New York (Philharmonic Hall) : 28 novembre 1968 [Premier concert]

New York (Philharmonic Hall) : 28 novembre 1968 [Premier concert]

Titres :

1. Fire
2. I Don't Live Today
3. Hear My Train A Comin'
4. Spanish Castle Magic
5. Foxy Lady
6. Red House
7. Sunshine Of Your Love
8. Purple Haze

Sources : Philharmonic Hall - All Sources (ATM 196-198)





Le concept de ce triple album est simple : il présente chacune des 3 sources connues du concert donné au Philharmonic Hall, le 28 novembre 1968 à New York.


Le 28 novembre 1968, le groupe s’est produit au très prestigieux ”Philarmonic Hall” de New-York, rebaptisé ”Avery Fisher Hall” en 1973. Avant l’Experience, aucun groupe de rock n’avait eu l’honneur de jouer dans cette salle somptueuse :





L’idée, très originale, était d’offrir à l’Expérience la possibilité de partager l’affiche avec, en première partie, un concert de clavecin joué par Fernando Valenti et la prestation d’une section de cuivres, le ”New-York Brass Quintet”. Le programme prévoyait aussi qu’un des membres du groupe de Jimi devrait jouer avec le quintet lors du concert d’ouverture. Si on imagine aisément les possibilités que cette opportunité pouvait offrir à Jimi (qui refusa poliment), c’est finalement Mitch qui s’y colla en jouant des percussions sur du Bach et du Mozart, mais il n’y a malheureusement aucun témoignage audio qui circule. Le spectacle pris le nom de ”An Electronic Thanksgiving”.

S’il est très surprenant qu’un tel événement n’ait pas été enregistré professionnellement, trois bandes audience circulent pour le premier des deux shows donnés ce soir là. La meilleure source est malheureusement incomplète, la seconde présente de la distorsion et des cuts, et la troisième, complète, est de qualité audio encore inférieure.



C’est un groupe très en forme qui a ouvert le concert avec un ”Fire” comme souvent rapide et énergique. Jimi rallonge son solo de plusieurs mesures avant la reprise du chant, laissant même son batteur y insérer un mini solo de batterie. Sur la bande, le son est sourd et présente de la distorsion, heureusement qu’il s’améliorera par la suite.

Mitch débute pour le second titre l’intro de ”I Don’t Live Today”. Si le premier couplet chanté est classique, la suite du morceau est pour le moins exceptionnelle ! Le début du solo de guitare est sans surprise, mais sa continuation durant plusieurs mesures n’est que déluge de sons de toutes sortes. Jimi se calme ensuite un peu avant de repartir de plus belle pour une fin démentielle. Quelle énergie ! Quel délire à ce stade du concert ! Mais surtout quel dommage qu’un éventuel enregistrement officiel n’ait pas encore fait surface. Moins célèbre que beaucoup d’autres titres de l’Experience, ”I Don’t Live Today” n’en est pas moins fascinant, avec en live une expression de toute la colère de Jimi face au sort réservé aux indiens d’Amérique.



Jimi présente le morceau suivant comme une Jam nommé ”Waiting For The Train”, que l’on connaîtra par la suite sous le nom de ”Hear My Train A Comin'”. La chanson commence sur un tempo assez lent, qui restera le même tout au long du morceau. Les premiers couplets présentent des vers qui seront changés par la suite sur les versions de 1969, ce n’est ici que la cinquième fois que le groupe joue le morceau. C’est en effet une sorte de Jam que le groupe propose, qui ne présentera finalement que très peu de changements par la suite dans sa structure.

”Spanish Castle Magic” est beaucoup plus court que lors du concert de la veille à Providence. Le solo n’en est pas moins intense et réussi, avec un break joué a capella, suivi d’un passage avec les dents, où on entend d’ailleurs distinctement notre bootlegger dire émerveillé ”he's playing with his teeth... ”. Excellente version.

”Foxy Lady” est ensuite exécutée de manière efficace. Comme pour ”Fire”, on est rarement déçu par ce titre joué pratiquement systématiquement depuis les débuts du groupe.

