FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2002 THE STAR-LEDGER FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 2-8, 2002 PAGE 17

REVIEW

Guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey are dressed in black, but there was little to mourn and lots to celebrate in The Who’s performance Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

JOHN MUNSON/THE STAR-LEDGER

Townshend electrifies The Who

Fill-ins provide able backing for soaring guitar and Daltrey’s vocals

POP/ROCK

The Who, with Robert Plant opening

Where and when: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, Manhattan; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel

How much: $54-$250 for New York; $39.75-$151.75 for Holmdel. Call (201) 507-8900.

BY JAY LUSTIG

STAR-LEDGER STAFF

NEW YORK — The Who will never be the same. But they can still be great.

That was the message of the band’s Wednesday night show at Madison Square Garden, the first of four New York shows on a tour that began just days after the June 27 death of bassist and co-founder John Entwistle. (The tour also comes to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on Aug. 30.)

Veteran session bassist Pino Palladino stepped in at the last moment, the tour went on, and Palladino skillfully duplicated Entwistle’s restless bass lines at the Garden. But the real reason why the show was such a classic-rock treat was that Pete Townshend is once again playing his guitar like an angry young man.

Though he has played a lot of acoustic guitar on recent Who tours, he stuck to electric guitar throughout this show. He played bristling power chords on “I Can’t Explain” and lightning-fast runs on “Sparks.” Songs like “My Generation,” “5:15” and “Bargain” ended with him producing flurries of jagged riffs as drummer Zak Starkey bashed away in the style of original Who drummer Keith Moon (who died in 1978).

Singer Roger Daltrey was in good form, too, and John “Rabbit” Bundrick (on keyboards) and Townshend’s brother Simon (on guitar) turned the group into a sextet. But Townshend dominated from start to finish. He and Daltrey stood close together at center stage for much of the show, as if reaffirming their bond, and hugged each other at the end of the regular set, and after the encore.

Townshend paid tribute to Entwistle in a new verse to “The Kids Are Alright,” describing him as a classmate who had died, then singing “I don’t think there’s such a thing as dying for rock ’n’ roll … you can only live for it.” Before the encore, photos of Entwistle, both alone and with bandmates, were shown on the concert’s video screens.

As good as Palladino was, his solo during “My Generation” displayed none of the ferocity Entwistle brought to the famous original solo. Starkey also flubbed an opportunity for a big moment in the instrumental buildup before the final scream of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”; his drumming simply lacked the abandon of Moon’s blueprint.

Clearly this rhythm section can’t step into the spotlight as easily as the band’s original rhythm section did. But that’s not a big deal. Their job, through 99 percent of the show, was to create a roiling wave that Townshend and Daltrey could soar over, and they did that just fine.

There was a strange moment toward the end of the show. Someone threw a bottle onstage and hit Daltrey in the arm. Infuriated, he challenged the unknown assailant to join him onstage, so he could stick the bottle someplace you usually don’t find bottles.

Soon, Townshend deflated the situation. “Let me tell you what you’re supposed to throw up here: watches, cameras, wallets, credit cards, your girlfriends,” he joked. After someone threw some cash onstage, he picked it up and intoned with mock seriousness, “That money will go toward Roger’s hospital bill.”

Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant opened the show, playing songs from his new “Dreamland” album as well as some Led Zeppelin material (the stomping “Four Sticks,” the delicate ballad, “Going To California,” the epic blues, “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”). Even on the non-Zeppelin material, his band generated an exotic, Zeppelin-like mix of blues, rock and world music.

Townshend and Daltrey, who dressed in black, presented themselves as hyperactive, born-again punks, but Plant, in an all-white outfit, played his role with regal graciousness, bowing theatrically and holding his hand over his heart while accepting the audience’s applause. Like Daltrey, he epitomizes a certain brand of leonine ’70s rock frontman, and his voice has held up well. Though tickets are not cheap for the Garden shows (they're $54-$250), it’s rare that you see such a legend as an opening act.

The Who playlist

The Who played the following songs, in this order, Wednesday at Madison Square Garden:

“I Can’t Explain”

“Substitute”

“Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere”

“Who Are You”

“Another Tricky Day”

“Relay”

“Bargain”

“Baba O’Riley”

“Sea and Sand”

“5:15”

“Love, Reign O’er Me”

“Eminence Front”

“Behind Blue Eyes”

“You Better You Bet”

“The Kids Are Alright”

“My Generation”

“Won’t Get Fooled Again”

Encore:

“Tommy” medley (“Pinball Wizard,” “Amazing Journey,” “Sparks,” “See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You”)