The Monkees’ First Michigan Gig: January, 1967
When The Monkees played their first gig in Michigan, they were out to prove to audiences that yes, indeed, they played their own instruments.
When The Monkees TV show debuted in the fall of 1966, it was primarily a TV show about a struggling group trying to make it big. The boys were hired as actors, not musicians, and the music on their debut album was provided by studio musicians.
That was really no big deal, as many of the top bands of the 60s had studio musicians recording the music; the four members of the Monkees, however, DID sing the vocals. The thing that stuck in their craw was that they were all accomplished musicians but were getting unfairly treated by rock critics for “not playing their own music”. BIG DEAL. Hardly any other 60s band was, either...but critics were offput by the manic success and fan base of The Monkees, so they had to find something in an attempt to knock them down a few pegs.
It didn’t work. The Monkees remained incredibly popular (and still are in the 2020s).
So on the road they went in order for people to “come and watch us sing and play”.
They appeared in Michigan for the first time on January 14, 1967 at Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
Their setlist was as follows:
"Last Train to Clarksville"
"She's So Far Out, She's In"
"You Just May Be the One"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"Mary, Mary"
"(I Prithee) Do Not Ask for Love"
"Sweet Young Thing"
"I Can't Get Her off My Mind"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"East Virginia" or "Cripple Creek"
"You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover"
"The Joker" or "Gonna Build a Mountain"
"I Got a Woman"
"If I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate"
"Take a Giant Step"
"I'm a Believer"
With the success of their concerts, they were able to fight for studio control and get it.
The Monkees came back to the Olympia in August 1967.