The Who raise Tweeter roof

By Steve Morse

GLOBE STAFF

MANSFIELD — And then there were two. The two remaining members of The Who — Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend — were criticized last month for opting to tour so soon after the sudden death of bassist John Entwistle, but tour they did anyway. And Friday night’s show definitely suffered from the absence of Entwistle, but not as much as some Who purists predicted.

Bassist Pino Palladino, who has played in Townshend’s solo band, filled in competently, though without the flash and power associated with Entwistle. Fortunately, though, Daltrey and Townshend lifted their own efforts and made this a night to remember despite the lingering squeamishness.

The Who roared out of the gate with early classics “I Can’t Explain” and “Substitute,” before settling into a rewarding night that had some rough spots, but ended on a fiery upsweep with such vintage chestnuts as “The Kids Are Alright” (with Townshend, looking fit in a tight black T-shirt, jamming on his guitar like a man possessed), “My Generation” (with the line “hope I die before I get old” taking on an eerie meaning, as Daltrey even rolled his eyes while singing it), and the crunching “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” the highlight of the band’s appearance at the Concert for New York last fall.

The capacity 19,900 fans wouldn’t let The Who leave until the band had come back (even after the 11 p.m. curfew) to perform such additional songs as “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me” from the rock opera “Tommy.”

In other cities, Daltrey has commented on Who bandmate Entwistle, but this time it was Townshend. With yesterday’s news still fresh that Entwistle had traces of cocaine in his system when he died, Townshend said, in somewhat persnickety fashion:

The Who With Robert Plant At: The Tweeter Center, Friday night

“Some of us are still careful about what we eat and what we drink. We might not have as much fun as John Entwistle was having in Las Vegas; we’re pretty sure he was enjoying himself — it’s not to be recommended.”

Entwistle was remembered more fondly in a photo montage at the end of the program. Pictures of “The Ox,” as he was known, were flashed on two side video screens and the crowd got a chance to pour out, indeed scream out, its emotion.

The Who performed on a propless stage, with the accent on the music. Rounding out the band was Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother) on rhythm guitar, Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son) on drums (and what an excellent job he did of keeping the songs together, even when Daltrey’s voice occasionally went out of control), and longtime associate Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards.

The concert started with ’60s tunes, but moved through every era after that. The song “Who Are You” was capped with Townshend windmilling on guitar and spitting on the stage like a wild man. “Relay” was a crunching outtake from the album “Who’s Next,” then “I Can See for Miles,” “Baba O’Riley,” and “Eminence Front” led to a few songs from “Quadrophenia” (with a blood-curdling scream from Daltrey on “Love Reign O’er Me”). And then came more nirvana with “Behind Blue Eyes” and “You Better You Bet,” leading to yet another string of classics. (The Who just announced it will return to the Tweeter Center on Sept. 27. Tickets go on sale Saturday.)

Opener Robert Plant warmed up with a tasty set of ’60s acid-psychedelic covers from his new album, “Dreamland” (the Youngbloods’ “Darkness, Darkness” stood out), before touching some of his Led Zeppelin bases, the best being “Going to California.”