'Who' Lives Up to Reputation

By R. L. Metcalf

Troy News Special Writer

British rock group The Who performed for an enthusiastic sell-out crowd Dec. 8 at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum. A group noted for powerful performances and flamboyant showmanship, they demonstrated the validity of their reputation during a remarkable two-hour set.

The group's members have remained much the same over the 12 years of its existence. Formed as The Detours in 1963, the original five-man group included Peter Townshend, John Entwistle, and Roger Daltrey. After several changes of name and personnel (including the addition of Keith Moon), and the release of a single record under the name of The High Numbers, the group, now a quartet, renamed itself The Who and began its rise to popularity.

The Who's songs at first appealed to a restricted group — Britain's mod cult. The young people of England were then primarily concerned with external appearance, possessions, and theatricality, and the music of The Who. Though the mod cult eventually burnt itself out and Townshend's scope and talent as a composer grew, bringing the group a more universal popularity, The Who have not lost their flair for theatrics.

Drummer Keith Moon got things off to a good start by announcing, "It's really nice to be here in Detroit." The group began with two of their earliest numbers, "I Can't Explain" and "Substitute," moving on to a pair of more recent songs, "Dreaming from the Waist" and their current single, "Squeeze Box," on which Daltrey invited the audience to join in on the chorus.

After "Boris the Spider" — an early Entwistle composition — and Who classic "Magic Bus," the band played a number of tunes from Pete Townshend's celebrated rock opera, "Tommy" — "Amazing Journey," "The Acid Queen," John Entwistle's "Fiddle About," "Pinball Wizard," "I'm Free," "Tommy's Holiday Camp," climaxing with "We're Not Gonna Take It," bringing the entire crowd to their feet singing, yelling, applauding and dancing.

When a lesser group would have stopped with this incredible ovation, The Who continued with several earlier hits, including "Summertime Blues" and "My Generation," concluding the concert with "We Won't Get Fooled Again."