Pop Shows by The Who, Peter, Paul and Mary

By Harper Barnes

All in all, it was a fine weekend for pop music in St. Louis.

Last night, Peter, Paul and Mary brought a warm, hootenany feeling to Kiel Opera House. Saturday night, the Who, an English Rock Quartet, exploded visually and acoustically at Keil, presenting parts of their rock opera, "Tommy," and an anthology of hits including "Summertime Blues" and "My Generation."

Both groups drew capacity crowds of about 3400.

Peter, Paul and Mary opened with one of their old hits, Bob Dylan's "When the Ship Comes In." The song's rolling, happy lines set the mood for the concert.

Familiar Note

They ended on a familiar note with "If I Had a Hammer." Along the way, they sang "Jet Plane," a song they first did three years ago that is popular once again. There were low, soulful vocal dips on the gospel song, "A Tramp on the Street," and some funny parodies of Donovan, the Mamas and the Papas and the Beatles in "I Dig Rock and Roll Music."

The audience sang along on several numbers and gave enthusiastic applause at the end. It was the sixth time the folk trio has appeared in St. Louis, and each time they have drawn a capacity crowd.

The night before, the Who worked themselves into a series of frenzies as they performed for two hours without intermission.

Gyrations

Lead guitarist Peter Townshend, dressed in white coveralls, blue tee shirts and boots, gyrated about the stage and leaped high with the music. Drummer Keith Moon twirled and tossed his sticks about like batons, singer Roger Daltrey hurled the microphone out at the audience and jerked it back.

Only bassist John Entwistle stayed out of the act.

"Tommy" is a successful boy, work because there are no pretensions of competing with classical music. It is simple, direct rock music with a choral richness that reminds one of the early Beatles.

The opera is about a young boy, "Tommy," who is assaulted by his dirty old uncle and, as a result, loses his sight, hearing and speech. He then becomes the world's greatest pinball machine player. The plot is no more ridiculous than the plot of most operas.