TAMPA — Saturday, while much of Jacksonville was in a tizzy about the ticket sales for the Nov. 25 appearance of the Rolling Stones, Tampa was hosting a classic rock show of its own. The Who staked its claim to the rock show of the year.

CONCERT REVIEW

This 25th anniversary tour is hardly a gentle stroll down memory lane. Saturday night it was a foot-stomping march that paraded hits for three hours before a jubilant throng of more than 54,000 that filled Tampa Stadium.

The summer of 1989 is one of nostalgia. The Classic Rock radio format has taken over rock stations. The Who is no small part of this format. Who hit after Who hit can be heard across the radio dial. However, this tour is more than a rehash of oldies. It’s a reaffirmation that The Who is responsible for much of what we know as rock.

The rock opera Tommy gave the genre credence. Boris the Spider was punk before Mohawks were hip. The Who’s stage destructive antics introduced a whole new mayhem that today’s bands wish they could capture. Baba O’Riley and Long Live Rock provided the heat that helped cast much of today’s heavy metal.

The Rolling Stones may have mastered three-chord rock but The Who took rock into new levels. The Who, along with The Beatles, kept the music of the British Invasion from simply being another fad.

This legacy hangs over the band today. Loading up trucks and erecting huge stages across the end zones of football fields is not enough. Even though the band is performing old songs, they must have power and verve if the shows are to sell. Anything less would tarnish the band and turn fans into cynics.

Some rock critics have suggested that the band is in it this time around for the money. I don’t know how they can make such a claim after having seen the show.

Guitarist Pete Townshend angrily addressed the issue late in the show. “We’re not doing it for the money. We’re doing it because, while we may not be quite what we once were, we are still, undeniably, The Who.”

This, Townshend and company proved without a doubt.

The show opened with The Overture from Tommy and stayed with lesser known hits from the opera as if to remind

Who singer Roger Daltrey (left) and guitarist Pete Townshend prove that age is no hindrance to an effective rock people there is more to this band than audience with a new what’s constantly heard on radio.

Singer Roger Daltrey was remarkably fit, looking as if he spent the last year in the gym. At 44, Daltrey still looks the part of a rocker rather than rock legend.

Bassist John Entwistle, 44, looked the oldest with his white hair and beard. The years may have taken the color from his hair but it hasn’t slowed his hands, as he displayed in several bass solos during the show. Although the band has no new music out (although Townshend does have a solo album, Iron Man) they came at the

’n’ roll performance as they play for more than 54,000 ecstatic fans at Tampa Stadium Saturday night.

look. Drummer Simon Phillips captured the spirit, zest and pure mania of the band’s late Keith Moon. Guitarist Steve Bolton, who was added this tour to handle much of the electric lead work because of Townshend’s hearing problems, gave nearly every song added depth.

Throw in a five-man horn section, an additional percussionist, three backup singers and the unmistakable keyboards of John Bundrick and The Who had a lineup that was stronger than the Tampa Bay Bucs front line. Prior to the first date,

much had been made about Townshend’s apprehensions about touring again. He doubted the band could re-create the sound. His own ear condition, caused by years of high volume music, left him doubting if he could personally stand the pain.

If he was hurting Saturday night, you couldn’t tell. While he spent much of the time playing acoustic guitar, he picked up an electric one often and jumped and danced and windmilled his way through the night. He may have written the line, “I hope I die before I get old,” but the 44-year-old musician found himself rejuvenated by his own songs.

Early on he sang lead on Eminence Front in response to the cheers of “Pete, Pete, Pete.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t rouse the same enthusiasm for new material. His single, A Friend is a Friend, hasn’t received much radio support and it offered a lull in the show despite his fine acoustic guitar work.

(See THE WHO’S, Page D-6)