Although its musical and lyrical ambitions, not to mention its enormous success, have taken it far beyond its humble west London origins, The Who has always been a working-class rock band.

So it should have come as no surprise that, just a week after the death from a heart attack of John Entwistle, the band’s bass player of 38 years, the British group would already be playing its third show of a three-month North American tour.

Some have criticized the band for starting the tour just days after Entwistle’s death, saying it shows disrespect.

Singer Roger Daltrey acknowledged such criticism from the stage at the close of Thursday night’s show at the AutoWest Amphitheatre north of Sacramento, but he gave the band’s response this way: “If those firemen in New York City had given up, New York would still be a mess. We ain’t givin’ up, either. … Life goes on.”

The Who has gone on before, following the 1978 drug overdose death of original drummer Keith Moon, whose distinctive sound was even more crucial to the band than Entwistle’s fluid, busy bass lines.

But “going on” hasn’t always worked well. The band launched a farewell tour in the early ’80s, after Moon’s death, then reappeared several times with different drummers, none of whom could re-create the magic of Moon’s Who.

Then came Zak. Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, joined the band in 1999, and the August 2000 show

Associated Press/Dave Nielsen The Who – including Roger Daltrey, left, Pete Townshend and Zak Starkey – perform Thursday at the AutoWest Amphitheatre.

at the then-Sacramento Valley Amphitheatre was a revelation. Here was someone who could match the feel and fury of Moon’s highly unorthodox drumming style without mimicking it. He even looked a bit like Moon (as well as his even more famous dad).

The Who that night was as good as ever, with Starkey pushing guitarist-singer Pete Townshend to a furious pitch. Suddenly, despite the lack of any material newer than 20 years old, The Who seemed young again.

On Thursday night, Starkey ► WHO, page E2