NORFOLK — Never before has this critic witnessed such an awesome display of rock ’n’ roll power. Former Who bassist John Entwistle rocked with holy fury and the Rat Race Choir, Entwistle’s current band, blasted the guts out of Who memories with the unforgiving blow of a shotgun. It was pure genius!

Just kidding.

Entwistle’s show at Norfolk’s Boathouse Friday night was hackish, dumb and probably very enjoyable for those who dig “Gilligan’s Island” reunion movies. If you’re not in on Mr. Entwistle’s latest venture into sleazedom, here’s the lowdown.

After the Who, featuring guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey, broke up several years ago, Entwistle couldn’t muster the restraint to remain financially solvent. So, now he’s touring in clubs with a pack of rodents rehashing Who classics and hopefully picking up a few dollars. From packed coliseums to the Boathouse.

OUCH!

The gig got off with an unexpected blast from the way-back past, Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.” Providing the song’s voice-of-authority inserts, Entwistle earned a warm, noisy greeting from the quarter-full house.

The four-member Rat Race Choir looked like the quintessential pub band – pudgy, sloppy and bloody proud of it. They managed a muscular sound if only because the unshaven guitarist is a master at mimicking Townshend’s six-string snarl. The band locked together best on “Bargain,” a walloping rocker from the “Who’s Next” period. But the guitar interludes on “Pinball Wizard” felt as surging as a lump of spilled mayonnaise. Worse, the portly vocalist turned Daltrey’s “Behind Blue Eyes” growl into the nasal whine of a congested school marm.

Entwistle didn’t seem to mind these blunders, although he continually squinted at the drummer. Perhaps he was hallucinating Keith Moon was at the skins again. Heck, even Moon’s replacement, Kenny Jones, would have been a godsend.

But always a good, if not talkative, sport, “the Ox,” as Townshend dubbed him, pounded through “My Wife” in classic, straight-ahead style. On “Boris the Spider” he proved his voice could still hit the bottom notes like a bucket of lead plummeting down a well.

If there was anything else good about the show, it was the lesson taught by the Choir’s fade from “My Generation” into “See Me, Feel Me.” The former ripped magnificently, the latter wheezed ridiculously, proving that a great song can make any band sound terrific, but only a great band can make any song soar.

So long Mr. Entwistle. Hope you made enough bucks to make the monthly payment on your castle.