Rock legends pack Meadows

12,000 fans came to hear The Who Saturday.

By Joyce Marcel

Music critic

HARTFORD 6 There were many stories enacted on stage during The Who's extraordinary performance of Peter Townshend's 1973 rock opera, "Quadrophenia," at the Meadows Music Theater Saturday night.

There was the opera, of course.

And the story of

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the three survivors of a legendary band: guitarist Townshend, the premiere composer of the rock era; singer Roger Daltry, 52, looking, sounding and moving as well as he did in his 20s; and bassist John Entwistle, tall, still, regal, and brilliant, especially in his long solo during "5:15."

All three men are over 50 and Townshend and Entwistle are close to deaf, yet they gave a fully passionate performance that lasted, without a stop, for one hour and 35 minutes. And that was just the opera.

Then there's the story of the missing Keith Moon, the best rock drummer ever, who died in 1978.

In Zak Starkey, son of Ringo, the band has found a powerhouse of a replacement.

With all this drama going on, it was still the music that overwhelmed.

"Quadrophenia" tells the story of a pill-popping and sardonic youth named Jimmy. With the

Staff photo by DAVID MOLNAR Veteran rocker Roger Daltry, left, belts out a song with band mate Peter Townshend in the background as The Who brought its "Quadrophenia" tour to the Meadows Music Theater Saturday.

help of film footage, we learn about his stultifying home life, his alienation from society, his attempts to fit in and be a mod, his participation in the mod-rocker riots at Brighton, his fear that he's schizophrenic doubled, or quadrophenic, and we see his final epiphany with the glorious "Love Reign O'er Me."

The story is presented as songs separated by rock recitatives.

Two singers, Greg Waters and P. J. Proby, played the rocker and the mod on platforms at the sides of the stage. An actor on the screen played Jimmy, speaking from the liner notes of the original album.

Center stage were Daltry, Entwistle and Townshend, who played both electric and acoustic guitars and windmilled several times. They were backed by guitarist (and brother) Simon Townshend, two keyboardists, five horn players, and a percussionist.

The music flooded in waves over the more than 12,000 people in the audience, and many moments stood out: the harmony between Proby and Daltry on "Cut My Hair," the ripping musicality of "I've Had Enough," the passion of "Sea and Sand," the audience and Townshend's humorously hateful response to Waters in "Bell Boy" and Townshend's haunting acoustic solo on "Drowned."

After a brief intermission, the band returned for a mini-Who concert that included "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Substitute," "Can't Explain" and "Who Are You." Even though Townshend warned us that Daltry's voice was going, he sang without holding anything back. It may have taken eight people to make the joyful noise once made by four, but the music was gorgeous, Townshend and Daltry, known for their rivalry, hugged, and everybody was loving everybody at the end.

Drivin' and Cryin', a hard-driving rock band from Georgia did an excellent job of opening the show.