14. He was dressed like a Metallica fan, but said he didn’t like heavy metal. Some fans stopped to picnic with WONE-FM at Mall C, but Tom and Elaine Waskey of Richfield came to the Stadium parking lot at 9 a.m. — with their grill and hot dogs.

“Don’t tell us The Who are over the hill,” said Elaine Waskey, “They’re better than Guns N’ Roses.”

There weren’t any bootleg merchandisers along the streets. Winterland Productions, in charge of the merchandise, had a court order to confiscate any bootleg T-shirts or other merchandise, said John D. Parker, a lawyer with Baker and Hostetler.

By 7 p.m., the stands and many of the ground seats began to fill up.

Two huge screens were in front of the stage. There was no opening act and the show was expected to run three hours and begin with the “Tommy” rock opera overture, then continue with “Tommy” songs for 40 minutes. Townshend was expected to do three acoustic songs from his “Iron Man” solo album. Scheduled before the intermission was “Substitute,” “Who are You?” and “Boris the Spider.”

During the New York performance, singer Roger Daltrey helped bassist John Entwistle with his song, “My Wife,” when Entwistle’s voice became a little weak. Townshend forgot some of the lines to “Sally Simpson” in the New York show.

But none of that will bother fans such as Crista Kungl, 18, and Jill Hobweczak, 17, both of Hinckley, who don’t see The Who as aging rockers ready for the rocking chair.

Said Jill, “They’ve stayed around because they’re good.”