With no fanfare whatsoever, the four men known as the Who took the Salt Palace stage Tuesday and showed why they are among rock music’s all-time best.

The Who requires no special effects to enhance its show, no delaying tactics to make the crowd’s anticipation soar. Guitarist-songwriter Pete Townshend has produced a decade and a half of great songs, and with vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and the newest member of the band, drummer Kenny Jones, the Who needs only to play its music to bring 13,000 people to their feet.

While the music, which has influenced countless other bands, is brilliant, seeing and hearing the songs performed live literally takes your breath away.

On “I Can’t Explain” (1965), Townshend wound up to flail at his 12-string electric guitar. Between unbelievably quick leads, he would jump high into the air and pull his knees to his chest, seeming to defy gravity. John Entwistle stepped forward to sing his composition “My Wife.” Entwistle is the cool member of the band, content to hang back and deliver his powerful and sophisticated bass lines. His short solo on “My Generation” shook the Salt Palace rafters.

Roger Daltrey was all British mod, wearing a leather motorcycle jacket to sing the farewell to teen-age life, “Baba O’Riley.” Daltrey’s energy was endless as he hurled his microphone to the beat of the music and crashed tambourines together. Near concert’s end, it seemed like the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival where The Who destroyed instruments and amplifiers on stage, might be revisited. A malfunctioning stage monitor raised Daltrey’s ire and he gave it a couple of swift kicks and dragged it off stage. “That’ll fix it,” he proclaimed in his heavy British accent.

The Who is a group of virtuosos. Townshend performed flawlessly on the difficult introduction to “Pinball Wizard,” sang “Behind Blue Eyes” with his patented authority. Drummer Kenny Jones, who replaced the late Keith Moon, supplied the drive so integral to the band’s sound.

On the “Underture” from the rock opera “Tommy,” Townshend took the audience through the many moods in the piece of music with ease. Then he and Daltrey combined for a blazing “I Can See for Miles.” Next came one of the most beautiful pieces Townshend has written, “See Me, Feel Me,” — the last song of the rock opera. Daltrey’s vocal here was stunning.

The most prevalent theme in punk rock, which the Who is said to be the grandfather of, is social unrest and anger. No band can touch the way that theme is handled in “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” The lyrics are biting, the music visceral. The song had everyone out of their chairs, fists in the air, as Daltrey sang of “the change that had to come,” and Townshend pounded his guitar. Then, near song’s end, Daltrey let out the now-famous scream, and Townshend leapt off the drummer’s stand, high above the stage, with a full swing at his guitar. It was as if the music had been choreographed.

While the Who is known for the frenzy it creates in audiences, Tuesday night the band was careful to keep things under control. When someone threw a string of lighted firecrackers Townshend was at the microphone instantly with an admonition.

It was back to roots for the encore with “Young Man Blues” and “Dancing In the Streets.” The Who let the audience down gently after soaring through Pete Townshend’s classic compositions.

Seeing this band is a draining experience. The Who wrenched guts, touched hearts, and pulled us out of our chairs. The music is the most energetic to be found, and at the same time it is intelligent, expressing a message with clarity. And that is rock and roll in its purest form.