Those who went to the Orpheum Friday night expecting to hear blues-rock guitarist Roy Buchanan might just as well have stayed home. He didn’t show.

No one knew exactly why, least of all the disappointed ticket-holders who stood outside in the drizzle waiting for a refund.

"All I can say is that at the last minute Buchanan’s manager tried to alter the terms of the contract," said Fred Johansson of Don Law Productions.

"We couldn’t agree to change the original," he said. "That would jeopardize our position financially and set a dangerous precedent."

Outside the theater, someone asked:

"Is there anything else happening around here?"

If so, it wasn’t on stage at the Orpheum.

After a 45-minute delay Steamers, a lukewarm-up band from Duxbury, emerged. They were unenthusiastically greeted by an estimated one-third capacity house.

Steamers congo player-vocalist, Nick Eaton – brother of Cadillac Jack, the rhythm guitarist for Duke and the Drivers – gave a half-baked, pseudo-Mick Jagger performance, down to the last stud on his black chinos.

To add to their troubles, the Steamers were plagued by poor sound engineering. At times the output was intolerably distorted, and for those seated near the amplifiers it was downright painful.

After another half-hour, John Entwhistle of The Who and his newest band, Ox, strolled onstage.

From the number of Who T-shirts worn by audience members, it was apparent that Entwhistle had admirers. And such an experienced showman-musician could have turned the evening around. But he didn’t.

For the next hour Ox succeeded in making the audience feel like intruders. Entwhistle introduced each song almost reluctantly. It turned into an unsavory jam session lacking creativity and about as exciting as an ulcer diet.

The performance was peppered with an occasional Who number, including the barely recognizable "Heaven and Hell."

And it was obvious that a sound check had not taken place during intermission.

It was usually impossible to hear any other instruments besides Entwhistle’s bass and the lead guitar. The keyboard and saxophone were inaudible except for brief moments – such as during the classic boogie tune "You Keep On Knocking But You Can’t Come In." It was an oasis in the desert.

Entwhistle’s familiar voice blended nicely with the other members of the band, as his nimble fingers taunted the strings of his bass guitar.

But Ox was intrigued with Ox and simply tolerated the audience.

After polite applause and one encore, Ox left the stage. It was if they’d never been there.