By SEAN SPILLANE

sspillane@ctpost.com

It seems a singer, like an athlete, needs time to shake off the rust of inactivity.

But unlike athletes, who go through training camps to get in shape, singers are thrust into the public eye and may not be vocally ready for the demands made upon them.

When I saw The Who at Madison Square Garden in September, the band had just a few shows under its belt after several years off and it showed.

Tuesday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, it was a totally different story. Two months on the road has the musicians playing much tighter and singer Roger Daltrey back in form as one of the top rock roarers out there.

To use another sports analogy, Daltrey reached back for a few of the miles that he seemed to have lost off his fastball during the New York City concert and, quite frankly, The Whos latest album, Endless Wire.

Theres just a spark he adds to the band when hes on and that was evident Tuesday night during blistering versions of Baba ORiley and, most telling, Wont Get Fooled Again. The famous yell near the end of Fooled? He nailed it, much to the delight of the sell-out crowd of around 10,000 in the sweltering venue.

The Whos mastermind, Pete Townshend, also seemed in better spirits Tuesday night, smiling and joking and, most importantly, playing the guitar like the monster he is. He may not jump about as much or trash his instruments, but he still thrills with his trademark windmills and is always a captivating performer  even on perceived off nights.

It also helped to see this legendary band in a venue like the Arena at Harbor Yard, which is half the size of Madison Square Garden and has a sound system that doesnt have to take a backseat to any venue of its size, including the Mohegan Sun Arena, where The Who will play Friday night.

Another difference in The Whos concert this time around is that Endless Wire wasnt released until Oct. 31, so the New York audience hadnt had a chance to hear any of it. Having liked the new record  the bands first new album since 1982s Its Hard  it made it much easier to follow the new

Connecticut Post/Christian Abraham

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend lead The Who during Tuesday nights concert at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

The set list

I Cant Explain/The Seeker/ Anyway Anyhow Anywhere/ Fragments/Who Are You/ Behind Blue Eyes/ Sound Round/Pick Up the Peace/ Endless Wire/We Got a Hit/ They Made My Dream Come True/Mirror Door/Baba ORiley/Eminence Front/A Man in a Purple Dress/Mike Post Theme/You Better You Bet/My Generation/Cry If You Want/Wont Get Fooled Again Encore: Pinball Wizard/ Amazing Journey/Sparks/See Me Feel Me/Tea & Theatre

songs, particularly the six songs from Endless Wires mini opera, Wire & Glass.

But, lets face it, 10,000 people didnt file into Bridgeport to hear the new songs. They wanted the ones that fill classic-rock radio playlists every day and, of course, The Who delivered.

To start the concert, three classic cuts: I Cant Explain, The Seeker and Anyway Anyhow Anywhere.

After the new Fragments, the group dipped back into the staples for Who Are You and Behind Blue Eyes.

Like the show at the Garden, it was refreshing that there were few people who headed out into the lobby during the six Wire & Glass songs. It showed a real respect that most of The Whos fans stuck around to give the music a chance instead of just showing up for a greatest hits-type show.

They also were rewarded at the end of Wire & Glass with Baba ORiley, which garnered

a huge round of applause from the faithful.

It was the loudest ovation of the night, until the set-closing Wont Get Fooled Again. The crowd clapped in unison near the end, almost egging Daltrey on for his big moment and he obviously fed off the energy.

The encore started out great with a trio of up-tempo tunes from Tommy  Pinball Wizard, Amazing Journey and Sparks. The ending was a bit of a downer with two slow songs, See Me Feel Me, again from Tommy, and the new Tea & Theatre.

A small complaint after two hours spent listening to rock royalty.

Make that almost three hours, as the opening act, The Pretenders, was great in its own right during a 50-minute set. The timeless Chrissie Hynde sounded terrific and looked as if they opened a time capsule from 1980, strutting the stage in her black top hat and white coattails.

It was almost 50 minutes of pure Pretenders classics  Night in My Veins, Message of Love, Dont Get Me Wrong, My City Was Gone, Back on the Chain Gang, etc.

The Pretenders also did a cover of Bob Dylans Forever Young and closed with a surprise, the first song from the groups self-titled debut album, Precious, which showed this rock chick can still spew venom with any of the boys.

The Who, with The Pretenders opening, will perform Friday night at 7:30 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Tickets ($87-$202) are available through all Ticketmaster outlets or by phone at 368-1000.