MUSIC PREVIEW

25 Years Later, ‘Quadrophenia’ Still Rocks, and So Does…

Photo / Davies and Starr GETTING ALONG: Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle (left to right) have left behind the recklessness of youth but still sing about it.

THE WHO

By Marc D. Allan

STAFF WRITER

The heat is rising, the past is calling, the Who is on the road again to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its rock opera Quadrophenia.

“It rocks,” bassist John Entwistle says. “It’s not loud and raucous — well, I am — but it’s a good show. It’s a heavy show. It’s worth coming. We haven’t lost it.”

The tour, which stops at Deer Creek Music Center on Saturday — the Who’s first concert here since 1982 — features the three surviving members of the Who — guitarist Pete Townshend, singer Roger Daltrey and Entwistle. The fourth member, drummer Keith Moon, died in 1978.

Their backing group includes drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son), two keyboardists, a five-piece horn section, Townshend’s brother Simon on guitar, a background singer and two actors/singers playing the parts of the punk and the godfather.

Quadrophenia (which includes the lyrics “the heat is rising/the past is calling”) is one of the Who’s masterworks dealing with the recklessness, brashness and confusion that comes with youth.

The tale is told through a main character, Jimmy, but it’s also the band’s own story of trying to come to terms with adulthood.

The piece is particularly timely because, after 33 years of “maximum R&B,” Entwistle, Daltrey and Townshend have learned to get along.

See THE WHO Page 3

The Who Opening act: Ryan Downe. Where: Deer Creek Music Center, 12880 E. 146th St. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $45 pavilion, $20 lawn; Ticketmaster or (317) 239-5151.