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"Can't Explain" is that old.

Sure, they faltered occasionally, seemed to be going through the motions, but, hey, what the heck. You knew what you were getting yourself into, right?

Opening with 35-minute ode to "Tommy," The Who — with a little help from their friends — proved they remain a force on stage.

Entering with a twist of humor, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle took the stage to the familiar theme of TV's "Bonanza."

"Overture" from their 1969 rock opera "Tommy" opened their first set, putting the group's five-piece horn section to immediate use.

The momentum slowed considerably with lesser "Tommy" tunes like "It's a Boy," and even "Acid Queen" lacked cohesion.

"Pinball Wizard" and "We're Not Gonna Take It," however, retained the old Who drive. They were tight and to the point.

Townshend remained largely on acoustic and rhythm guitar, leaving lead guitar to Steve "Boltz" Bolton. (Townshend is all but deaf in one ear.)

Bolton was a serviceable lead but never inspiring.

The real find of the tour is drummer Simon Phillips. No, he's no Keith Moon, but he came close to capturing the late drummer's eruptive force.

Oakland is the final stop in a tour that began 25 cities ago, back on June 23 in Toronto.

Along the way, they squeezed in two complete performances of "Tommy," performed to an estimated 2 million fans and took home a cool $10 million each for their summer excursion.

Not bad for a rock group that even Townshend admits doesn't really exist anymore.

(It's not really a farewell tour — remember, that was in 1982. Call it a nostalgia tour. No, that's too depressing. A history lesson, yeah, that's it.)

They closed out the first set with blistering versions of "I Can See For Miles" and "Who Are You."

Here, Daltrey's gravel voice and Entwistle's bass were sharp.

Much of the best they saved for last. The second set opened with a playful and bouncy version of "Magic Bus," Townshend laying the classic rhythm on his acoustic guitar.

"My Generation," put the crowd into a stutter. "Hope I die before I get old." Well, maybe not.

And with the trademark synthesizer line, they launched into "Baba O'Rielly."

"It's only teen-age wasteland" became a stadium anthem, and The Who continued into the night. Yeah, the kids are all right.