If the concert Saturday in Orlando’s Tangerine Bowl truly was part of The Who’s swan song tour, it’s obvious the group plans to go out in style.

For two solid hours, the legendary English band kept the sell-out crowd of 64,000 enthralled as they ran through 18 years of rock ’n’ roll history that encompassed everything from their first hit single (1964), I Can’t Explain, to the title track of their latest album, It’s Hard. In between were such favorites as The Majic Bus and I Won’t Get Fooled Again, plus several selections from their 1968 rock opera Tommy and the 1973 album Quadrophenia.

Prior to their Orlando date much had been made of the fact one song — The Who’s unofficial theme, My Generation — had been conspicuously absent from the program. Obviously, someone in the group must have been listening, because the very first song Saturday was the one nobody expected to hear.

Even more surprising was the flawless logistical support provided by the city of Orlando, the Orlando Police and Beach Club/Cellar Door Productions.

To ensure every member of the audience had a “front row seat,” the promoters erected a giant screen over the stage that offered viewers an incredible choice. You could watch Peter Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Kenny Jones en masse; or, you could sneak a peek overhead at appropriate moments for a live close-up of Townshend’s trademark leaps or one of the countless other little onstage antics that make the band so special.

“This was the first time we’ve used such a screen in the 17 shows we’ve done here,” said promoter Joe Lambusta. “Quite frankly, we were thrilled with the result and would definitely consider using it again. It was something The Who requested and we paid for, but it worked out great.”

Asked about the peculiar choice of two new wave bands — Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and the B-52s — to open for a classic rock sound like The Who, Lambusta acknowledged the B-52s (who got booed off stage after less than 25 minutes) might not have been the best selection, but all such decisions are a joint venture between the top-billed act and the promoter based upon “economics and what would go well with the show.”

One obvious problem with any rock concert this size is finding the right blend of groups to fill a stadium the size of the T-Bowl. Since 1977 when the city first opened the facility to such music extravaganzas, there have been 19 concerts held there that attracted 50,000 or more in paid attendance, said Bill Becker, deputy director of the Centroplex authority that manages the city’s fine arts and sports facilities.

Most of those, however, were on the strength of several combined acts. Besides The Who and the Rolling Stones, said Lambusta, the only other individual acts who could fill a stadium the size of the T-Bowl by themselves are Journey, Rush, Van Halen and Bob Seger.

According to Becker and Capt. Dan Wilson, who heads Orlando Police’s special operations task force assigned to such events, experience has shown the best way to control crowds of this size is by first affording them the opportunity to police themselves.

The city does its part by not selling beer. Grumbles from first-time visitors usually turn to gratitude when they realize that policy goes a long way toward cutting down general rowdiness and reducing strain on the toilet facilities, said Becker.

Another practice that draws complaints from most concertgoers until they understand the true purpose are the perfunctory “pat down” searches at the turnstiles by stadium personnel. Contrary to appearances, Wilson said, the police have nothing to do with this. It’s done by the T-Bowl’s people to cut down on the amount of dangerous contraband (glass, knives, guns, etc.) that might possibly cause injuries in a crowd … and it works.

The crowds have learned to control themselves, Wilson said, and he points with pride to the many occasions potential fights in the stands are averted when the crowd surrounding the combatants literally boos them down into their seats.

Other activities that bring unofficial smiles of approval, he said, are the fusillades of Frisbees, footballs and wadded up soft drink cups that fly back and forth between the field and stands during lulls in the music. “I know how uncomfortable and cramped it must get sitting up there in that hot sun all day,” said Wilson, “and the crowd seems to sense those are good, clean ways to blow off extra energy and we encourage it.”

As for the obvious question of the drugs present at such events, Wilson is quick to note his department has no intention “to look the other way” when it comes to flagrant violations of the law. “On the other hand,” he said, “if we see somebody sitting in the middle of the field on the 50-yard line lighting up what may be a marijuana cigarette, we’re not going to send an officer out there into the crowd to find out if, indeed, that’s what it is.”

“Let’s face it, they could probably go out there and arrest 50,000 people,” said Becker, “but that’s not why (police) are here. We specifically have requested that they keep a low profile and, on the whole, remain outside the stadium until such time as they might be needed.”

Wilson said only a handful of undercover officers circulate in the crowd during the day, and their major purpose is to keep the main force of some 100 officers patroling outside informed as to what’s going on inside.

If you go by the standards of previous major concerts when 10-13 arrests were the norm, said Wilson, this concert was a bit rowdier. There were 22 or 23 arrests that day, ranging from three for the sale of cocaine, two for auto burglary (about 50-60 break-ins were reported), plus a couple more arrests for fence jumping, ticket scalping and other assorted infractions like selling souvenir T-shirts without the proper city occupational licenses.

According to Wilson, the major concern his department had for The Who concert was avoiding the kind of mad dash stampede through the gates that killed 11 in Cincinnati three years ago, and injured 12 in Shea Stadium in New York earlier this year.

All things considered, it was just the sort of grand afternoon that befits the closing of a chapter in rock history. The pity is that all good things must someday come to an end.