Who Am I?

Opening the show Wednesday night at the HP Pavilion was a local outfit called Roseville Drive. From our vantage point (as far from the stage as a person could get and still be inside the arena), they could have been the Donnas. But there were only three of them. And they were guys. (Still, they sounded suspiciously like the Wilson Sisters.)

At 8:30 sharp, the Pavilion went dark and Pete, Roger, (Beatle progeny) Zach Starkey, Simon Townshend and two other guys who are not John Entwistle took the stage. Pete was clad head-to-toe in black, looking older than ever. But then again, he always seemed beyond his years, even in his 20s. Roger wore blue -— jeans, tee and sunglasses. He still looks great, although like Barry Bonds, age has made him beefier.

They launched right into "I Can't Explain," and the audience went wild. As Pete's right arm swung into the first guitar-strumming windmill of the night, he elicited raucous cheers from the thousands of FOAs (Friends of Alleve) in the audience. A quick run through "The Seeker" and "Substitute" followed, all timed to interesting graphics and funky lights.

A song whose intro sounded like that of "Baba O'Riley" came next. It was actually a foretaste of the "Endless Wire" material that came later, in what Pete called a "condensed" set. Bunching the new songs together was a smart idea for a band whose fans came out to hear hits, not necessarily cuts off the latest release.

Pete rode his whammy and Roger strummed an acoustic through a rousing "Who Are You?" (How many in the audience think the song was written for "CSI"?) It was one of a handful of times all night that Roger took a break from his famously wacky microphone-tossing moves. Surely, HP Pavilion (of all places) has cordless capabilities. But taking advantage of them would deprive Roger of his most faithful dance partner. Then, what would he do onstage? (No, seriously. WHAT?)

A sweet "Behind Blue Eyes" (with some appropriately trippy eyes-into-fractals-into-eyes images) was followed by a breathtaking "Baba O'Riley." Pete's phrasing on the "Teenage Wasteland" line and Roger's virtuoso harmonica solo alone were enough to warrant a standing ovation. And they got one.

"You Better Your Bet" is always a great sing-along, but it was overtaken by the flood of memories unleashed during the opening chords of "My Generation." The nostalgic high point was stoked by video of exuberant dancers from decades of generations –- Mods, Punks, fox trotters and break dancers -- on the screens. A wandering guitar solo and a wistful Pete's "Hope I die before I get old" made the song shine.

The band closed the main set with "Won't Get Fooled Again." One of the only Who songs with overtly political lyrics, it had oodles of extra resonance, given previous day's Midterm Elections. "Who was marching on the left, is now marching on the right" and "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." Indeed.

An electrifying "Pinball Wizard" kicked off an encore of songs from "Tommy." The suite also included "The Amazing Journey," selections from the lustrous "Underture" and the "See Me, Feel Me" portion of "We're Not Gonna Take It."

Unless we go strictly by age, it's impossible to tell who in the audience was an original 1960s Who fan, who was late to the party but raised on art-house screenings of "The Kids Are Alright" and "Quadrophenia" and who had no idea who their parents were dragging them to see. ("Who?")

In the end, it didn't matter. With their solid backup band and classic-rock repertoire, Pete and Roger may sound as good in their 60s as they did in the '60s. And that's Maximum Rock & Roll.