Après ces deux titres explosifs, ”Red House” ramène un peu de calme dans le Philarmonic Hall. Joué sur une magnifique Gibson SG blanche au son si caractéristique, le morceau démarre par une intro instrumentale très lente, Jimi chantant ensuite ses couplets avec conviction. Le solo est comme souvent inspiré et totalement improvisé, Mitch doublant ses coups de caisse claire durant toute une mesure. Jimi se sert ensuite d’une baguette de batterie pour produire des sons en tapant doucement sur ses cordes. Le solo se termine a capella à la wha wha, avant que la section rythmique ne rejoigne Jimi pour la fin du solo et du titre.



Comme sur la vidéo du premier concert de Stockholm de janvier 1969, Jimi joue juste après ”Red House” le ”Sunshine Of Your Love” de Cream sur sa Gibson SG. Noel nous gratifie d’un solo de basse assez brouillon, pendant lequel on entend des bruits stridents certainement issus du contact entre un micro chant et les cordes de Jimi, comme le montre la photo verso de la pochette du CD. Mitch fera aussi son solo de batterie, lui aussi non inoubliable. Le groupe termine ensuite le morceau en reprenant le riff principal en baissant crescendo son tempo.

Le dernier morceau, ”Purple Haze”, est joué sur un rythme très soutenu, avec un solo sauvage à l’extrême, rallongé de plusieurs mesures. Comme souvent, Jimi se trompe grossièrement dans ses paroles lors du dernier couplet. On entend ensuite de nouveau des sons produits par le frottement des cordes sur un objet métallique et le final du concert est joué avec les dents.

L’histoire retiendra aussi que l’anniversaire de Jimi a été fêté ce soir là au Philarmonic Hall, à grand renfort de gâteaux et de cadeaux.



C’est donc un super concert qui a été offerts aux spectateurs du Philarmonic Hall ce soir là, avec pratiquement aucun problème de justesse et des versions magnifiques.

Mitch Mitchell (autobiographie) : "We'd always wanted to play Carnegie Hall, but they wouldn't have us. In lieu of that we were offered the Philharmonic, which was great. Lovely hall, very prestigious, no rock band had ever played there.
Only one problem, a member of the band had to play in a symphonic context. Jimi and Noel flatly refused, so I thought OK, what the hell, I'll do it. Would I mind having tea with Leonard Bernstein? Which I did; charming chap. He suggested that I might like to play percussion with The New York Brass Ensemble.
It was fine, I went on with them, with a collar and tie on and did some Bach and a little Mozart after which The Experience played. It was a great gig and the whole thing was filmed and I'd love to see it."

Philharmonic Hall

Info:
All Sources
ATM 196-198 / 2002 / 3CDR

An Electric Thanksgiving

Philharmonic Hall, New York City, NY 28.11.68
[1st Show; 1st, 2nd & 3rd Source + Stereo Effect Mixes ["Red House" (33) / "Sunshine Of Your Love" (12)]]; 72:36 / 58:05 / 47:50)

1st Source (25 min): Aud; 2nd Gen
2nd Source (72 min): Aud; 1st Gen
3rd Source (58 min): Aud; 1st Gen Stereo Effect mixes: Fake Stereo versions from 3rd Source with patches from 1st Source (EQed and a little reverb added to one channel)


Disc 1
1st source

01. Intro
02. Fire
03. I Don't Live Today
04. Hear My Train A Comin'
05. Spanish Castle Magic
06. Foxy Lady
07. Red House
08. Sunshine Of Your Love
09. Purple Haze

Disc 2
2nd source

01. Intro
02. Fire
03. I Don't Live Today
04. Hear My Train A Comin'
05. Spanish Castle Magic
06. Foxy Lady
07. Red House
08. Sunshine Of Your Love
09. Purple Haze

Disc 3
3rd source

01. I Don't Live Today
02. Hear My Train A Comin'
03. Spanish Castle Magic
04. Red House
05. Sunshine Of Your Love

Le Merge de Thomas Geneser :

Merge Vol.1
Collector's Disc / 26.05.2000 / 2CDR

[g]An Electric Thanksgiving[/g]
Philharmonic Hall
New York City, NY 28.11.68
Complete 1st Show
Thomas G. Stereo Effect Mix
1st, 2nd & 3rd Aud Sources synchronized
Total time: 74 min.

