Laura asks about a Who Concert in Indianapolis in 1967:
I went to their concert at the Coliseum in Indianapolis in 1967, around late August. Herman’s Hermits opened for them. Pete Townsend destroyed a double-neck 6/12 Gibson SG during their final song of My Generation. He then threw the remaining hunk of guitar through Herman’s Hermits bass drum. At least I believe it was 1967 and it was during the Indiana State Fair. Possibly another band played, but I don’t remember for sure. Do you have any info on this?
Dianna has infos about the show:
I was at that concert and wanted to comment.
I still have the ticket stub and the program somewhere … though I don’t think anything about The Who is listed in the program, which makes me think they were a later addition to the show, after the program had been printed.
The Herman’s Hermits headlined that show and The Who were second in the lineup, and the Blues Magoos opened the show. So the HHs played last, not the other way round.
I don’t recall the details of the performance much, since I was young, but it was in a cow palace stadium at the Indiana State Fair, and the place smelled a bit like cow manure and hay. And since the majority of the crowd had come to see the Herman’s Hermits, there were quite a few young females looking for teen idols and pop tunes, not a band like The Who. My sisters and I did not know what to think of them, since they were louder, bolder, and not at all like The HHs. I don’t think anyone there knew anything about them, or how to take them!
That was the first year The Who toured the U.S. but I think they did a few shows in NYC earlier that year, then did some shows in Europe, then came back for this second round of shows throughout the U.S., including Indianapolis, during the summer and fall of that year. I think the date of the Indianapolis concert was September 1, 1967, but I don’t have the ticket stub in front of me at the moment.
Hope that helps! Great to know I wasn’t the only one who attended and remembered a tiny bit of that show!
Dianna