Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Jimi Hendrix - Monterey Performance

Wow, what a great show this was. I have it on DVD and CD. This was Jimi's first big gig in America after he returned from England with his new band, the Experience. Nobody really had ever heard of him until after this performance. Right from the outset, Jimi comes out with a rousing version of "Rock Me Baby", very uptempo and powerful. He does a great version of "Hey Joe" at this show. Before the show he was hanging out with Janis Joplin, Pete Townsend, and Brian Jones of the Stones, I think Jerry Garcia was there too. He was arguing with Pete about who would go on first, Jimi's Experience or The Who. Jimi said,"If I'm going after you guys then I'm gonna pull out all the stops!" Then he got up on a chair and busted out some amazing guitar work that blew everyone's mind that was in the room.

Hendrix really wowed the crowd away and launched his career, funny thing is his first real tour was with The Monkees!! Lol! I heard the crown was shocked by his performance!!

Anyway, Jimi does a great version of "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan, where he actually skips a verse and apologizes during the song. Jimi was the master of singing and playing at the same time. He had such a great feel for the guitar and it was really like an extension of his mind. He could control the "feedback" of the guitar and the amp, and was one of the first guitarists to use pedals? Anyway, he ended the show with "Wild Thing" by the Troggs. After he jammed the sond, he layed the guitar down on the stage, which was painted special by Jimi before the show, and poured lighter fluid all over it then lite it up. What a cool move, and then he used up the rest of the fluid on the guitar and swung it around and smashed up the whole stage. Boy he really tried out do The Who that had just smashed up the stage after their performance! :)

I highly recommend this album and DVD!

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