A stage full of Who is what it was Tuesday night in a near-sellout crowd at Van Andel Arena.

Pete Townshend, as painfully candid and ornery as he can be at times, also oozes sincerity with his relentless intensity on stage, enshrining him as one of rock ’n’ roll’s most endearing performers.

On Tuesday night at Van Andel Arena, Townshend – amid a stunning two and one-quarter hour display of machine-gun-like guitar riffs and his trademark arm-swooping windmills – was shrewd enough to recognize that special bond, especially considering fans paid as much as $225 a ticket to see guys whose last bona fide hit single rode the airwaves two decades ago.

“Thank you for dragging your hard-working bodies here to see us play. Thank you for paying your hard-earned cash to see us play,” he told an exuberant, very near-sellout crowd of more than 10,000. “We really appreciate it.”

There’s a school of thought that would paint the Who as an oldies act capitalizing on its colorful legacy to cash in on a high-priced reunion tour (even if there are only two original Whos left in Whoville to reunite).

Then there’s the academy of raving rock fandom: “Holy Toledo, the Who is playing Grand Rapids, fer cryin’ out loud!”

Both camps are right, of course.

But the legendary British group’s first-ever Grand Rapids concert left few caring about the band’s motives for touring so soon after the death of one of its own, bassist John Entwistle, or worrying about the size of Daltrey on Townshend’s checkbooks.

That’s because at their best – and they were Tuesday – they still capture the youthful rebelliousness of rock, even if Daltrey and Townshend are “kids” who’ve slipped into the darker, or grayer, half of their 50s.

Their songs – “My Generation,” “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” “The Kids Are Alright” – still resonate with an anti-establishment cockiness that works as an anthem for four decades of rock, so much so that when Daltrey and Townshend changed the lyrics to “our kids are all right” it sounded, well, all right and drew mammoth cheers from the mostly 40-and-over audience (though it should be noted that teens and 20-somethings were a visible presence in the arena).

That same audience, though overwhelmingly drawn to the Who, gave former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and his new band Strange Sensation a raucous standing ovation at the end of Plant’s one-hour-plus opening set – a set that called upon his dark and dreamy new solo album, "Dreamland," as well as heavy standards from the Zeppelin era, including a blistering encore version of “Whole Lotta Love.”

Nobody “ooohs” and “baby, baby, baby’s” quite like Plant, whose voice actually sounds stronger and more versatile than it did several years ago when he toured with guitarist and ex-bandmate Jimmy Page.

Nobody plays rock guitar quite like Townshend, either.

The godfather of punk himself is still a monster on the instrument, even if he looks like a crazed chemistry instructor on a weekend fling, playing with more energy and sheer rhythmic power than rock musicians (and high school teachers) one-third his age.

He’s literally impossible not to watch, whether seesawing back and forth with his guitar pointed like a bayonet at the crowd during “Bargain,” leaping into the air at the end of “Baba O’Riley,” furiously pounding the strings on “The Relay” and “Sea and Sand” or deftly tweaking his guitar’s whammy bar and twisting the volume knob in one fluid motion to get the perfect unbridled tone on “5:15.” Yes, the kid can still play.

Daltrey, though clearly straining to hit some high notes, remains as fit as a kid, making up for any vocal shortcomings with an ebullient delivery, those signature microphone cord swings and such emphatic tambourine pounding that one of the percussion instruments literally disintegrated in a shower of jangles and straps on “See Me Feel Me,” which closed the encore.

Townshend addressed some of the gruff vocals after Daltrey chose to forgo a line at the end of “Love Reign O’er Me,” explaining the group had three back-to-back shows last weekend and there’s “not much you can do about it except croak.”

The Who did much more than just croak.

Much better rehearsed and clearly more potent than they were on their 2000 tour, which made a stop at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the band benefited from Zak Starkey’s ever more blistering drum work (which fans now seem to appreciate almost as much as that of original drummer Keith Moon), John “Rabbit” Bundrick’s solid keyboard playing and the additions of Townshend’s brother, Simon, on rhythm guitar and studio bassist Pino Palladino, who filled in admirably with an Entwistle-like reservedness.

Entwistle died in late June of a heart attack caused by cocaine use just as the Who was set to begin its U.S. tour. Townshend briefly acknowledged his fallen comrade, saying other band members “made the whole thing easier to bear.”

On Tuesday, half of that whole Who thing – namely, Townshend and Daltrey – turned out to be more than enough for most diehard disciples.

These kids really are all right.

WHO SHOW

Van Andel hosted a big one Tuesday night:

The performers: The Who, with opener Robert Plant

Who highlights: Pete Townshend’s wild windmill strum on “I Can’t Explain” less than two minutes into the show, Zak Starkey’s impressive Keith Moon impersonation on “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” – the explosive guitar assault at the close of “5:15,” the expanded lyrical charm of “The Kids Are Alright.”

Plant-atic Moments:

After a rousing rendition of “Tall Cool One,” Plant and cohorts plowed confidently into Led Zeppelin land with “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” then returned for a crowd-pleasing encore of “Whole Lotta Love.”

Who Cares: “Another Tricky Day” just isn’t that memorable a tune, especially when it starts with some flawed harmonies. I’d take “Magic Bus” or “Join Together” as a “substitute” in the set list any day.

Stage Quip: “We’re both blond, we both have curly hair, we both like rock singing, we both go to bed early every night, and we both like to tell lies.” – Robert Plant, talking about Roger Daltrey

Who Fan Quip: “I’m just still attracted to their music after all these years. They’re rock ’n’ roll brilliant. Their music has not only stood the test of time, but it still speaks to all generations.” – Jim McCormick, 49, of Rockford, who’s seen the Who more than 20 times since the 1960s.

Concert Length: 1 hour and 9 minutes for Plant (10 songs); 2 hours, 18 minutes for the Who (21 songs)

Attendance: 10,219

Overall Grade: A

Roger Daltrey sings for Tuesday’s near-capacity Van Andel crowd.

Pete Townshend, legendary Who guitarist, plays it up.

Robert Plant, of Led Zep fame, opened the show.