[no subject]

Review: Half a Who 
American Airlines Center concert reveals a band
struggling for composure 

09/22/2002 

By THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News 

"Who Are You," indeed. 

The Who limped into town Saturday night at American
Airlines Center and did an admirable job of trying to
keep its grand legend alive. But it wasn't a
particularly easy night  either for the group or for
longtime fans who remember seeing the Who back when it
truly was the greatest live band in rock  not just a
rough facsimile of one. 

"This is what we still call a band," a bemused Pete
Townshend said early in the show, referring to the
June death of founding bassist John Entwistle. "This
is what's left of us." 

What's left of them  basically, Mr. Townshend and
Roger Daltrey  showed flashes of brilliance, but for
the most part, they no more resembled the Who than the
Las Vegas-styled big-band version of the group that
toured the United States in 1989. Mr. Entwistle's
thundering zigzag bass lines were sorely missed: His
replacement, Pino Palladino, was barely audible amid
the AAC's sludgy acoustics. 

But the bigger letdown was Mr. Daltrey, the
once-gymnastic singer who now sounded like he
chain-smoked a pack of cigarettes before he walked
onstage. Newly hired backup singer Simon Townshend 
Pete's kid brother  helped immeasurably. Still, Mr.
Daltrey's hoarse vocals and inability to hit the high
notes put a damper on classics such as "Bargain" and
"Love, Reign O'er Me." 

Lacking any new material  it hasn't put out a studio
album in 20 years  the band focused on the greatest
hits, playing largely the same songs as it did in 2000
at Reunion Arena. But they still found a sense of
power and mystery in some of the golden oldies. 

With Mr. Townshend making up new lyrics and Mr.
Daltrey strumming an acoustic guitar, "The Kids Are
Alright" morphed into a tender, piano-driven folk
tune. Mr. Townshend reinvented "5:15"  skipping the
bombast in favor of a surprisingly introspective
ending  and pumped new blood into "Substitute" and
"My Generation" with improvised, barbed-wire solos. 

He had lost none of his bizarre sense of humor,
either. After lauding his brother Simon's singing, the
guitarist took a macabre jab at Mr. Entwistle: "His
voice had already tragically died before he tragically
died." 

Later, after blazing through "Baba O'Riley," he said
he hoped the Who's performance at the post-9/11
"Concert for New York City" wouldn't forever color the
meaning of that song and others like "Won't Get Fooled
Again." 

"Let them live again in their own right," he said,
pausing for comedic effect, "so we can sell them for
shampoo commercials." 

E-mail tchristensen@dallasnews.com 


=====
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