On March 25, 1968, the future of American rock was profoundly changed by a new band that had come from afar.
When The Who was introduced to American rock fans, they had no idea how the band of British lads would shock them immeasurably.
That was the time that belonged to The Who.
The Who在1967，左起为Pete Townshend、Keith Moon、Roger Daltrey和John Entwistle
On March 25, 1968, the future of American rock was profoundly changed by a new band that had come from afar, and when The Who was introduced to American rock fans, they had no idea how the british band of Roger Daltry, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon would shock them immeasurably.
Today, we find three witnesses who lived through The Who's first show after logging in the United States, Mickey-Ryder, a member of the band Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, a short-lived band in the '60s; legendary accordionist Al Kooper (who later worked on the famous Blues Project), both of whom shared the stage with The Who; and the third witness was Peter Arculer and the show organizer Murray the Son of K.
Today we will follow the eyes of these three witnesses to review The Who's blockbuster in the United States.
The Who's first performance in the United States was at the PKO58 Street Theater in New York, where there was a multi-day series of performances hosted by the legendary DJ known as the "Fifth Beatles", Murray the K, who was instrumental in the rise of the British invasion and toured with the Beatles for a long time, contributing greatly to the latter's "Beatles Fever Tide" in the United States.
At that time, Murray the K often held performances at the Fox Theater in Brooklyn, but because the Fox Theater was closed at that time, the venue was temporarily changed to the PKO Theater.
Kooper recalls the scene: "The show was very strangely organized, lasting about seven to ten days, and this bits and pieces of performance continued to be played, and each band only went up to perform two or three songs, much like the oldest kind of rock show." ”
The tracks performed by The Who that year included "My Generation", a song that has been played over and over on the radio, and young people are already familiar with it.
Peter, Murray the K's son, who was a sophomore at New York University and was just 19 years old: "When The Who took the stage, I don't think anyone, including myself, was ready to face what was going to happen next. ”
"No one could have imagined that a band could smash all the instruments after the show — and That's what The Who did back then, which is really weird. They swept across the stage like a gust of wind, and when they left the stage, the audience still maintained a posture of surprise and closed their mouths! ”
It may seem as if The Who's act of smashing instruments on stage is outrageous, but that doesn't hide the fact that their music is just as shocking. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, a member of the band Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, who shared the stage with The Who, recalls the scene and feels that it was very good to perform with The Who, Ryder said:
"The Who is a very aggressive, even destructive band, as if they were also full of resentment towards their music."
"It sounds a bit contradictory, they have a love-hate mix of attitudes towards performing their music, they kick down drum kits on stage, smash electric guitars. I think the point they want to express through this behavior is that times are different, and in the new era everything will change. ”
Finally, Ryder smiled and expressed his shock and amazement at the first time he saw The Who destroy an instrument, especially the electric guitar, which was a very, very expensive instrument in the '60s.
All in all, The Who's first appearance in the United States meant a theme: the way rock 'n' roll is performed live has completely changed.
No band had ever been able to show their kind of power before The Who, and it wasn't until the rise of bands like the punk movement's sex pistols that this subversive scene really followed.
Fast forward more than 50 years since The Who debuted in the United States, but they're still an old and strong band.
In this era, it will still be The Who's generation.
reference
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7728569/the-who-first-us-show-50-years-ago