Who’s Next bill themselves as ‘The UK’s premier live Who tribute band.’ Expectation then could not have been higher on a packed evening inside hallowed walls of Liverpool’s Cavern Club.

The evening began with a couple of alchemists from Liverpool’s own The Universal Band creating their own brand of magic with nought but a couple of acoustic guitars. We even got the opening few bars of The Jam’s classic TubeStation at Midnight. Yes sir these guys certainly know how to please and, as it transpired, tease.

Heaven knows what these guys will be capable of when at full strength. Memo to self: Look out for The Universal Band’s next gig.

Things were warming up nicely then as Who’s Next took to The Cavern’s Lounge stage with most of the audience still humming UB tunes.

And then it was double take time as Daltrey doppelganger Gary Charman stepped forward.

The resemblance was as they say, uncanny, all the way from the squat, boxer physique to the cropped hair and tinted glasses. This was Roger Daltrey. Well as near as dammit. All we needed now was for some nifty microbatics. We would not be disappointed.

From the moment those first choppy chords of I Can’t Explain burst forth it was full steam ahead. Charman proved beyond all measure that the resemblance to Daltrey also extends into vocal prowess while bassist and founder member Craig Addecott was as solid as rock. If John Entwistle had been looking down he would mighty proud of this ace of bass.

Dante DiCarlo meanwhile has also read the script, producing a dazzling wind-milling display straight from the pages of Guitar Hero. Even so you sensed that this was just the tip of an immense iceberg. DiCarlo bobbed and weaved around the stage, exterminating everything in his path. Clapton and Beck take note.

Add all this to Joe Blank’s exuberant drumming and you get only the merest essence of Who’s Next. And with four individual parts this good, you can only imagine the sum of the whole…

These boys knew exactly what the crowd wanted and they gave it to them. The wanted Pinball Wizard, they got it. They wanted My Generation, they got it. In fact they got the lot. Baba O’ Reilly, Won’t Get Fooled Again and just to put the icing on top of a very delicious cake we were also treated to some of the best moments from the seminal Quadrophenia album.

As the end drew nigh and the midnight hour approached there was only one question on our minds: the trademark Who finish. Would they or wouldn’t they?

Let’s just say that as Who’s Next head towards their next gig in North Wales tonight they’ll be doing so minus one guitar…