One of them died before he had a chance to get old.  Another died a decadent prototypical rock and roll death at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on the eve of their 2002 tour, hot on the heels of their incendiary performance at the Concert for New York.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey soldier on with help from a brother, the son of a Beatle and others sharing the common cause of continuing to breathe life into a band called The Who.  This  Super Bowl performance proved there is still life and vitality in the now age-less songs that Townshend originally penned decades ago.    Hard to believe it but these guys were also at Woodstock over 40 years ago.

Have they aged?  Yes, certainly;  Townshend no longer bounces up and down and smashes his guitar and Daltrey’s voice now shows distress on higher registers but these guys can still manage to bring it and deliver a quality performance.

Cynics may say this isn’t really The Who anymore now that Moon and Entwistle are no longer on the stage and with us.  Others say no, Townshend and Daltrey have every right to  perpetuate the legacy of the band and can still deliver in a young man’s game.  One couldn’t help the irony last night though as Townshend, all of 64 years old, belted out Teen Age Wasteland on cue during BabaO’Riley .

Townshend can do what he likes these days; being the genius that lived and breathed virtually every iconic song in their canon and set them to flight through his windmilling right arm.    Daltrey, the golden voice no longer what it was still manages to deliver justice to Townshend’s songs like no one else could.

And they do seem intent on staying the course, Daltrey is currently on a solo tour to keep the rust away from his wind pipes while Townshend has reportedly hit another creative spark that could possibly result in a new Who album later this year.

I’m sure there may have been some casual observers in the crowd and at home who recognized two of the set’s songs as current themes to two different CSI crime shows on CBS and probably had no idea who these blokes were.

Looking to dig deeper into The Who? Check out the following:

1. The Kids Are Alright (Special Edition)

2. Who’s Next (Deluxe Edition)

3. Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who 3-DVD Exclusive Edition