Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend perform as The Who last night at Scotiabank Place. The show started with a string of Who classics, including I Can't Explain, The Seeker and Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere. It was the band's first concert in Ottawa in 37 years, when rock legend has it that they trashed an Ottawa hotel.

Who: Energy dips on new tunes

Huge cheers erupted every time Townshend executed a windmill or Daltrey swung his non-cordless microphone around his head. In fact, those signature, shoulder-straining moves recurred so many times throughout the concert that it looked like they might have to hire a physiotherapist to get through the tour.

The show started with a string of Who classics, including I Can't Explain, The Seeker and Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere as a series of ancient black-and-white film clips on the big screens paid tribute to the band's roots in the British mod scene.

The pace seemed to drop when the band dipped into new material from the soon-to-be-released Endless Wire, the first new studio album from the band since 1982, but the audience had enough respect for the rock legends to give still-wobbly new songs like Fragments and The Man in a Purple Dress a chance. Let's hope the new stuff gains strength as the tour progresses.

Ultimately, the crowd's patience was rewarded with glorious, head-spinning versions of Who are You, My Generation, Won't Get Fooled Again, Pinball Wizard and Baba O'Riley.

Earlier in the evening, the show opened with a brave performance by an unknown modern rock band called Peeping Tom, which consisted of seven people, including a turntablist and a female backup singer who also played violin. Their challenge was to deliver an Incubus-like mix on ears unaccustomed to beats or scratching. They weren't bad, but it's a good thing Canadians are too polite to boo. If they weren't into it, folks last night simply slipped out for a beverage.