were the Who "On the Bus?"

[Kenneth Hawkins <kenneth.hawkins@arch1.nara.gov>]

Instead of working I and two of my colleagues were just
discussing Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' legendary
psychedelic bus trips across America, ca. 1966-67.  We know
that the Beatles tried to turn this concept into a media event of
their own which flopped (Magical Mystery Tour) but had to
wonder, was there a connection between the single Magic Bus
and the Pranksters' phenonmena?  if not at the outset, did the
song ever eventually connote a freewheeling acid-laced road
trip? did they play MB at the Monterey Pop Festival in '67? would
people in the audience have perhaps perceived such a
connection?