Experience Hendrix is a strange and wonderful, well, experience. It shows the timeless nature of Jimi Hendrix's music. It shows his range of influence, not only on the guitar but also with lyrics and his voice.
I believe it's my fourth time seeing the annual show, which brings together an usual array of musicians. This year, the gamut ran from Band of Gypsys member Billy Cox to Serbian-born Ana Popovic. From one wave of legends -- Eric Johnson to the former "It" boys Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Jimi's music obviously continues to mean so much to each and every one of them. This tour is definitely a labor of love, one that no one can be making a huge profit off of. The musicians have obviously spent countless hours poring over the records to try and duplicate every single sound.
Most Hendrixy: Eric Gales. Without a doubt. Adorned in chartreuse and purple, he displayed a flair that even Hendrix lookalike Dani Robinson couldn't replicate. And the thing about Gales is that he came off the most like Hendrix by specifically not trying to imitate the man. He used his own natural talent, and in doing so, represented Jimi's legacy better than anyone else.
Best Hendrix accessory: Doyle Bramhall II. His first appearance of the night was actually on keyboards for Eric Johnson's "Are You Experienced." But even the surprise of having him behind the keys wasn't the match for the height and breadth of that fro he was sporting.
Best supporting guitarist: Mato Nanji, of the low-profile band Indigenous, made everyone he played with better. He did so with precision guitar work and earthy vocals. More on him in a bit.
Best supporting non-guitarist: Chris Layton. Famed for his work with Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Arc Angels, he played behind just about everyone. For those who saw Experience Hendrix when Jimi's drummer Mitch Mitchell was the force behind it, it's been poignant to attend the shows since he passed. But Layton kept everyone on the straight and narrow with his drumming.
Most underrated: Doyle Bramhall II. In terms of crowd reaction, I think the audience really missed the boat, particularly on his acoustic offerings, "Hear My Train Coming" and "You Got Me Floatin'." He performed these right off of the intermission break. I don't know whether it was that or the fact that the unrulies around us figured more thoughtful pieces were code for talking time, but the crowd as a whole didn't seem to give him the attention he was more than earning on the stage.
Battle of the former It Boys: For years and years, a battle not of their own making raged on between Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Now both of them are older, wiser and sporting shorter haircuts. Jonny's set was amiable in a Bryan Adams-kinda way and he attempted to boost his cache with Aerosmith's Brad Whitford in tow. But without Nanji saving their hides on "All Along the Watchtower," they fell kinda short and seemed rather cold. By contrast, Kenny Wayne didn't just play the notes, he knew where to put them spatially and emotionally on "Gypsy Eyes" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
Taming the wild Guy: If you know anything about a Buddy Guy show, you know he's prone to flights of fancy -- telling stories in the middle of his songs and just cutting them off completely if he doesn't like the crowd reaction. He had one such option in a set with Billy Cox and then was relegated to the background, where truth be told, he provided some tasty licks on "Hey Joe" and "Them Changes."
Not missing what was missed: It was a very strange thing. "Purple Haze" and "Fire" were not in the set. Don't know if it was due to the night's cancellation (Bootsy Collins begged off) or the fact that the show seemed to be running long (Billy Cox was checking his watch quite a bit during the final set), but possibly Hendrix's two most well-known songs were not part of the repetoire. I actually appreciated that. Others didn't.
Spin on a Dime: These are just my little opinions. Mark's uploaded the entire show at Dime. Feel free to check it out and let me know what comes across as the best in show for you. http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=486959
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