"Who! Who! Who!" they barked, sounding a bit like Arsenio Hall's talk-show audience. This was a group that regarded the Who performance much like the British regarded the royal wedding, except the souvenirs here were less expensive.

DeWayne Tankersley estimated he had sold about $8,000 worth of Who T-shirts, at $20 each, by the time the show was half through. And he was stationed outside the Lakewood gates. "They claim to do more business inside, but I don't see it," he said.

Mr. Townshend, Mr. Daltrey and bassist John Entwistle, 44 — the three surviving members of the Who (drummer Keith Moon died in 1978) — were augmented by three backup singers, an electric guitarist, two percussionists and a five-man horn section. The horns were a welcome addition in the powerhouse treatment of "5:15" and "You Better, You Bet."

Some other musical highlights included Mr. Entwistle's "Boris the Spider" and a few numbers that caused Mr. Townshend to bring out his Rickenbacker guitar, including "Substitute" and "I Can't Explain."

For encores, the band performed two '60s chestnuts, a Jimi Hendrix-style "Hey Joe" and "Twist and Shout." Introducing the second encore, Mr. Townshend said, "This is the best song we know." As Jess Sullivan, drummer with the Atlanta band Drivin' N' Cryin', said at the concert, "I'm glad I came. It's entertaining."

It was 110 decibels of entertainment and honest rock 'n' roll.

The Who will give sold-out concerts tonight and Wednesday.