Friday night saw the opening of the Magic Circus, an operation which lives up to its name. The Magic Circus people took over the Palladium to replace Lawrence Welk with the Who, Poco and the Bonzo Dog Band. They redecorated the place with fluffy plastic clouds and inflatable sculptures which looked great until you tried to see through them to the stage (a problem only in certain areas of the building, but the crowd was big enough to make it worth mentioning). They also brought in a praiseworthy sound system and generously offered free lemonade to reviewers.

The line-up of acts was promising, but the performances were better than even my most sanguine expectations, particularly that of the Who, who deserve every superlative at a reviewer's command for their hour-and-a-half set. The Bonzo Dog Band is a satiric British sextet who are what the Mothers of Invention would be if they had begun in vaudeville.

The band contains some good voices and fine musicians, but their talent is regulated by a broadly comic (and legitimately funny) sense of purpose. A dazzling array of insane costumes and props enlivens their already lively act, which races pell mell through parodies of Elvis Presley, contemporary rock lyrics, strippers, themselves and just about anything you could think of, all delivered with incredibly precise timing.

They received a standing ovation from the audience, as did Poco, smaller by one number since I last reviewed them. Poco is a country-rock quartet comprising two former members of the Buffalo Springfield (Richie Furay and Jim Messina) on guitars and vocals, a brilliant steel guitarist by the name of Rusty Young and George Grantham on drums. Good material, good harmony singing and an exciting live act.

The Who delivered the Los Angeles premiere of "Tommy," a rock opera written by guitarist Pete Townshend, who announced that they would only do "three-quarters or five-eighths" of the composition because parts did not lend themselves to live performance. The excerpted portions proved to be happily complete and stunning. Most groups with the stature of the British quartet would have stopped there, but the Who just kept going, capping brilliance with brilliance. I have never seen a group devote as much energy to a set as the Who did Friday and their playing was as tight as is possible. Hooray for the who and hooray for the Magic Circus.