ASBURY PARK — Three groups with three very different sounds provided some swinging entertainment at Convention Hall Saturday night, but unfortunately their audience was relatively small although very enthusiastic.

The evening began with the Blues Magoo who record for Mercury, continued with a London-based group, the Who and was climaxed by a young Manchester group Herman’s Hermits.

The Hermits who are known for catchy although not particularly interesting songs, performed with verve and enthusiasm and their audience participated eagerly. This group began about four years ago in England with a song which shot to the number one spot on the English hit parade, “Got a Feeling I’m into Something Good.” Their first big number in this country is an old vaudeville number, “I’m Henry VIII I Am.”

THIS LAST number was not released in England, probably because it was too much associated with the London vaudeville. But the group as a whole tends to release certain numbers on the American market and others on the English one.

Their current hit, “Don’t Go Out Into the Rain,” popular over here, will not, according to lead singer and leader of the group, Peter Noone, be released in England. This song is similar to another “You Won’t Be Leaving,” which was released there but not here. Another song which was not really much publicized in England was “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter.” It had been recorded in England by another singer, actor Tom Courtenay.

Possibly the strongest point about the Hermits is their blending of vocal with instruments. They boast three good guitarists, Karl Green, Keith Hopwood and Derek Leckenby. Leckenby particularly has a superb command of his instrument and provided some interesting highlights and backings in the program. Drummer Barry Whitwam had a good sense of rhythm and really worked in the group. Their coordination is excellent.

BUT THE GROUP focused of course on lead singer Peter Noone. This 19-year-old singer from Manchester has a good strong tenor and knows his limitations. Consequently he chose songs which are in his range.

Their program began with a number from the latest Beatle album, “With a Little Help From My Friends,” which was sung on the album by Ringo Starr, the drummer. This was followed by an early Hermit recording, “Wonderful World.”

The high point of their performance was their latest song, “Museum,” which was released about a week ago. This is an uptempo number with a good backing from the drums and interesting instrumental work from the three guitars.

The evening ended on a nostalgic note as the group sang “Mrs. Brown” and “I’m Henry VIII” with the audience joining in with clapping and some vocal support.

THE SECOND GROUP was the Who, again a fairly new group as such, who have been around about five years. They are a controversial group who aroused great interest about two years ago when they were the first to appear on stage in pop gear — union jack shirts and so on.

The Who have since abandoned the pop gear and Saturday night appeared in a variety of costumes, with lead singer Roger Dalbrey wearing pink pants, ruffled white shirt, paisley Turkish style jacket and beads.

The Who are interesting primarily because they are interested in singing a sort of rock protest or social commentary song. Their opening number “Substitute” was an indictment of the artificiality of the advertisement conscious generation:

“I may look tall but my heels are high.”

Their numbers have a strong beat and often the words are bitten out with a vigorous attack and drive. The group has had some trouble with the censorship over here. One of their songs, “I’m a Boy” which deals with a boy whose mother has tried to effeminate was banned over here, anyway as a single. It’s quite a funny song really as the boy laments, “I want to play cricket on the green.”

Their performance was climaxed by one of their best songs, “My Generation” which was also banned as a single here. This song is the protest of the angry youth — and Dalbrey stutters over some words to bring out the incoherence of youth when trying to get through to the older generation.

BACKING THIS was drummer Keith Moon who hammered out a good incisive beat and guitarists John Entwhistle on the base and Pete Townshend, lead guitar, who contributed to the anarchy of the lyrics with the right cacophony of discords.

The Who ended this anarchic song by smashing their instruments on stage, destroying Enthwhistle’s guitar, and causing a flash fire in one of the amplifiers — it fits in with the mood.

Lead singer Dalbrey said they had been doing this for years. “It costs a lot of money, but we’re making enough,” he said.

DALBREY ADDED: “Oh yes we’ve changed our style.

Two years ago we were concentrating on Beatle-type music.”

The Blues Magoo were the only American group at Convention Hall. They originated in the Orange area in New Jersey, and spread over to Greenwich Village. They play a strong rock with a combination of blues, and their strongest number was “Tobacco Road,” with a long instrumental section.

In this number, as in an earlier one, an ultra-violet light shone on the stage with a strobe light also focused on the stage. The combination made their black, fluorescent green spotted costumes flash off and on. The group itself appeared to move like creatures from outer space with a weird, mind blowing effect.