Townshend's dud

Pete Townshend, father of the rock opera, brings his “Psychoderelict” to Berkeley Community Theater.

New rock opera a vanity project for ex-Who guitarist By Barry Walters EXAMINER POP MUSIC CRITIC

BERKELEY — When rock ’n’ roll old-timers take to the stage, they often treat the faithful and their children to classic songs and lackluster performances. Certainly this was true of the Who’s last reunion tour, quite possibly the worst of the superstar comebacks in recent years. For his Monday night show at the Berkeley Community Theater, ex-Who guitarist Pete Townshend did the opposite: The largest chunk of his show was devoted to passionate performances of lousy material.

The father of the rock opera presented his latest concept album, “Psychoderelict,” in its entirety, complete with projections, actors, costumes and staged scenes. The plot is absolute rubbish, involving a burned-out rock star and his fear of reality. (How novel!) Pointless references to virtual reality are sprinkled throughout the project and the songs sound like 20-year-old outtakes. It’s Townshend’s worst, a commercial and artistic dud.

The good thing about “Psychoderelict” is that it has enabled Townshend to enjoy himself again. Anybody but the most blindly loyal Who fans could tell that the guitarist was miserable and preoccupied with money during his band’s reunion tour. Here, he was in excellent voice and pleased to be following his own whims.

Before launching into “Psychoderelict,” Townshend offered defenses without apology. He explained that his lengthy new work was “not meant to be the greatest thing since rock ’n’ roll.” He was doing it only “because I like doing it.” He admited, “Bits of it work and bits of it don’t.”

The bits of it that work were in the presentation itself. The projections were sophisticated, attractive and distracted one from the banality of the music. A trio of actors playing the rock star, his manager and the journalist with whom he carries on a love/hate relationship also came as welcome diversions. The music would stop or quiet down while the actors would do

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