The irony of The Who singing of teen rebellion in "My Generation" to an audience consisting of many young people who weren't even born when the fabled British band was formed 17 years ago was lost on practically no one at the Omni Wednesday night.

Both those kids and the many original Who fans in their late 20s and 30s, who filled the smokey arena to the brim for the band's first Atlanta appearance in almost five years, knew they were in the presence of rock 'n' roll legends.

They responded with a mixture of respect and adulation. The cheers were long and loud beginning with a standing ovation.

A slight distance seemed to exist, however, between the band members on stage and much of the crowd throughout the one-hour, 45-minute regular set — unlike the closeness an audience feels with, say, a Bruce Springsteen or The Rolling Stones. Moreover, the late Keith Moon's manic personality definitely was missed.

That didn't lessen the crowd's enthusiasm as guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, lead singer Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwhistle and new drummer Kenny Jones (along with keyboardist Rabbit Buntrick and a three-man horn section) performed tunes covering nearly every period of the group's career.

At times it seemed as if the band members didn't really share that enthusiasm and was merely going through the motions. At the end of the dramatic "Tommy" medley of "Pinball Wizard" and "See Me, Feel Me," the audience was ecstatic.

See WHO, Page 5-B