The night of Nov. 22, 1967, is indelibly etched in the memories of local music fans lucky enough to nab a ticket to The Who’s performance at Southfield High School’s gym. “It was packed to the gills, and I was in the front row,” recalls Don Henderson, who shot this photo.
The British group was preceded by warm-up bands The Unrelated Segments and The Amboy Dukes (with Ted Nugent). Singer Roger Daltrey’s back is to the crowd in front of drummer Keith Moon while guitarist Pete Townshend puts the finishing touches on his signature windmill move, in which he wound up his arm in anticipation of striking a furious power chord. Not pictured is bassist John Entwistle. Henderson, who was just 17 at the time, was himself then in an established local group, The Gang, which was one of the house bands at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. Lead guitarist Henderson also saw The Who in June of ’67 at Ann Arbor’s The Fifth Dimension club, now long gone. He and his bandmates were smitten by the English group. “Our band looked up to The Who,” Henderson says. “They were what we wanted to be like and sound like and we did their songs.”
By the time they appeared at Southfield High, The Who already had a string of hits, including “I Can’t Explain,” “My Generation,” and “Happy Jack.” Their signature concert finale was smashing their instruments. Henderson says they did so at Southfield High — after a fashion. “They didn’t go too crazy,” he remembers. “Pete Townshend knocked his guitar to the floor a couple of times and Keith Moon tipped his drums over.”
Incidentally, the fellow peeking out of the curtains isn't the School's Principal - it's Tom Weschler, a respected music photographer in his own right who also became Bob Seger’s road manager.
Info courtesy of Linda Yates Rudnicki on Fakebook.
I saw them in the spring of 1968 in Tampa at the old Curtis Hixon Hall.....walked up to the ticket counter and bought two tickets for 5 bucks each....warm up was 4 or 5 local bands, one of which had my future wife playing guitar, whom I didn't even know at the time....she also was in the opening band for Steppenwolf...talented lady who just passed away last year....the Who did their full destruction act that night, and those of us who were struggling musicians flinched at the sight of Pete shoving the Gibson Firebird he was playing through the front of what looked like a Fender Dual Showman amp....good show, though.....
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