Pete Townshend rock out. Daltrey sang well at the Hollywood Bowl. The 62-year-old showed off his pipes with the scream at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again."