Rhino Factoids: The Monkees Take to the Stage

49 years ago today, the Monkees took the stage of the Honolulu International Centre Arena and performed their very first full-length concert, thrilling the assembled fans and surprising more than a few folks who'd written them off as being no more than a studio group.

The Monkees had already done a promotional tour earlier in 1966 which found the foursome doing a few small performances, but the kickoff of their first proper tour was something that the folks behind the scenes were more than a little antsy about. As David Pearl wrote in his 16 Magazine piece about the start of the tour, “It had been decided by the 'upper echelons' that the start of the Monkees' first live 'in person' appearance would be strictly business. In other words, no unnecessary obligations or distractions. This meant that not only were there no press people at the airport, but there were no fans either.” Or, rather, that's how it was supposed to be. In fact, when the boys landed in Honolulu, they found 2,000 screaming fans waiting for them. Oh, well.

Per Pearl, the Monkees' pre-performance rehearsal was pretty intense - “the guys worked harder than they have ever worked before” - and the resulting concert was a sight to behold, but if you want the specifics, you can read all about it by clicking right here. Unfortunately, we can't provide you with any audio from that momentous evening, but we can at least give you a general idea of how the band's concerts sounded during their '60s heyday by offering up their Live 1967 album.