A Who moment. The year: 1975. The Greensboro Coliseum was pulling in its share of huge rock acts, and the day after Thanksgiving, The Who rolled in to support its album, "Who by Numbers." Our city shook. That night, you could probably hear the band all the way down to Beef Burger with Keith Moon pummeling the drums and John Entwistle turning his bass into a 10-pound hammer that thumped everyone hard in the chest. Roger Daltrey anchored the front of the stage. He wore his blonde hair rock-god curly, and at the Greensboro show, he swung his microphone like a lariat and stalked the stage bare-chested with a tan suede jacket with long fringe. But the real star? Pete Townshend. He wind-milled constantly as he played his guitar, and at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again," he slid 30 feet across the stage – as Daltrey gave what I'd consider rock's best scream. Back then, rock felt rebellious, and it had this revolutionary spirit that spread like kinetic electricity during any live show. Afterward, fans kept their ticket stubs so they could show everyone they know that yes, indeed, they were there. The Who show in Greensboro – Nov. 28, 1975 – was like that. One to remember. It's still one of the coliseum's top rock shows. It drew 17,504 fans – No. 17 on the coliseum's top 20 most-attended list, ahead of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and Elton John. Thirty-seven years ago. Many I know remember it like it was yesterday. Parke Puterbaugh was a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he found a spot on the floor. It was festival seating, which meant you could sit – or stand – anywhere, and Parke could hardly breathe because of the crush of people around him. It was so tight, so intense he felt his feet leave the floor. Margaret Baxter was a ninth-grader at Kiser Junior High. She sat in the lower level with a friend, mesmerized by Daltrey, Townshend, and the kaleidoscope of lights bouncing around the arena. She still has the ticket stub – somewhere. In 1980, The Who returned to Greensboro. Thirty-two years later, on its sixth date on a 37-city tour, the band will come back to Greensboro and perform its 1973 double-album and rock opera, "Quadrophenia." The album's 17 songs tell a story of a wayward loner named Jimmy who's battling his parents and his multiple personalities as he's trying to find his place in the world. Townshend wrote "Quadrophenia" in his late 20s, and he created what he believes was his best work ever: an aural diary of a teenager's attempt to fit in. Townshend is now 67; Daltrey, 68. After the deaths of Moon and Entwistle, they remain the band's two surviving members. On Friday night, these two men – as old as any grandfather – will sing songs about youth and rebellion. "I first heard 'Quadrophenia' when I was a toothpick, with a face full of pimples and a head of too many Donnie Osmond curls. Like Jimmy, I wrestled to fit in. I drove my dad's vegetable-green Dodge Dart Sport with a killer car stereo, and I played The Who loud. A lot. Today, I'm a father, a husband, a guy with a mortgage who has two dogs, two cats and a gerbil named Shadow. Youth and rebellion is so long ago. Now, Parke has some perspective. Since the show in '75, he's worked at Rolling Stone magazine, gotten a master's degree and written books,

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THE WHO & YOU Triad fans share their memories of The Who

Tammy Holoman 44 Freelance writer and copy editor

I've been a rock 'n roll fanatic since elementary school in Fayetteville, and I collected memorabilia and read everything I could get my hands on. By middle school, the part of my weekly allowance I didn't spend on 'Creem' or 'Circus' (magazines), I spent at The Record Bar. One of the first records I bought was "The Who's Greatest Hits." I saw "Eminence Front" and "Athena" on MTV, and watched videos of Woodstock and Monterey Pop. The first time I heard "Live At Leeds," it was just a full-blown sonic assault. I still think it's the best live album ever recorded. But rock opera was a new thing to me. I liked "Tommy," but I liked "Quadrophenia" much more. To me, it showcased the brilliance of Pete Townshend. He understands rites of passage, and he wrote about this teenager named Jimmy who had four personalities that each represented The Who. Jimmy tried so hard to be cool and fit in. Who can't identify with that?

NELSON KEPLEY/NEWS & RECORD

Eddie Walker 45 General contractor, drummer, married father of three

I'm a musician father, and with my daughters, I want them to know the history of what they're listening to, so I've gradually slid songs from The Who into their iPod mix. So often, the music I hear them listening to I realize where it came from. Say with Justin Bieber. They'll listen to him, and I'll put on a Jackson 5 song. And you know, they like The Beatles. And they like "My Generation." They love that stop, start and stuttering in that song. Me? I love playing, 'I Can't Explain.' When I started playing drums, the first video I saw of The Who was with Kenny Jones (on drums), and my dad started telling me, 'Wait a minute, you got to pay attention to Keith Moon.' So, I did. I wanted to find out about this guy my dad called the Loon. I got to know the stories. But he was such a drummer. He played different than anyone else. So much forward motion, so much abandon. A real animal kinda thing. It's kinda nuts.

See Fans, Page 14

JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ/NEWS AND RECORD