Pete Townshend takes a flying leap with his guitar during the Who's first of two 25th anniversary concerts at Sullivan Stadium.

The Who may be mighty, but they're still mortal.

Keith Moon proved that years ago, when a lifetime of drinking and drugging to excess killed him. But the death of the famed drummer didn't stop his band, which limped along for another four years with a replacement.

When the band split in 1982, it was, apparently forever. But there's life in the old beast yet, as the remaining three members, augmented by 12 session musicians, proved at Sullivan Stadium last night, the first of two sold out shows. (The second takes place tomorrow at 7 p.m.)

Several weeks into their 25th anniversary tour, The Who are hitting their stride, playing a powerful 3 1/2 hour set that includes most of the hits and some surprises. The band is tight and the arrangements, notably the 45-minute chunk of "Tommy" that starts the show, are more symphonic in scope than were ever possible with the old four-piece Who.

Guitarist Peter Townshend's well-documented hearing problems were supposed to keep him from playing electric guitar on this tour, but he is in fact smashing and whirling away at the Stratocaster for half of the show, having discovered the sound levels on stage are manageable after all.

But the strenuous show apparently caught up to singer Roger Daltrey, who became noticeably hoarse halfway though the second set, gamely struggling through "Won't Get Fooled Again" at its conclusion. When the band came back for an encore, Townshend apologized for Daltrey, saying he had pulled a diaphragm muscle and was retiring for the night. Bassist John Entwistle stepped in to sing a rip-roaring "Twist and Shout" (dedicated by Townshend to "the late Roger Daltrey"), but the crowd of 55,000 unfortunately missed what has been The Who's standard encore for this tour, which includes "Tattoo," "Naked Eye," and Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe." Also skipped were Daltrey's second-set showpieces, "Love Hurts" and "Behind Blue Eyes."

The songs the band did perform were carried off in supreme style, driven by powerhouse drummer Simon Phillips, one of England's best musicians-for-hire for the past decade. The condensed, 11-song version of "Tommy" was epic, even in daylight.

A short set of Townshend tunes included his current single, "Friend is a Friend," "A Little is Enough," and "Face the Face." The band closed the first half with Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man," "I Can't Explain," a chilling "I Can See for Miles," an Entwistle doubleheader of "Trick of the Light" and "Boris the Spider," and "Who Are You."

Second half highlights included much of the classic "Who's Next" album, along with "5:15" and "Love Reign O'er Me" from Quadrophenia, "Rough Boys," "You Better You Bet," "Join Together," and "My Generation."

Townshend, in interviews promoting the tour, has said this band is not The Who, merely a group of session musicians playing Who songs. Last night, he took it back.

"I don't care what you've heard," he loudly told the crowd before the encore. "We're the same (expletive deleted) band!"