#'Peter too was a sensation when he plucked his banjo' :)

[thislovintime]

Peter Tork with Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Toby and Bob Rafelson and others in Honolulu, December 1966; Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter onstage in Honolulu on December 3, 1966. Photos by KRLA Beat, Jerry Y. Chong for the Honolulu Advertiser, unnamed (including a screenshot from Peter’s My Generation interview), Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

“The Honolulu International Center Arena was jammed when The Monkees took the stage. Even Russian poet Yevgeny Yevutshenko was there to see what the Monkees could do. The Monkees — David Jones, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz — are an ingenious combination of music and mirth. They sing fairly well — when you can hear them between the screams — but what they lack in vocal finesse, they make up in stage presence. Talk about energy! […] Micky’s take-off […] on James Brown — and remember those gaudy aloha shirts that were used? — featured some fancy footwork and from-the-heart wailing. It, easily, was the evening’s highlight. Perhaps the favorite Monkee was David who, with puppy-dog eyes and long, flowing hair, was the best-overall performer. His Broadway stage experience — he was in Oliver — was very much in evidence when he belted out ‘The Joker’ and ‘I Wanna Be Free.’ Peter, too, was a sensation when he plucked his banjo (he’s usually on guitar) and chanted a folk tune. He had a Ringo-like naivete, and looked like the Dutch Boy on the cleanser. Mike, unfortunately, gets into the act too infrequently. He has the makings of a real charmer — he’s a funny fellow — but he lets his buddies take the spotlight. […] The Monkees were dynamite.” - Wayne Harada, The Honolulu Advertiser, December 5, 1966

“Mike also does a very funny imitation of L.B.J. and during the hour and a half takeover of KPOI by the Monkees, he demonstrated this in what has to be the funniest newscast ever, anywhere. ‘Peter Tork, Honolulu, and Mike Nesmith, Honolulu,’ did a Huntley-Brinkley five minutes that proved their ad lib and improvisational ability. Mike reported, ‘President Johnson called the United Nations today and asked U Thant if he might be a little more familiar with him and call him “U.”’ Peter chimes in, ‘And he replied, “Nu.”’ [Micky] Dolenz was having such a ball playing disc jockey [(]’Hi there everybody, this is the [Micky] the D show on KPOI’) that he begged for permission to come back and do the all night show. […] During their hectic airport arrival last week, the Monkees were mobbed when several hundred screaming teenaged girls broke through a restraining rope. Their limousine was surrounded, but all the boys got inside except Peter Tork who was forced to climb on top [of] the car in the rush. One of the show’s promoters saw the car start to pull away and leaped on the trunk to try to keep Peter form falling. As the car sped down the runway, a safe distance away from the mob of girls still chasing after it, Peter turned to the passenger clinging to the trunk and said calmly, ‘Tom Moffatt, I presume?’ He was right! During the ride in from the airport, some enterprising fan pulled alongside the Monkees’ car and handed a wool hat to Mike Nesmith, who still clutched it as they checked into the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. As they rested in their rooms on arrival, devouring fresh pineapple as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks and listening to the radio, Mike said in his Texas drawl, ‘How come it’s so low?’ Although it seemed a normal level to me, he walked over and turned it louder than radio has ever been in the Royal. The Monkees clown among themselves just as much as they do before an audience. The Saturday night show was sold out even before the group arrived Thursday afternoon.
The Monkees demonstrated that they were actors, performers and showmen, and in live performances, that is what’s important, what with all the screaming that inevitably goes on.” - Dave Donnelly, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, December 7, 1966

“[W]e went to Hawaii and then we did our first hour long show. [...] We started off with just the four of us and then we broke down and solo turns with the backup band, the opening act band came out and backed us up for solo turns — and then they left and we finished the hour, just the four of us. We did an hour that way. It was nerve-wracking because we’d never played an hour in front of people before and we had a few ideas and we tried them and they didn’t work very well. But it was an out-of-town tryout. We were in Hawaii (laughs) and word was not gonna get back if we were really, really terrible. (laughs)” - Peter Tork, Rock Cellar Magazine, 2016