Over a hundred police and Palace guards were on duty for the evening, prepared for almost anything short of a nuclear holocaust. There had been somewhat of a ruckus at the airport the day before and some considered that's as an ominus prelude to a chaotic concert.

The fans began arriving on the morning of the big day. Primarily females in the 12 - 18 year old category, they were sparkling, and immaculately dressed, as though they'd been headed for a decorous family event, like a grandparent's wedding anniversary party, but took a wrong turn somewhere. It was apparent that the majority of them represented the upper middle class, in those days when one could safely infer such things from the cut of one's clothes or from one's personal grooming. Although they may have been dressed for it, it wasn't likely to be a subdued Sunday school meeting inside. As the young people passed through the gates and proceeded through the lobby, the screamed with joy. The audience was restless as the supporting acts went through the motions of playing to few attentive ears.

At 9:31p.m, emcee Art Nelson announced The Beatles, and upon doing so The Beatles were escorted onto the stage by eight San Mateo County deputy sheriffs, The Beatles' fans rose as one, stood on their seats, and screamed for four minutes and 45 seconds without letup even before the nights first song began. The Beatles took the stage dressed in dark blue mohair suits, white shirts, black knit ties and black boots.

The performance was twice interrupted when police attempted to calm fans down. Also during the course of the show, Brian Epstein reportedly had a visit from one Charles O. Finley, the millionaire owner and President of the Kansas City Athletics baseball team. Finley was disappointed that KC had not been included in The Beatles' tour itinerary, and he wanted to negotiate personally with The Beatles after having his $100,000 offered refused earlier in the month so he flew to San Francisco vowing to somehow get the group to sign a contract. The Beatles and Epstein still said 'no'.

As soon as they had played their last note of the last song, The Beatles fled the stage. They dropped their instruments and ran for their lives. The hounds were outfoxed; the feverish fans were fooled into thinking The Beatles took off in a vehicle that raced out of the building. Instead, they were locked in the dressing room. After the lingering fans had been chased out of the backstage area, several guards escorted The Beatles down a ramp to the lower level, where the tousled team slipped into a limousine.

The Beatles were brought directly to San Francisco International Airport for a short flight to Las Vegas. They had been scheduled to spend the evening at the San Francisco Hilton, but as would be seen during the rest of the tour, even well-made plans required flexibility. The Beatles had earned $47,600 for the performance with gate receipts having totaled $91,670

Completed in 1941 with assistance from the W.P.A, The Cow Palace was criticized by a local newspaper: "Why, when people are starving, should money be spent on a "palace for cows?" A headline writer turned the phrase around, hence the origin of the world famous name.