Review: Music

Daltrey gives Who some heart

By Tom Moon

INQUIRER MUSIC CRITIC

On one side of the CoreStates Center stage stood Who guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend. Looking haggard and dour, he sang the refrain "Why should I care?" as if he really needed a good reason and was counting the minutes until his chore of a performance was over.

A few feet away, his longtime sidekick Roger Daltrey stood stock-still, consumed by his mission. His eyes fixed on a faraway point, Daltrey sang the life story of a troubled boy named Jimmy as though the tale offered urgent insights. "Townshend may not feel much emotion for these songs," he seemed to say, "but I do."

One star sleepwalking, the other giving it his best shot — such is the legacy of the latter-day Who, which enthralled a capacity crowd Sunday with a performance that was just a few notches above rudimentary.

Ever since the 1978 death of drummer Keith Moon, the Who has struggled with the question of whether to continue, and how. The band, once considered the most fervent in the rock-and-roll galaxy, has done a massive "reunion" tour, transformed one of its cherished conceptual works into a Broadway spectacle, and even, in the encore Sunday, gone "unplugged" to reinterpret important hits "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Behind Blue Eyes."

Such gestures have helped the band members' bank accounts, but none has been a complete artistic success. So it was with Sunday's rendition of Quadrophenia, the 1973 "opera" about a speed freak's search for identity. For 90 minutes, Townshend, Daltrey and bassist John Entwistle rolled professionally through Townshend's tense exchanges and thundering, almost orchestral fanfares, using taped vignettes to advance the narrative. The result: a ritualized performance that only occasionally approached the fire of the original.

The Who had lots of help. Drummer Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, drove "Doctor Jimmy" and "The Punk and the Godfather" to passionate heights. A five-piece brass section gave other selections a sense of grandeur. And guests Gary Glitter and Billy Idol provided deliriously exaggerated cameos.

But Daltrey made the evening: Looking incredible for his 52 years, the singer projected manic intensity for the roiling commuter-nightmare rocker "5:15," and belted "Love, Reign O'er Me," Quadrophenia's culminating moment, as though seeking redemption.

Even when he missed notes, Daltrey was heroic. Where Townshend conserved his energy by strumming acoustic guitar (he picked up his electric only near the end, a gesture greeted with massive applause), the singer gave everything he had, eschewing the evening's emphasis on cool competence for some Who-like moments of runaway passion.

The Philadelphia Inquirer / ERIC MENCHER

Roger Daltrey (left) and Pete Townshend of the Who in performance at the CoreStates Center Sunday night.