The Who Tour of 1967 began in March, it was their first trip to North America. The first concert was part of a Murray the K Rock and Roll Festival at the Fox Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The highlights of this tour were their six-song set at the Monterey Pop Festival and an appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
As this was their first North American tour, before they gained enormous fame at Woodstock, they played a lot of smaller venues such as this High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
The Scotch Plains show sold out with a crowd announced at 2,200 people. Tickets were sold for a $2.50 “donation”.
After an opening set by a local band, The Decoys, the Who played early well known songs such as “The Kids Are Alright
The Who Studio Album Discography
1966 – My Generation
1966 – A Quick One
1967 – The Who Sell Out
1969 – Tommy
1971 – Who’s Next
1973 – Quadrophenia
1975 – The Who by Numbers
1978 – Who Are You
1981 – Face Dances
1982 – It’s Hard
2006 – Endless Wire
Other Notable Concerts At Union Catholic High School Include:
2/18/1971 – Black Sabbath
0/23/1969 – Chicago
3/26/1968 – Cream
Union Catholic High School
1600 Martine Ave
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
To learn the amazing story of how Union Catholic High School transformed itself from a conservative Catholic High School to one that was a mecca for rock acts for a five year period beginning in 1967, read the entertaining book: When Stars Were in Reach, The Who at Union Catholic High School November 29, 1967.
I graduated from Union Catholic in 1966 (the first graduated class) and went on to college and law school. As I recall, the Velvet Underground played at the school in 1966 (incredible, considering the subject matter of the band’s songs). I remember thinking what a strange band to play at a catholic high school. I attended the show. There were other rock groups that played the venue for some time after I graduated. I read somewhere that the students convinced the administration to invite rock-in-roll bands to hold concerts there to increase revenues for the school.
The Velvet Underground never played at Union Catholic High School They did however play at Summit High School on December 11, 1965 and it is this show that you are probably remembering. They opened for a very popular local group called the Myddle Class. The Who were the first band to play at UCHS.