The Who's Quadrophenia

Madison Square Garden, July 17

Pete Townshend's rock opera Quadrophenia doesn't have much of a plot. And as staged last Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, the show seemed more like a beefed-up concert than a Broadway extravaganza. Accompanied by computer animation, clips from the 1979 film version, live actors and the remaining members of The Who, vocalist Roger Daltrey and Townshend (on acoustic guitar) were clearly the main attraction.

The opera is more character study than fully plotted drama. Jimmy, the protagonist, is a '60s teenager living mod life to the fullest — fighting rival rocker gangs, popping speed and donning stylish clothes. Everything else — family, school, work, women, rock 'n' roll — is a source of disappointment to him. The title refers to the four sides of his personality: tough guy, romantic, beggar and helpless dancer.

Phil Daniels, who played Jimmy in the movie, read bits of the album's liner notes in between songs. His face popped up on a movie screen behind the stage, reciting lines like "My dad would get pissed out of his brain every single night, and when the telly finished he'd storm out of the house to get to the eel and pie shop before it closed." Trying to get an arena-full of chanting Who fans to settle down for a dramatic monologue was impossible. Daniels seemed to be stuck between being an emcee and cheerleader.

Goofball glam-rocker Gary Glitter represented the greasers who opted for the rockabilly lifestyle. The paunchy Glitter came off as the Rip Taylor of rock, puffing through the songs he shared with Daltrey. To symbolically recreate the rumbles between mods and rockers, Glitter and Daltrey sparred with their microphones during "The Punk Meets the Godfather," with Glitter wielding his mike stand like a pitchfork and Daltrey returning fire with his microphone/ yo-yo tricks.

Billy Idol was cast as the mod king, the "ace face," decked out in a three-button grey suit and spitting out his lines. When the ace turns into a boot-licking bellboy, his disciple, Jimmy, starts to question the mod cause. Searching for his identity, Jimmy eventually wanders down to the sea. It's not exactly Catcher in the Rye, but then again, J.D. Salinger can't rock like The Who.

Townshend, Daltrey and John Entwistle were supported by Zak Starkey on drums, Simon Townshend and Geoff Whitehorn on guitar, a five-piece horn section, a percussionist and four backup singers. Starkey's takes on the Keith Moon drum parts were satisfactory — crisp and pared down with fewer tom fills and cymbal crashes. The symphonic arrangements accented horns over guitars. Droopy-eyed Townshend was the most willing to reinterpret his parts, breathing new life into the vocals.

An encore of Who hits included "Behind Blue Eyes,""Substitute" and "Magic Bus." Daltrey and Townshend shared a microphone for an acoustic reworking of "Won't Get Fooled Again." It came off much more as a folky anthem than arena rocker, but none of the power was lost.

If you're starting to hear those tunes in your head about now, you can pick up the just-released, remastered CD of Quadrophenia (MCA). It's not quite as thrilling as seeing it performed live, but it'll do.

—Neil Gladstone