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After loss, the Who wows Mtn. View crowd
By Brad Kava
Mercury News

The band that once sang it hoped to die before it got
old, shared a new feeling with a packed house at
Shoreline Amphitheatre on Wednesday night: It was
happy to still be alive.

Playing its second concert since the death of bassist
John Entwistle from an apparent heart attack, the Who
sounded galvanized by the pain of the loss.

``It's one day at a time for us,'' said singer Roger
Daltrey, three songs into a show that had the crowd on
its feet all night.

``I don't need to say more than what's been said
already. . . . Rock 'n' roll was never meant to be
easy. Nor was life. You just get on with it.''

With replacement Pino Palladino, the band's first
three songs sounded almost identical to versions
played two years ago at the same Mountain View venue.

But with the fourth song, ``Who Are You?'' which is
about rising from the depths, something else kicked
in.

``How can I measure up to anyone now after such a love
as this,'' Daltrey sang, and he could have been
bemoaning the loss of his friend and band mate of four
decades.

The next song, ``Another Tricky Day,'' seemed to
reassert his earlier comment to the audience. ``You've
got to get used to it, it's another tricky day for
you,'' he sang.

Guitarist Pete Townshend started his signature
windmills on guitar early on and couldn't help smiling
as the band weaved an intense instrumental opening to
``Eminence Front.''

``I'm particularly happy being in Silicon Valley being
a Mac man,'' Townshend told the crowd. ``I'm thrilled
the way God planned to have Pino Palladino in an
airport waiting in Philadelphia.''

Founding members Townshend and Daltrey were backed by
Palladino, drummer Zak Starkey (son of Beatles drummer
Ringo Starr), pianist John ``Rabbit'' Bundrick and
backup guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete's brother).

Palladino may have been a bit lower in the mix than
Entwistle might have been, but his playing was
skillful and transparent on the classic Who tunes.

The band has no new album and is showcasing its
greatest hits on a tour expected to take in $1 million
a night. The 26-show North American swing is scheduled
to end Sept. 28 in Toronto.

Fans were as undeterred as the band. No one returned
tickets, and, in fact, ticket sales spiked after news
of Entwistle's death.

``I had no second thoughts about coming,'' said Julia
Hartman, 40, a professional Ferrari race driver who
flew to the show from Santa Barbara. ``I was just
happy the band was going to play.''

Kat Mergens, 13, a freshman at Northgate High School
in Walnut Creek, defied the show's expected
demographics. Her father would play her music by the
classic rock band when she was younger, but she was
the driving force in her family to get tickets.

``I like the Who because they're out there to have
fun. They're not alcoholics or druggies -- just good
clean fun,'' said Kat.

Diane Waidel, 49-year-old accountant from Placerville,
said she came hoping for a tribute to Entwistle and
because ``at some point, we're all going to get too
old for this.''

WHO ARE YOU?Pino Palladino was tapped to replace Who
bassist John Entwistle, who died last week. The Welsh
session musician is hardly a household name -- except
to fellow musicians and fans who closely read CD liner
notes.

The Who connection: Palladino played with Who
guitarist Pete Townshend on the solo album ``White
City: A Novel'' and on tour. He also backed singer
Roger Daltrey on the 1994 album ``Celebration: the
Music of the Who.''

Can he rock? He has played with Jeff Beck, Eric
Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour,
Squeeze's Jools Holland and Bon Jovi's Richie
Samborra.

Busy: Palladino is a veteran session man, who has
appeared on hundreds of albums. His credits include
D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Paul Young, Elton John, Phil
Collins, Tina Turner, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley,
Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Tears for Fears, Gary Numan,
Joan Armatrading, Chaka Khan, Femi Kuti, Zucchero,
B.B. King, Nikka Costa, Luciano Pavarotti, Oleta
Adams, Howard Jones and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

No substitute: Pete Townshend explained on his Web
site: ``I made it clear we do not expect him to
attempt to emulate, parody or copy John Entwistle in
any way. Pino is a master in his own way, but the one
request I made was that -- at first -- he play as loud
as he can bear!''


-- 
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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