Pete Townshend’s high-flying antics delighted crowds during last night’s performance.

In four hours of rocking, The Who proves ageless

By Lynn M. Jackson

Courier-News Staff Writer

The Who proved that rock ’n’ roll has no age limits last night before 54,000 fans at Giants Stadium.

The third stop of The Who’s 25th anniversary tour found the band in fine form, from opening “Tommy” selections to “Twist and Shout” three hours and 40 minutes later.

The Who will be at Giants Stadium tonight, Sunday and Monday. Obstructed view tickets are available.

Half-an-hour late, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend galloped on stage to the “Bonanza” theme song, and the ride through 25 years of Who songs began.

It was a mixed crowd, from bandana heads to bald heads. Button-down types stood next to black T-shirts, while Mom, Dad and the kids shared the experience.

The Who went through many songs from the rock opera “Tommy,” which it performed Tuesday night at Radio City Music Hall. It was only the third time the band had performed the opera, and the first since 1970.

The band really got the crowd going with “Amazing Journey.” John Entwistle played an outrageous bass line, and Daltrey hit his tambourines so hard they broke. Older folks in the crowd sang along, played air instruments or pointed out to their children what to watch.

After “Acid Queen,” the band launched into “Pinball Wizard,” about the same time someone remembered to take the wraps off two giant-sized video screens.

“Do You Think It’s Alright” and “I’m Free” were next, as Daltrey proved he can still hit the high notes. Townshend took over for “Tommy’s Holiday Camp,” and showed he was no slouch on vocals by hitting the high note on the last line, “The holiday is for-ever.” He was so pleased he did it again, pointing his finger in the air as if to ask the crowd if it were a good idea.

“We’re Not Gonna Take It” ended the “Tommy” selections, and then the band spoke to the crowd.

“It’s great to see you, New York . . . and New Jersey,” Daltrey shouted.

Then Townshend took over the mike. “This is a song we’re going to do nightly to address old friendships and celebrate 25 years,” he said as the band broke into “A Friend is a Friend” from his new album, “The Iron Man.”

Ironically, one of the many cherry bombs heard during the evening was thrown as the band hit the chorus of “Be friendly, be friendly now.”

Townshend waltzed around the stage with his guitar to another song from the album, “A Little is Enough.” Then it was time for schtick.

“This song is by the English Beat,” he said, introducing “Save It for Later.” “I thought it was a song about Eat Me Dates.”

Townshend was referring to his appearance on David Letterman’s show the night before, when Letterman had the dates as part of his Supermarket Finds segment.

Daltrey pulled out another cover, Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man,” by saying, “This is a song from back in our old days. Back in those days, we used to play a lot of blues material.”

REVIEW

And for those who heard that Townshend wouldn’t be playing electric guitar on the tour because of tinnitus, or ringing in his ears, don’t worry. Townshend, he of the trademark windmill windup, played almost half of the songs on electric and went for lots of reverb on the Diddley classic.

Then it was time for standards from The Who songbook. Early songs like “I Can’t Explain,” “Substitute,” and “I Can See for Miles” sounded better than ever.

Then Entwistle took a turn at the microphone.

“This is John Thunderfingers’ Entwistle, also known as The Ox,” Daltrey said. “We also call him Cuddly, Fluffy and Big Black Johnny Twinkle.”

“Most of us leave out Big Black and just call him Johnny Twinkle,” Townshend said.

Any reports that the band members don’t get along are false.

Entwistle ripped through “Was I Alright?” and his own “Boris The Spider” before Daltrey took over for “Who Are You?”

After a break, The Who was back with “Magic Bus.” Then it was time for a rarely performed song, “Maryann with the Shaky Hand,” from “The Who Sell Out.” Daltrey and Townshend shared the vocal, screwed up the lyrics at the end, then both cracked up.

It was a greatest hits parade after that, with “Baba O’Reilly,” “My Generation,” “Let My Love Open the Door,” “5:15” and “Love Reign O’er Me.” Daltrey, especially, sounded much younger than 46.

For some reason, the band decided to tackle “Love Hurts,” an old Nazareth tune. Daltrey began it solo on acoustic guitar before the band kicked in.

Entwistle came back for two more songs, but his voice seemed strained on “Too Late the Hero” and “My Wife.”

With “Sister Disco,” The Who proved you don’t need Spandex or long hair to rock out, although Daltrey sported a dangly ear cuff. The band’s middle period was represented by “Rough Boys,” “Join Together with the Band,” “You Better, You Bet,” and “Behind Blue Eyes.”

The next song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” summed up the whole reason The Who still makes sense. As Townshend sang “Pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday,” he looked over at Daltrey and smiled.

The two were joined by Entwistle in a Three Stooges routine to get Townshend’s guitar off to end the show.

“We wanted to have some fun, and we’ve really had some fun tonight,” Daltrey told the crowd before the band came back for an encore of “Barefootin’,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe,” and “Twist and Shout” to end the evening at 12:10 a.m.

Simon Phillips was phenomenal on drums, almost making one forget the late Keith Moon. John “Rabbit” Bundrick was equally adept on lead guitar, and the three backup singers as well as the horn and percussion sections were welcome additions.