Triangle roars for The Who

Legendary band older but better, fans say

By David J. Barron

Staff Writer

The rain stopped, the band started playing, and three hours later most of the 53,000 witnesses agreed: The Who can still rock ’n’ roll.

Thursday night’s three-hour concert at Carter-Finley Stadium attracted a wide range of Who fans, ranging from members of the Broughton High School class of ’65 to adolescents whose souvenir T-shirts almost reached the tops of their shoes.

“It’s great — it’s like being 16 all over again,” said Christy McGranahan, 27, of Durham. “They kind of went out of sight and came back again. Older is better.”

Some in the crowd could detect signs of age in the legendary British band.

“This is average, pretty good,” said John T. Atkinson, 23, of Raleigh. “It ain’t the best, but it’s good. They’ve lost a little bit.”

But he did find guitarist Pete Townshend — who managed to pull off a few of his famous airborne scissor kicks — to be living up to his reputation. “He’s 40 years old [actually 44] and still jamming,” Mr. Atkinson said.

The 53,000 fans filled every inch of the football stadium, making for a sea of standing, swaying bodies. The stage was black, filled with an enormous drum set, a horn section clad in black, a trio of dancing backup singers and three members of the original Who: singer Roger Daltrey, Mr. Townshend and bassist John Entwistle.

Green, yellow, red and purple lights swirled across the stage and swept over the churning crowd, where fans alternately pumped arms, clapped hands and sang along.

The concert — the only North Carolina stop on the group’s 25th anniversary tour — drew fans from across the state, along with diehards who follow their heroes from city to city.

Eleanor Remeczky, 38, came from her home in Queens, N.Y. A Who fanatic who said she had

See WHO, page 7A

Staff photos by Robert Thomason

Guitarist Pete Townshend leaps into action as fans cheer him on at Carter-Finley Stadium