No smashed guitars, but The Who concert in Phoenix still lived up to the band's legend

In their day, they were the greatest, most exciting live performers rock ‘n’ roll had ever known, an unhinged force of nature leaving shards of smashed guitars and battered drum kits in their wake.

We’ll never see that Who again.

They lost Keith Moon, the most electrifying drummer on the planet, to an early death by misadventure in 1978. And lead bassist John Entwistle, he of the thundering Rotosounds, died in 2002.

That leaves Pete Townshend, now 77, and microphone-twirling frontman Roger Daltrey, now 78, to carry on the legacy of a band whose early claims to fame included a stuttering youth-culture anthem whose most defiant moment was the oft-quoted lyric "I hope I die before I get old."

Only that didn’t happen for Daltrey and Townshend. They’re still here with that same albatross around their necks. And we’re all better for it, as Sunday’s performance at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix made perfectly clear.

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Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell opened the show

From the early days of Mudcrutch through Tom Petty’s final show on the Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour, Mike Campbell was the greatest right-hand man a guy with Petty’s talents could’ve hoped to find.

A brilliant lead guitarist, Campbell gave each song exactly what it needed and co-wrote such classics as “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl” and “You Got Lucky."

The challenge now for Campbell is establishing his own identity outside the context of the Heartbreakers.

That won’t be easy, especially given the obvious echoes of his former bandmate's tone and phrasing in his own lead vocals as he led the Dirty Knobs in an opening set that included such Heartbreakers staples as "Listen to Her Heart," a haunting, waltz-time rendition of "Refugee" and "Runnin' Down a Dream."

They also dusted off three highlights of the albums they've released since Petty's death in 2017, which felt like natural extensions of the Heartbreakers' expansive catalog.

And maybe that's OK. He was a huge part of what made that music special. And now he's out reviving the spirit of one of America's greatest rock 'n' roll bands.

We'll never see the Heartbreakers again. But this felt close enough for rock 'n' roll.

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Operatic orchestra and unplugged moments on The Who Hits Back! Tour

The Who Hits Back! Tour finds the two surviving sources of that marvelous musical maelstrom joined by longtime drummer Zak Starkey (the first replacement unafraid to channel Moonie), Townshend's amazingly talented brother Simon on guitar, Loren Gold and Emily Marshall on keyboards, Jon Button on bass and backup singer Billy Nicholls.

Their sound was further fleshed out by an awe-inspiring 48-piece orchestra conducted by Keith Levenson as they opened with six songs from “Tommy,” a pioneering rock opera released in 1969 that even now remains one of The Who’s most celebrated masterstrokes.

Those "Tommy" highlights benefited greatly from the orchestration, as did several more unlikely choices for that treatment, from “Eminence Front," which felt more like some great lost Curtis Mayfield track, to the violin-driven conclusion of "Baba O'Riley."

After bringing the opening section to a close with “Ball and Chain,” the lone selection from their latest album, “Who,” they sent the orchestra away for a segment whose highlights included a raucous “You Better You Bet," a suitably anthemic "Won't Get Fooled Again" and a beautiful unplugged and seated "Behind Blue Eyes."

Then, it was on to “Quadrophenia,” The Who's other iconic rock opera, capped by a transcendent "Love, Reign O'er Me," which featured one of Daltrey's strongest vocals.

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Daltrey's signature scream was a little shorter, Townshend less physical

There were times when you could feel him holding something back, but not on the fiery final shouts of "Love, Reign O'er Me."

And Daltrey may have held the scream on "Won't Get Fooled Again" a little longer in his 20s — or even his 40s and 50s — but that was one hell of a scream.

A man not known for sugar-coating anything, Townshend was moved to remark at the concert's conclusion, "Roger's been singing so (expletive) great." And that certainly proved to be the case in Phoenix.

As for Townshend, he was absolutely brilliant, from the devilish glee he took in trash-talking the venue to the ragged glory of his lead guitar breaks and those occasional turns in the lead-vocal spotlight, which ranged from the gritty blues shouting of "Eminence Front" to the vulnerable understatement of "I'm One."

His onstage antics may not be as physical these days. There were no instruments destroyed, no flying scissor kicks, no sliding the length of the stage on his knees.

But the way he dispensed with a seemingly endless succession of windmills was enough to satisfy those longings for the way life used to be.

Anyone looking for songs from the pre-“Tommy” era had to be at least a little disappointed.

But this was a shockingly vital performance that touched on any number of their most enduring triumphs, including a glorious set-closing “Baba O’Riley" that featured two 70-something survivors signing off with a singalong chorus of “It’s only teenage wasteland."

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The Who Hits Back! Tour 2022 setlist

"Overture"

"1921"

"Amazing Journey"

"Sparks"

"Pinball Wizard"

"We're Not Gonna Take It"

"Who Are You"

"Eminence Front"

"Ball and Chain"

"You Better You Bet"

"The Seeker"

"Naked Eye"

"Another Tricky Day"

"Won't Get Fooled Again"

"Behind Blue Eyes"

"The Real Me"

"I'm One"

"5:15"

"The Rock"

"Love, Reign O'er Me"

"Baba O'Riley"

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Who concert review: Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey still rock