Monday, June 10th, 1974

On the standard of past Who performances, the first of the band's four New York dates at Madison Square Garden Monday night was a little disappointing. There was no new material. The ensemble wasn't as tight as it should have been. The sound systern was poorly balanced and prone to feedback. And the pace and tension of the group's long, 100‐minute set tended to wander a bit toward the end.

But all of that is said in the service of reportorial objectivity. For some of us, the Who remains the best rock band in the world.

The notion of best, in this case, embraces several considerations. The Who's music has always held true to rock basics—loud, rhythmic and ecstatic. Yet that music has been shaped with an increasing subtlety over the years by Peter Townshend, the group's lead guitarist and chief composer.

Something Special

The band's playing, too, has something special about it. Mr. Townshend confines his keyboard and synthesizer work to the studio, but at least it's available in concert on tape, and his guitar playing has grown ever more pointed. John Entwistle is a solid, supportive bass player. Keith Moon is a wonderfully lively, vital drummer (even if his timing sounded slightly off Monday). And Roger Daltrey sings with a hoarse falsetto fervor that makes him instantly recognizable.

But rock has always transcended purely musical standards of reference, and the Who's preeminence goes beyond the excellences of their compositions and performances. The band has identified during its more than 10‐year life with British working‐class adolescent rebels in particular and all rebels in general, in fact, one might half argue, Monday's lack of preparation constituted its own kind of rebellion against rock's own conventions. It is hard to think of a group with an equally strong assortment of clearly defined stage personalities, for all of Mr. Townshend's special gifts.

The concert began with nine Who classics, mostly from the period that preceded the group's two “rock operas.” Then came three selections from “Quadrophenia” and two from “Tommy,” spaced by the extraordinary “Won't Get Fooled Again.” The latter provided the climactic point of the concert, at the end of the extended synthesizer solo when all the stage lights came up suddenly, catching Mr, Townshend in full, splayed leap and everybody crashed in simultaneously at full cry.

‘Magic Bus’ Offered

The evening ended with “Magic Bus” and an extended version of “My Generation.” There was no encore as such, and the crowd responded with claps, boos and thrown bottles — mostly good‐natured, even if several young people reportedly received minor injuries.

The performances are likely to tighten up as the week progresses. Even now, though, Who fans will derive enormous pleasure from what they see and hear. Certainly they did Monday, with youngsters silently emulating every one of Mr. Moon's drum licks, flailing their arms like Mr. Daltrey and Mr. Townshend, and hugging one another and laughing and shouting with incoherent joy. Rock ‘n’ roll does that to people, and despite all, the Who did it Monday.

The concert opened with Golden Earring, a Dutch band that has enjoyed a British singles success with its “Radar Love” and which offered a reasonably promising mix of bass‐heavy rock basics and spacey meanderings.