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The Who knows why its rock lives long

By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 7/27/2002

MANSFIELD - And then there were two. The two remaining
members of The Who - Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend
- were criticized last month for opting to tour so
soon after the sudden death of bassist John Entwistle,
but tour they did anyway. And last night's show
definitely suffered from the absence of Entwistle, but
not as much as some Who purists predicted. 

Bassist Pino Palladino, who has played in Townshend's
solo band, filled in competently, though without the
flash and power associated with Entwistle.
Fortunately, though, Daltrey and Townshend lifted
their own efforts and made this a night to remember
despite the lingering squeamishness.

The Who roared out of the gate with early classics ''I
Can't Explain'' and ''Substitute,'' before settling
into a rewarding night that had some rough spots, but
ended on a fiery upsweep with such vintage chestnuts
as ''The Kids Are Alright'' (with Townshend, looking
fit in a tight black T-shirt, jamming on guitar like a
man possessed), ''My Generation'' (with the line
''hope I die before I get old'' taking on an eerie
meaning, as Daltrey even rolled his eyes while singing
it), and the crunching ''Won't Get Fooled Again,'' the
highlight of the band's appearance at the Concert for
New York last fall.

The capacity 19,900 fans wouldn't let The Who leave
last night until the band had come back (even after
the 11 p.m. curfew) to perform such additional songs
as ''Pinball Wizard'' and ''See Me, Feel Me'' from the
rock opera ''Tommy.''

In other cities, Daltrey has commented on Who bandmate
Entwistle, but this time it was Townshend. With
yesterday's news still fresh that Entwistle had traces
of cocaine in his system when he died, Townshend said,
in somewhat persnickety fashion: ''Some of us are
still careful about what we eat and what we drink. We
might not have as much fun as John Entwistle was
having in Las Vegas; we're pretty sure he was enjoying
himself - it's not to be recommended.''

Entwistle was remembered more fondly in a photo
montage at the end of the program. Pictures of ''The
Ox,'' as he was known, were flashed on two side video
screens and the crowd got a chance to pour out, indeed
scream out, its emotion.

The Who performed on a propless stage, with the accent
on the music. Rounding out the band was Simon
Townshend (Pete's brother) on rhythm guitar, Zak
Starkey (Ringo's son) on drums (and what an excellent
job he did of keeping the songs together, even when
Daltrey's voice occasionally went out of control), and
longtime associate Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards.

The concert started with '60s tunes, but moved through
every era after that. The song ''Who Are You'' was
capped with Townshend windmilling on guitar and
spitting on the stage like a wild man. ''Relay'' was a
crunching outake from the album ''Who's Next,'', then
''I Can See for Miles,'' ''Baba O'Riley,'' and
''Eminence Front'' led to a few songs from
''Quadrophenia'' (with a blood-curdling scream from
Daltrey on ''Love Reign O'er Me''). And then came more
nirvana with ''Behind Blue Eyes'' and ''You Better You
Bet,'' leading to yet another string of classics. (The
Who just announced it will return to the Tweeter
Center on Sept. 27. Tickets go on sale next Saturday.)

Opener Robert Plant warmed up with a tasty set of '60s
acid-psychedelic covers from his new album,
''Dreamland'' (the Youngbloods' ''Darknesss,
Darkness'' stood out), before touching some of his Led
Zeppelin bases, the best being ''Going to
California.''

The Who

With Robert Plant

At: The Tweeter Center, last night

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on
7/27/2002.


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-Brian in Atlanta
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