I believe I'm supposed to accuse former Who composer-guitarist Pete Townshend of being "self-indulgent." The phrase has popped up in nearly every review of Townshend's new solo album "PsychoDerelict," as well as the accompanying tour. Townshend even used it himself Monday night, the first of two sold-out shows at the Berkeley Community Theater, half-mockingly shouting "indulgent crap!" as the mini-opera wound to a close.

Yet "indulgent" isn't the first adjective that comes to mind for Townshend's music-theater piece about an aging rock star. Uneven, trifling or just plain bad seems more appropriate.

Briefly, "PsychoDerelict" is the story of Ray High, a former 1960s rock superstar who has fallen into a creative and commercial slump, although he's fascinated with a virtual-reality project called "Gridlife." With some prodding from

Please see Townshend, C-2