CosmicPal
11-11-2006, 01:40 PM
and came across this article in the Denver Rocky Mountain News.
The Who at Shawnee Mission South High School in 1967!!!! The very high school I graduated from. I always heard that The Who played there in the late 60's but I never could find anything to validate it until now- in Denver!
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/music/article/0,2792,DRMN_54_5134579,00.html
Woo-Who! On a cold night in 1967, a smashing time was had by all
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
November 11, 2006
Rocky Mountain News staffer Mary Jane Blackman saw one of The Who's early North American concerts. This is her story:
It was a cold Friday night in 1967 when my date and I rolled into the parking lot of Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kan.
We had come to the school, where I was a junior, for a concert. The opening acts were promising for the Nov. 17 show: The Buckinghams (who had hits with Kind of a Drag and Don't You Care) and Kansas City-area band Bobby Blue.
But the headliner highlighted the fact that we hadn't come for a typical sock hop: The Who was taking the gymnasium stage.
Of the roughly 3,500 Shawnee Mission District students there, I'm guessing few had ever heard of John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend. But I had, thanks to Bob Martin, a fellow student.
Bob was a member of our neighborhood basement band, along with Jack "Denny" Allen and brothers Tim and Tom O'Brien. He was also a big music fan. After hearing about The Who, Bob had special-ordered the band's 45-rpm singles from England long before their release in the States.
I was a fairly seasoned concertgoer by my junior year, from The Beatles to The Byrds. I'd lounged poolside with Phil and Don Everly in my first two-piece bathing suit. I'd even danced to the music of The Kingsmen (Louie, Louie) at another high school concert.
But this was The Who, the pioneering rock band known for smashing its instruments at gig's end.
There was a lot of energy onstage and in the audience on this night. Students were frenzied by songs such as My Generation and I Can See for Miles. At the end of the hourlong show, we all went nuts when the band smashed amplifiers, drums and guitars alike.
As fragments from the destruction flew into the audience, Bob grabbed a piece of guitar neck. Then, suddenly, a voice over the public address system informed students that all pieces of equipment were property of The Who and were to be returned to the band.
Bob wasn't having any of that: He boogalooed out of the gym immediately with his trophy. We didn't see him for the rest of the evening.
I saw The Who again in 1989 at Folsom Field, in Boulder. I took my youngest daughter, Jennifer, who was 12. As the baby boomers in the crowd sang to the oldies, I remember Jennifer pleading, "Mom, tell me the lyrics!"
At show's end, either Entwistle or Townshend delivered this message: "Don't drink and drive."
My message? Go to school. Graduate. I speak from experience, since I became pregnant that night in 1967.
By the following January, I had to drop out and my Who date and I had a shotgun marriage. Later, he lost his college deferment and was shipped to Vietnam (we ultimately divorced). Mary Lynn is 38 now and remains the most memorable reminder of that night.
Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.
The Who at Shawnee Mission South High School in 1967!!!! The very high school I graduated from. I always heard that The Who played there in the late 60's but I never could find anything to validate it until now- in Denver!
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/music/article/0,2792,DRMN_54_5134579,00.html
Woo-Who! On a cold night in 1967, a smashing time was had by all
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
November 11, 2006
Rocky Mountain News staffer Mary Jane Blackman saw one of The Who's early North American concerts. This is her story:
It was a cold Friday night in 1967 when my date and I rolled into the parking lot of Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kan.
We had come to the school, where I was a junior, for a concert. The opening acts were promising for the Nov. 17 show: The Buckinghams (who had hits with Kind of a Drag and Don't You Care) and Kansas City-area band Bobby Blue.
But the headliner highlighted the fact that we hadn't come for a typical sock hop: The Who was taking the gymnasium stage.
Of the roughly 3,500 Shawnee Mission District students there, I'm guessing few had ever heard of John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend. But I had, thanks to Bob Martin, a fellow student.
Bob was a member of our neighborhood basement band, along with Jack "Denny" Allen and brothers Tim and Tom O'Brien. He was also a big music fan. After hearing about The Who, Bob had special-ordered the band's 45-rpm singles from England long before their release in the States.
I was a fairly seasoned concertgoer by my junior year, from The Beatles to The Byrds. I'd lounged poolside with Phil and Don Everly in my first two-piece bathing suit. I'd even danced to the music of The Kingsmen (Louie, Louie) at another high school concert.
But this was The Who, the pioneering rock band known for smashing its instruments at gig's end.
There was a lot of energy onstage and in the audience on this night. Students were frenzied by songs such as My Generation and I Can See for Miles. At the end of the hourlong show, we all went nuts when the band smashed amplifiers, drums and guitars alike.
As fragments from the destruction flew into the audience, Bob grabbed a piece of guitar neck. Then, suddenly, a voice over the public address system informed students that all pieces of equipment were property of The Who and were to be returned to the band.
Bob wasn't having any of that: He boogalooed out of the gym immediately with his trophy. We didn't see him for the rest of the evening.
I saw The Who again in 1989 at Folsom Field, in Boulder. I took my youngest daughter, Jennifer, who was 12. As the baby boomers in the crowd sang to the oldies, I remember Jennifer pleading, "Mom, tell me the lyrics!"
At show's end, either Entwistle or Townshend delivered this message: "Don't drink and drive."
My message? Go to school. Graduate. I speak from experience, since I became pregnant that night in 1967.
By the following January, I had to drop out and my Who date and I had a shotgun marriage. Later, he lost his college deferment and was shipped to Vietnam (we ultimately divorced). Mary Lynn is 38 now and remains the most memorable reminder of that night.
Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.