THE WHO, FROM C-1

The 72-year-old Daltrey probably has the harder part in this bargain, having to approximate his old vocal power singing the songs of youthful rebellion. There are ups (mostly!) and downs, but he’s not far off at all.

With the screens flashing vintage footage, The Who jumped into the ‘60s early with “The Seeker” (images of Keith Moon), “The Kids Are Alright,” “I Can See for Miles” and “My Generation,” Mr. Daltrey smiling and shrugging when he got to the “hope I die before I get old” line.

“A lot of the so-called greatest hits were actually small hits,” Mr. Townshend explained (like Zeppelin, The Who were made for FM), adding that “most of them were written before a lot of you were even born.”

It was in fact one of those mixed-age crowds with a lot of fans not even born before they released “It’s Hard” and most old enough to have seen them here in ’67 or ’69. (The crowd on the floor stood for the duration while the people in the seats stayed in them for the most part.)

Mr. Daltrey introduced “Pictures of Lily,” lamenting the demise of the magic single record and calling his partner “the master” of it. A master among masters. Amen to that.

“Behind Blue Eyes” was a tough one to sing, but probably always was. Mr. Townshend introduced another “Who’s Next” classic, “Bargain,” as “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written” and his fragile vocal part on the break — “I know I’m worth nothing without you” — was a beauty.

A punchy “You Better You Bet” came with Mr. Townshend revealing that he wrote the beginning of the song right here in Pittsburgh, recalling that he was visiting a de Kooning exhibition at the museum while on tour.

They touched on “Quadrophonia” early with “The Real Me” and then returned to it with “I’m One” and “The Rock” acting as a soundtrack for powerful images of war and conflict over the past 50 years. It led into the lovely piano opening of the epic “Love, Reign O’er Me,” a song that brought us lots of wailing, good and bad, from Mr. Daltrey. Who, really, is capable of singing that song — at any age?

As if we weren’t already showered with riches, The Who went and skimmed the cream off “Tommy” giving us a glorious run of “Amazing Journey,” “Sparks,” “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me.”

Without leaving the stage, The Who roared into the showstopping blast of “Baba O’Riley” (everyone up and shouting “teen-age waste-land!” with vigor) and a “Won’t Get Fooled Again” still pulsing and seething with urgency, desperation and warning.

Like a lot of people, I’m guessing, I went into Consol expecting some faded, geriatric version of a band I’ve loved since I was a teenager and first saw here in 1979. This was anything but that. It was a celebration of some of the greatest music ever made, played to near perfection. Seriously. I’m embarrassed by how much air guitar I played during those two hours.

Arriving without anything resembling a hit or even a familiar song, opener Tal Wilkenfeld was a far cry from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who would have opened in the fall had the show not been postponed. The young Australian, who has played with Prince, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson and Joe Walsh, and who made a splash at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival, put on a bass clinic on everything from jazz-inflected tunes a la Sting (“Haunted Love”) to Hendrix-sounding hard rockers (“Hard to be Alone”). She’ll be one to watch.

Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com; 412-263-2576. Twitter: @scott-