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BY JIM DEROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC 

My handy copy of the Merriam-Webster dictionary
defines "nostalgia" as "a wistful yearning for
something past or irrecoverable."

On one level, the Who's performance Saturday night
before a nearly sold-out crowd at the Tweeter Center
definitely fit that bill. The "newest" song the group
played ("Eminence Front") was 20 years old. And with
drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle dead,
the creative nub of the classic lineup is certainly
now "irrecoverable."

But rare is the rock oldies show as vital as the
Who's.

Throughout a 140-minute performance, the band
challenged itself to push familiar material to a new
level of intensity, to prove that songs that are now
rich with irony (whether it's because they've been
tainted by use in TV commercials, or because many of
the fans singing along about a "teenage wasteland" and
how they hope they die before they get old are now in
their mid-50s) still mean something.

When the 57-year-old Entwistle died in Las Vegas the
night before the tour started (apparently as the
result of a wild night of sex and drugs that his heart
condition couldn't abide), Pete Townshend and Roger
Daltrey could be accused of callous indifference and
barely disguised greed in canceling a mere two shows
before resuming the lucrative trek.

So much for a mate who'd been with them for four
decades.

But while one can't entirely discount those motives,
after seeing the show, it seems they felt they still
had something to prove.

The argument that continuing the tour is a "tribute"
to Entwistle is nonsense--his role was acknowledged
only by a brief video montage that preceded the
encore; his replacement, Pino Palladino, was barely
audible in the mix, and Townshend actually made two
rather snarky remarks about the bass giant, noting
that he was now floating somewhere above Las Vegas
spending even more money (Entwistle was reportedly
deep in debt when he died), and the other that his
voice was shot, so the band had already recruited
Pete's brother Simon to sing backing vocals before
they had to replace the Ox on bass as well.

No, this show wasn't about Entwistle. Nor did it seem
to be about loyalty to the Who's peer-group road crew
(who were counting on the tour income, but whom
Daltrey angrily disparaged for screwing up the
mix--more about that odd moment in a second).

This show was about Pete and Roger refusing to go
gently into that good night.

Both men were in peak form. Townshend's guitar playing
has rarely been so inspired or so fiery. While tunes
such as "Baba O'Reilly," "You Better You Bet" and
"5:15" have been staples of many past reunion shows,
their author took them someplace new and exciting
Saturday with his incendiary guitar work.

Meanwhile, the preternaturally well-preserved Daltrey
proudly displayed a washboard stomach and a
weightlifter's physique as he reveled in the joys of
flexing a voice that, amazingly, has lost none of its
range or power.

Daltrey also did something I've never seen any '60s
icon do. When squealing feedback from the monitors
threw him off his game and made him forget the words
to the middle section of "Love, Reign O'er Me," after
chewing out the monitor mixer, he demanded that the
band play the song again in its entirety.

On the one hand, this petulant outburst derailed the
momentum of the set. On the other, it was refreshing
evidence that the Who, unlike peers from Ozzy Osbourne
to Paul McCartney, was not simply playing along to a
computer-timed program and following lyrics as they
scrolled past on a TelePrompTer. This was a band that
was living in the moment, with all of the pros and
cons that entails.

The Who circa 2002 may still simply be the very best
of many Who cover bands. But the best they were. (And
one final shout-out is due Zak Starkey, whose playing
was the other highlight of the set. Ringo's kid has
truly settled into a groove, shaking off the
intimidation he showed during earlier treks to evoke
the spirit of Moon while making his own mark as a
powerful and inventive drummer, more so than Kenny
Jones ever did.)

Alas, the fire the Who displayed was sadly missing in
Robert Plant as he started the night with an hour-long
opening set.

The former Led Zeppelin vocalist is touring behind a
strong and ambitious album, "Dreamland," that explores
the psychedelic folk music he has always held close to
his heart. But Plant felt he had to pander to the
arena-rock crowd--something he's rarely done in solo
performances, and which he certainly didn't do at the
Riviera Theatre last year.

The singer his old band called "Percy" peppered his
set with Zep nuggets ("Celebration Day," "Going to
California," "Four Sticks") that he didn't seem
especially inspired to sing, and which showed the
limitations that time has imposed on his voice. And
while it was well-suited to play the more nuanced,
ethereal material from "Dreamland" (the tune "Morning
Dew" was especially powerful), his band offered only a
pale imitation of Zep during the Zep songs.

The result was a show that worked neither as nostalgia
(like Jimmy Page's jaunt with the Black Crowes) nor as
a step forward (like many of Plant's solo outings in
the past).


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