DALLAS — Perhaps more than anything, the Who's Wednesday night concert at Reunion Arena served as a reminder of just how powerful rock 'n' roll can be.

But this legendary band of rock 'n' roll survivors reached new heights of power Wednesday, serving up a musical extravaganza that was all anyone could hope for, and then a little bit more.

Having long ago outstripped all of their competition, the Who simply reaffirmed in their Reunion performance that they are the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band. It was a dazzling display of pure power rock that left 19,000 fans emotionally drained.

In what turned out to be the concert of the year — or any year, for that matter — the Who unleashed a performance that approached perfection. There wasn't a low spot or down moment in the whole show, no small feat since the concert ran nearly two hours.

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THE INTENSITY NEVER waned from the moment new drummer Kenney Jones hit the downbeat and Pete Townshend leaped in the air to kick off the night's first tune, Substitute.

With lead singer Roger Daltrey strutting around the stage, John Entwistle standing still while running out his patented bass lines and new addition John "Rabbit" Bundrick manning his sophisticated set of keyboards off to one side, the veteran British rockers tore their way through a 19-tune set that touched most of the bases from their brilliant 15-year career.

They dipped back to 1965 for a series of classic mod-era singles that launched their career, blazed through the psychedelic period with I Can See For Miles, remembered their two rock operas with selections from Tommy and Quadrophenia, pumped out a healthy dose of music from their memorable 1971 Who's Next album, played several cuts from the recent Who Are You LP and tied it all together with the anthem Long Live Rock.

Two from '65 started it all off as Substitute and I Can't Explain led into a pair from Who's Next — Baba O'Riley, which featured Daltrey on harmonica, and Entwistle's My Wife.

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"HERE WE ARE BACK again, a little older and not much wiser," cracked Daltrey, who resembled a perpetual motion machine much of the night, as did Townshend.

Although his right hand was heavily bandaged, Townshend never missed a lick as he brought the crowd to its feet several times with his patented sweeping windmill guitar strokes.

"I had an accident with my hand today, so I'm not all that proficient with the guitar. But we'll make up for it by drinking a lot," Townshend joked.

And the group members did drink a lot, but mainly because it was so hot in the arena. Entwistle had a couple of mugs tied to his microphone and Daltrey twice threw cups of water up in the air so that he could be showered by the liquid coming down.

The arena was bathed in flashing lights for the anti-disco song, Sister Disco, and then Daltrey was bathed in blue light for an emotional Behind Blue Eyes. A three-piece horn section joined the band for several tunes, beginning with Music Must Change and Drowned.

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BUNDRICK, A FORMER member of Free and a keyboard wizard who hails from the Houston area, especially made his presence felt on a sizzling version of Who Are You, which served as the concert's midway point.

Then it was on to 5.15 from Quadrophenia and Pinball Wizard and See Me, Feel Me from Tommy.

Throughout the concert, the Who used a spectacular lighting array that took the shape of a flying arrow above the stage, periodically flooding the audience with five megawatt backlights that were powerful enough to brighten the entire hall. The effect was especially effective on a rousing See Me, Feel Me that brought the crowd to its feet.

Although the late Keith Moon's machine-gun drumming and flamboyant stage presence certainly were missed, Jones (the ex-Small Faces member) definitely proved to be a group asset with his strong, steady drumming.