The Who strikes again

One of the amazing things about rock ’n’ roll is the physical changes it can create in your body. Whether it’s a pounding heart, dilated eyes, sweating or rushes of adrenaline, a great performance can excite its listeners — if only for a brief period of time.

Well, last weekend at The Who concert my body responded in more ways than it has in years.

With a wealth of material to choose from, the band reached back to their festive formative days of the early 1960s to open with “Substitute” and “Can’t Explain.” The sell-out crowd at the Oakland Coliseum stood from the first note as singer Roger Daltry swung his microphone in circles while Pete Townshend leaped high in the air and flailed at his guitar for emphasis.

The Who has had more than its share of problems lately. First was the death of drummer Keith Moon last year and then the senseless deaths of 11 fans at one of their first American concerts in many years at Cincinnati. But nonetheless The Who continues to prosper.

Picking former Faces’ drummer Kenny Jones as Moon’s replacement, the band decided to augment its live sound for the first time with Rabbitt on keyboards and a three-piece horn section. The horns and the keyboards were used judiciously. In fact, the horns’ presence was hardly noticeable, as they only appeared occasionally to fill out specific phrases.

If any difference could be heard between the new aggregation and the old, it was in the drumming. While Kenny Jones supplied a steady and predictable beat, his style is everything that Keith wasn’t. Keith’s thundering devil-may-care style had always characterized The Who’s sound and served as the prime mover behind most of their on-stage spontaneity. Wisely, Jones never tried to fill this void.

Roger, Pete and bassist John Entwistle — despite these past problems — carried on with the same vitality and blind enthusiasm The Who is famous for. Roger and Pete were constantly moving, keeping the entire

The Who: pushing 40 but still solid rockers

audience of 15,000 on its feet for nearly the whole show. Entwistle, however, dressed in a white summer suit, kept a safe distance from his cohorts on the far end of the stage, only once stepping to the center to sing “My Wife” off “Who’s Next.”

His blonde hair cut dangerously short and wearing a black leather jacket, Roger sang with conviction on “Baba O’Riley,” “Sister Disco,” “Pinball Wizard,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Who Are You,” “Long Live Rock,” “5:15,” “I Can See For Miles,” “Music Must Change,” “My Generation” and “Behind Blue Eyes.” Pete took a lead vocal on “Drowned,” one of “Quadrophenia’s” weakest numbers.

A massive bank of computerized lights illuminated the band, and once or twice the audience, as The Who worked through a two-hour performance. With five huge flood lights behind the band shining towards the crowd as well, the group looked like eerie shadows during “See Me, Feel Me.”

A fiery explosion via a bank of flame pots introduced “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” the song The Who is most known for during live performances, as it’s the only one they have closed with for years.

Nearly 10 minutes of cheering after the lights went on brought them back for an encore of “Shakin’ All Over” and a cover of Martha & The Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street.”

Even if these guys are pushing 40 and have been together for more than 15 years they aren’t giving in to whatever seems to destroy old rock ’n’ roll bands. They perform with the same frenzy they did a decade ago. Not only are The Who survivors — they’re leaders.