If you weren't at the Charlotte Coliseum last Saturday night, you really missed something special.

Peter Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon 1 better known as The Who 1 totally demolished a very near-capacity crowd of over 16,000 with an hour and 40 minutes of some of the finest rock music there is.

The English quartet's set 1 the first on the band's second American tour this year, their last until 1973 1 opened with "Get It Straight" and closed with The Who's traditional finale, "My Generation." It was an all-stops-out performance, with Townshend, Daltrey and Moon up to all of their usual shenanigans from the second number, "Summertime Blues," on.

Townshend jumped, kicked and beat the devil out of his guitar in nearly every song, and Daltrey's all-powerful vocals and Moon's ever-energetic drum work backed him beautifully. Entwistle, as usual, was content to lay down his fine bass parts and let the others carry on.

Every number drew ear-numbing applause, but some of the loudest rounds of approval went to "Baba O'Reilly" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" (superbly played over tapes of the synthesizer parts) and to a long medley of material from "Tommy," The Who's rock opera.

Other knock-out selections were "Bargain," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Magic Bus" and a rendition of a Motown oldie, "Baby, Don't You Do It."

Townshend failed to smash up his guitar at the end of the concert (though he did throw it down and kick over a few speakers). But then he really didn't need to. The Who's music created excitement enough.