Greensboro's latest "event" was Sunday, in case you missed it. 'Course, if you were within 20 miles or so of the coliseum, you couldn't have missed it — or hearing it, at least.

The Who, one of rock music's most durable groups, came to town, bringing a few tons of lights and several thousand watts worth of power, along with fans from all over the East Coast. After tentatively scheduling a show several months back, then canceling and scheduling again, the four Englishmen arrived on stage at 8:30 p.m.

For many of the screamers in attendance, it was by then the middle of the celebration. Several hours before the show, partiers pulled into the coliseum parking lot, doffed their shirts and shoes, got out the beer, wine and marijuana and commenced to have themselves a time.

It was what rock shows have come to be: more party than anything else. The music takes a back seat to what goes on around it. The Who's music was so loud, in fact, that it was nearly impossible to understand the words unless you'd heard them before, which most of the concertgoers probably had.

Coliseum officials added a touch of security and police officers and door guards kept things from getting out of hand. But jagged nerves weren't hard to find, and haven't been ever since 11 fans were killed in a stampede at The Who's concert last fall in Cincinnati.

Police occasionally took a few youngsters outside, either to calm them down or make them dispose of alcohol or marijuana. But potentially volatile situations were avoided.

"I don't know how they stand it," one official said, "because some of 'em have been out in the parking lot drinking beer in the hot sun."

That took its toll on quite a few of the faithful, with a good bit of staggering and pale faces and red eyes.

And the famous Who sound must have affected a few people, given that they have to be the loudest group going. The music absolutely vibrated the building — no wonder the group's members have suffered hearing loss over the years.

But having electric guitars slam against their heart muscles seemed to be exactly what the crowd wanted. Many stood during every second of the show.

A variety of lights, some looking like spaceships, illuminated the performance, which featured all the fans have come to expect from these 15-year veterans of rock 'n' roll. Lead singer Roger Daltrey twisted, grimaced and jumped; guitarist Peter Townshend gave it his almost-violent best; bassist John Entwistle stood off in his customary calmness; new drummer Kenny Jones slammed out the beat.

Some members of the crowd moved about in an attempt to make festival seating (no assigned spots) out of the coliseum floor, returning to their pre-concert states of shirtlessness and bare feet.