BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Show goes on for The Who

The surviving members of The Who received a standing ovation on the first gig of their US tour, which they dedicated to the late bass player John Entwistle.

Entwistle died of a suspected heart attack on Thursday, the eve of the scheduled start of The Who tour.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey swallowed their grief to take to the stage of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Monday night.

"I just wanted to say that tonight we played for John Entwistle," Daltrey said.

"He was the true spirit of rock n' roll and he lives on in the music we play."

The two remaining band members had made the decision to carry on the tour after consulting Entwistle's family.

They billed the first night as a "tribute" to their late friend, opening the show with I Can't Explain and Substitute.

John Entwistle was found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room

Giant screens played a video of the group rehearsing at Townshend's home, just two weeks before Entwistle's death.

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The sight of Entwistle and his bass brought cheers and applause from the audience.

The Who then received a standing ovation as they stepped out into the limelight for the first time.

Session bass player Pino Palladino replaced Entwistle, but stood very much in the shadows of the stage.

Play it loud

Townshend said the band did not expect Palladino to "emulate, parody or copy John Entwistle in any way".

"The one request I made was that - at first - he play as loud as he can bear," the guitarist said.

John Entwistle
Fans watched The Who rehearsals for the tour on giant screens
The Who have always had a reputation for wild on-stage antics, with instrument-smashing a usual occurrence.

But Entwistle was known to be quieter than Daltrey and Townshend.

The pair said they wanted to turn their grief into energy, as they did following the death of original member Keith Moon, who died almost 25 years ago of an accidental drug overdose.

"I will try hard not to fall into any of my usual mini-depressions on this tour," Townshend said before the gig.

"We are musicians, entertainers. We can do it. We have the right tools. No worries."

The results of post-mortem are not expected to be released for three months, when a full toxicology test will have been completed.

Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.

I saw the Hollywood Bowl Show tonight 7/1/02, and was completely surprised at the complexity of the show. Pete Townshend was playing guitar as though it were his last time playing it. Roger Daltry sounded twenty years younger than his 58 years of age. This was a great show.

A retrospective was played on the giant TV screens with cheers from the audience growing louder with every picture of the late Bass player, John Entwistle.
Anthony S. Morrison, USA

Thank you for the concert Monday. We know how hard it must have been as it was for us,one Brit and one Yank! You mad us feel young again John, will always live on in your music and with the fans. THANK YOU.
Stu & Lydia Berman, USA

I saw The Who last night at the Hollywood Bowl, and as always the boys rocked the house, they were incredible. And although the strength of John's bass playing was definitely missed, Pino Palladino pulled off a incredible act by learning two hours of music in two days. As Roger said last night "John lives on in the music we play". R.I.P. John, and thanks.
Stephan X, USA

When The Who took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl nobody knew what was going to happen. All doubts were vanquished when Pete Townshend hammered his stratocaster guitar into a blistering version of I Can't Explain. The show was about life with all its glorious sadness and joy! The show was about love! The show must go on! John Entwistle wouldn't have it any other way!
Wyatt Von, United States of America

What a great show last night at the Hollywood Bowl, my first time there. I did miss the magic fingers of Mr Entwistle. God Bless the Entwistle family.
Patrick Athay, USA

I was lucky enough to attend last night's show in LA. Pete and Roger were in rare form. It seemed as if they were playing along with the spirit of John Entwistle. It was a magical night that I will not soon forget. Only The Who could pull this one off as they rock into their fifth decade of music. Long live rock
Ax, US

The July 1st show at the Hollywood Bowl was incredible. I have never heard The Who sound better!
Louis Harley, USA

Being at the opening night show at the Hollywood Bowl I felt, saw and heard the "Who magic".

John was smiling, the band was smiling and, of course, me and thousands of fans were smiling.

Just like the Pinball Wizard, Pino Palladino always played clean. I respect that he didn't try to add the trademark distorted and harmonic filled sound of Entwistle. It may have made Pete play with even more force.
Kurt Max, US of A

Every eye was on Pino Palladino at times. I don't know much about his previous work, but he nailed the songs for the most part. He wore all black, played a black bass and stood the entire time in front of his bass rig. Very reminiscent of, and almost a bit of a ghostly image of John. Surprisingly the band did not play any songs written or sung by Entwistle.

When the band played My Generation you could feel the crowd's anticipation of the bass solo. Palladino did not disappoint, though he hit the first three bars well, the last bar lacked somewhat. He was warmly received, and that was probably the biggest tribute to John Entwistle of the night.

Roger Daltry was as solid as ever and Pete Townshend was in terrific form playing a Stratocaster the entire night. Each spoke a sentence or two thanking the crowd for their support and their feelings for John. Pete said that starting off in LA was probably best as this crowd in the entertainment capital would appreciate the show must go on aspect of the business they are in.

Though I never met John Entwistle, I know he loved music and loved to play. I'm certain he would approve - in fact he was there in every song.
Billy Sottile, USA

I was at the Hollywood Bowl show last night. The band sounded great, but there was an eerie hole on the right side of the stage. Pino stood so far in the back you barely noticed him. It was also strange to hear a rock and roll crowd go almost completely silent every time Roger or Pete addressed the crowd. Everyone really wanted to hear what the two had to say about John. The most moving part of the night was watching Pete fight back the tears while singing Bargain. Great show, John and Keith would have been proud.
Richard Fitzer, Los Angeles, USA


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