THE WHO

MIDDLE-AGED men who prance around as if they're 17 are either admired for their youthfulness or looked upon sadly for their attempts to recapture their prime.

Shed a tear for Peter Townshend and The Who.

Yes, they were one of the great British supergroups, bursting on the scene nearly two decades ago as an innovative rhythm and blues band. Dangerous mods smashing their equipment onstage. Early hits such as My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Happy Jack, I Can See For Miles and Magic Bus remain classics of that era.

And with Tommy, they single-handedly created rock opera and became the darlings of the pop philosophy set.

But if last night's mammoth concert at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium is any indication, The Who have had it.

Townshend, Roger Daltry, and John Entwistle (who knows about Keith Moon replacement Kenny Jones) are now pushing 40. Townshend's patented windmill guitar strokes and bended-knee jumps, which once seemed novel and electrifying now seem a bit silly.

Last night's set was their standard piece on this tour — Substitute, Who Are You, Pinball Wizard, My Wife, Feel Me, etc. It was long, two hours and ten minutes. Lots of disco-derived lights.

But while the fans jumped and shouted in expectation when the band came on stage, things strangely quieted down half way through. Kids, many of them old kids, who began the evening fighting for binoculars now looked off into the Toronto sky to watch the lightning storm going on north of the city.

So what happened? Well, to be blunt, the boys have slowed down. And with that they’ve lost some interest in their own occupations.

Daltry's voice was in fine form, but the bite was gone. Rather than adding a new dimension, the horn section and keyboard synthesizer seemed more of a crutch for fading energy.

This is not to say Townshend didn't sweat gallons (though everyone was sweating gallons last

David Wesley

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night). Simply that the old spark was no longer there.

It was especially evident in the Tommy stuff. The soaring rhythm runs which have become The Who trademark no longer strike a chord of discovery in the crowd, they strike a chord of nostalgia. The same feeling older folks get when they hear the reconstituted Benny Goodman orchestra.

But when you think about it, The Who peaked with the Live At Leeds LP in 1970, one of the top five rock albums ever cut. They’ve produced some catchy tunes since then, Won't Get Fooled Again, Squeeze Box, Who Are You, but nothing to stand the rock world on end.

It's hard to know where The Who can go now. The young kids, the New Wavers are all picking up on the rock and roll music The Who abandoned years ago. For The Who to return to their roots would only be self-imitation.

Rock opera is already seen as a mistake, an aberration in the genre, rather than a lasting influence on it.

They seem too serious about their endeavors to adopt the self-parody flexibility which has worked wonders for the Stones.

And unfortunately, nothing done since Tommy is worth using to start new directions.

The Who has hit a middle-aged bulge with no chance of a crash diet in sight. And lean, tough, new music is what makes the kids alright these days, no matter how short Daltry clips his hair.

It would be a shame to see The Who become simply a nostalgia band. Their influence on rock music has been too crucial, too important for them not to bow out gracefully.

As for the warm-up acts, J. Geils Band and Heart? J. Geils was flat, but the same can't be said for the Wilson sisters. Heart (let's hear it for Canadian content) was the high point of the evening.

Clockwise from top:

Roger Daltry and Peter Townshend: slowed down with age and heading for nostalgia.

The fans are growing older, too, but they are loyal as ever.

Concert-goers and the police aren't always at odds.

Lead singer Roger Daltry was in fine form, but his voice lacks its old bite.

— Pictures by Kaz Novak