The Who's generation still knows how to rock

Aging fans are treated to extraordinary concert at Gund. Townshend, Daltrey and Entwistle give energetic show

By Dennis McEaneney

Beacon Journal staff writer

CLEVELAND: OK, let's get the ugly stuff out of the way.

Most of the people who came to The Who concert Saturday night at Gund Arena could just as easily have gone to 40th high school reunions. These people were in their 20s in the '60s.

There were people in their 30s who came with their parents.

Forty-somethings wore Who tour shirts from the '70s and '80s.

Beer gut could be seen for miles, and a woman in leather got second looks to confirm she wasn't naked.

The show? Oh, yeah, it was great.

Two hours and 20 minutes of "maximum R&B" from shock troops of the 1960s British Rock Invasion.

Unamerican, the opening band, had a Great Southern sound and British accents so thick they were near-gibberish.

The Who didn't play Magic Bus or See Me, Feel Me (a k a Christmas) or Love Reign O'er Me or Boris the Spider, but the 20 songs the band did play were chicken soup for old souls, perhaps a last-in-a-lifetime rock 'n' roll battery recharge for some.

Non-dinosaurs liked the show, too. A 14-year-old who was handy kept grinning from ear to ear,

Please see Who, C7