COREY SIPKIN

PETE TOWNSHEND at the Supper Club: striking figure, striking music.

CONCERT REVIEW

Townshend Triumphant

Never before has the Inner Child sounded so good

By JIM FARBER

Daily News Staff Writer

He may have reached the ripe old age of 51, but Pete Townshend still sings in the voice of a schoolboy. For more than two hours Friday, Townshend sang in a high, clear and aching voice about longing to belong, in a set that often found him sounding as hurt, lost and yearning as a teenager.

The starkness of his accompaniment only intensified the image. At the intimate Supper Club, Townshend appeared with just a lone acoustic guitar and a guest pianist (John Karin), helping him hone his view to its essence. Never before had Townshend done so full a show in this spare a style in New York.

What a privilege to behold!

Shorn of The Whos amplification, Townshends vulnerability came fully to the fore. The gangly singer-songwriter who drove one of rocks most macho bands crept from the shadows, and the result concentrated his message.

The force of it came through with particular strength in four numbers from The Whos youth culture epic, Quadrophenia. Songs like Drowned, Im One, and Cut My Hair, which address the gnawing pain of adolescence, seemed all the more moving sung by a lone figure.

Townshend also offered obscure material  like a weird country take on his 1966 ditty A Legal Matter, and lovely versions of Pavardigar and Sheraton Gibson (from his 1972 solo debut). The 23-song set also included the old fave Im A Boy and a newly fleshed out version of his song Shout (which only appeared on the Another Scoop demo collection).

Instrumentally, Townshends most commanding moments arrived in Rough Boys and Magic Bus where he used an electric guitar to whip up a riff-fest of Who-like proportions.

Townshend also did quite a bit of talking this night. In his trademark prickly style, he mocked audience members requests for songs and offered jabs at Howard Stern, Bruce Willis and apparently whomever else came to mind.

In contrast to such wry and rambling speech, Townshends music couldnt have seemed more earnest. No matter how young the perspective in his songs, Townshend made them seem contemporary to a middle-aged man  not only because of their timeless beauty and well-observed lyrics but because of his delivery. By singing in so open and unscarred a style, Townshend demonstrated how the thrills and fears of youth can enlighten a whole life.