They Sure Played a Mean 'Tommy'

The Who's L.A. Concert Is a Sensation

By Liz Lufkin

Chronicle Staff Writer

Los Angeles

There were a bunch of reasons why the Who's "Tommy" concert here last night should have flopped.

The most compelling factor was that a band famous for its rebellious, youthful spirit — immortalized in the line "Hope I die before I get old" — is 25 years old. Its members are aging, gray and, in the case of guitarist Pete Townshend, partially deaf.

There was the possibility that Townshend might appear in a specially designed glass box to protect himself from further hearing loss. And there was his oft-repeated vow not to perform any of his trademark windmills, even the rumor that he might not play electric guitar at all because of a hand injury.

Yet when the Who launched into "Tommy" before a sold-out audience at the Universal Amphitheater, the band redeemed itself, at least for an evening. The second half of the program was repertoire from the rest of their career, and the audience ate it up.

Sky-High Prices

Ticket-holders in Los Angeles paid up to $1,500 to see the three original members of the Who — Townshend, singer Roger Daltrey and bass player John Entwistle — give the second and final full performance on this tour of the unlikely 20-year-old rock opera about a "deaf, dumb and blind kid."

The eagerly anticipated evening was a hot ticket and sprinkled with celebrities, including Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, Whoopie Goldberg, Lionel Ritchie, Sylvester Stallone, Barbara Hershey and Bianca Jagger.

The concert was a benefit for the Nordhoff Robins Music Therapy Foundation for Autistic Children, as well as three other Los Angeles charities. Together, with the proceeds from a June 27th "Tommy" concert in New York, it raised about $2 million.

Last night's performance was seen

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Steve Winwood, Billy Idol last night in L.A. for the Who's performance of 'Tommy'

live on pay television, with a potential audience of more than 12 million, although it surely fell short of that. In San Francisco, about 500 subscribers were expected to sign up for the show, at a cost of $19.95 each ($24.95 if they waited to order until the day of the show).

Free on TV

A tape of the concert will be broadcast free, with commercials, on September 13 by Fox Broadcasting. In the Bay Area, it will be aired on KTVU (Channel 2) at 8 p.m.

"What can we say that we haven't said before," said Daltrey as the band kicked into the overture last night.

Backed by a 15-piece band and buoyed by an all-star cast that included Steve Winwood, Billy Idol, Elton John, Phil Collins and Patti LaBelle, the group whipped through a two-record "Tommy" set in little more than an hour.

The band seemed relatively subdued, but the guest stars more than made up for it. On some levels this wasn't really the Who, but an all-star cast performing Who songs. Most of the rock opera's musical highlights came from the guests, but probably the real stars of the show were the songs themselves. Each performer managed to interpret a song in his own style — without damaging the tune. Winwood's "Eyesight to the Blind" could have come off one of his recent albums. And Billy Idol's stint as the twisted cousin ("Cousin Kevin") perfectly suited his punk uber alles personality.

An Inspired Uncle Ernie

Also raising the energy level a notch was Phil Collins, whose twisted performance as the wicked Uncle Ernie was truly inspired. He was great. But the one who brought the crowd to its feet was Patti LaBelle as the Acid Queen. Dressed in a sparkly pink and black outfit, LaBelle tore the song apart, easily equaling Tina Turner's earlier version.

The band was pretty low-key for a live broadcast to an audience of millions. They cracked up over Collins' antics and got mixed up on who was singing lead on "Sally Simpson."

Daltrey still retains some of that scruffy rock and roll look with his denim vest and long scarf. Entwistle, on the other hand, sported a flashy sequined jacket and looked like he could have stumbled in from Vegas.

Dressed in a baggy gray suit, his hair in a pony tail, Townshend, the guiding force behind the band, stuck to rhythm guitar during "Tommy" and turned his trademark lead riffs over to the keyboard player and guitarist. However, he livened up considerably during the second half of the show.

Townshend played with a bandaged hand — he punctured it last week in Tacoma, Wash. — but it didn't seem to affect his playing. And contrary to ru-