Without a doubt, The Who has to be one of the most exciting, volatile rock groups on the scene.

Their concert at Hampton Coliseum Thursday night was a driving display of how a rock show should be done. There was no lag during any point of the concert, and if the group is having personality problems, as reported, there was no evidence of it on stage.

The production was faultless. The pattern of the concert could be likened to Yeats' conception of a spiral staircase with its plateaux being "Baba O'Riley," selections from "Tommy" (which were the preliminary climax), "Summertime Blues," the immortal "My Generation" and the finale, "Won't Get Fooled Again."

They opened the act with two of their oldest numbers and then slid into their current hit, "Squeeze Box." The audience was behind them, but when the first chord of "Baba O'Riley" was struck, it was obvious that no one would shrug off the show as just another concert.

Pete Townshend's guitar playing is legendary, if not for dexterity, then for sheer showmanship. He leaped into the air, coming down with a crash of chords.

But if anyone was waiting for him to smash a guitar, they were out of luck. Although he seemed on the verge of doing it several times, the audience had to be satisfied with watching Roger Daltrey ravage a pair of tambourines.

Daltrey was in his prime. Unlike his Rolling Stones counterpart, Daltrey's actions are syncopated and limited to 1) walking in a circle, 2) swinging his mike over his head and catching it in time for a shout, and 3) strutting in place with his chest thrust out and his head flung back.

It was easy for the viewer to reach a compromise — one merely had to watch Townshend and listen to Daltrey.

The "Tommy" portion of the show came about midway. The light display during the last number "See Me, Feel Me" was incredible. From behind the stage laser-like beams of light fanned out in overlapping arcs of green, blue and red.

"My Generation" was extended into a prolonged session of instrumentals, sound experimentation and rhythm changes. Especially exciting was a jam between drummer Keith Moon and Townshend, the hardest-playing members of the group.

"Won't Get Fooled Again" was the climactic finale, choreographed by raised fists throughout the arena. After the four Englishmen had taken a bow and returned to their dressing rooms, the roar for an encore was deafening but fruitless.

This understandable. They had put on such a high-voltage display that what could they possibly have done for an encore.