Citation :

Ayler a dit :  
Après un rapide survol, le Merge me semble incontournable dans la mesure où la meilleure source d'un point de vue audio (ATM 198) n'est pas la plus complète. Les deux autres présentent pas mal de distorsion - surtout l'ATM 197. Avec un groupe distant.

Journal inconnu - ‘Jimi Hendrix Experience’:
I don’t think the builders and planners of Philharmonic Hall in their wildest flights of imagination ever thought that someday that conservative stage would be filled with giant speakers powered by amplifiers turned up full volume, pouring out ecstasy to a capacity crowd. But it came to pass, not once but twice, on Thanksgiving, as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, denied the use of Carnegie Hall, let loose with their usual mind assault.
Perhaps to atone for the desecration of this shrine, the first half of the show was given to Fernando Valenti, a highly regarded classical pianist, and the New York Brass Quintet, a straight chamber ensemble. Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell joined the quintet for their last number, and if the match did not quite create a new art form, it was an interesting, cute segment.
With an apologetic “we haven’t practised for a while, so we’re just going to jam a little and see what happens,” Hendrix led his crew, which includes Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, through their paces. The Experience somehow always manage to stay on the tasteful side of excessive loudness, and if the lack of practise showed up occasionally, it was compensated for by many moments of sheer beauty. Tunes were mostly staples from the Hendrix repertoire, ‘Fire,’ ‘I Don’t Live Today,’ ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ (groups current single), ‘Foxey Lady,’ and ‘Purple Haze,’ but their instrumental interpretation of ‘Sunshine Of Your Love,’ done as a tribute to Cream, was one of those pleasant surprises that [just made?] going worth while.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES - by Robert Shelton:
“Two baroque and roll concerts at Philharmonic Hall got off to a rocky start. . but ended triumphantly, if not for the mating of classics and pop, at least for the star, Jimi Hendrix.
The trend toward mixing classics and rock has been gathering force in recent months. It is primarily a recording industry concept for selling more records to the youth market. But is also an idea that has captured the imagination of composers, concert producers and fans who see no need for categories in musical experience.
It all begins to make sense if we view the superstar, Mr. Hendrix, as a great classical virtuoso, He breaks strings, as did Paganini. He postures, as did Liszt. He deals in thundering climaxes, as did Beethoven. He explores the range of colors and effects of his guitar-turned-orchestra, as did Stravinsky with other instruments.
The parallel has its obvious limits. Mr. Hendrix is, beyond being an impeccable musician-singer, a one- man revolutionary, lover and showman. He makes the tradition of the blues as modern as tomorrow, astounding the teeny-boppers with his arrogance while soothing them with warmth and eroticism. The show was originally planned for Carnegie Hall, but found no welcome there.
The young audience was a bit surly and rough, but didn’t really cause much trouble. And Mr. Hendrix, in the first show at least, happily found he could cause excitement enough without smashing his loudspeakers, as he often does....
The evening began poorly. The great baroque harpsichordist, Mr. Valenti, was forced to endure an audience as mannerless as young savages. They buzzed and whistled through his Scarlatti and cheered his brilliant playing in mock appreciation. The host and scene- maker, Steve Paul, admonished them against acting ‘with the sensitivity of the Chicago police.’
This seemed to turn the trick, for the kids then listened appreciatively to the Brass Quintet. But the audience responded best when the drummer, Mr. Mitchell, joined them for some informal jamming. It is going to be some time before rock audiences, or, to be specific, before some rock audiences, can begin to appreciate all the musical feasts spread before them.
But, that day is not far off Mr. Valenti’s gracious patience will earn its reward.”

THE VILLAGE VOICE - by Annie Fisher:
“Calling it a feast hardly does justice to all the music going down around town last week: give thanks for Thanksgiving and all the students it brings to town to support the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Jefferson Airplane, Slim Harpo, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Incredible String Band, etc., etc. in one week... I spent the early afternoon in a pastry factory ‘The later afternoon [28 November] I spent on the hosy stage of a deserted Philharmonic Hall, littered with never-again speakers that Jimi Hendrix had rammed through some where else the night before. I don’t know if ABC-TV used the interview they taped with road manager Jerry [sic] Stickells and an ebullient equipment man named Eric [Barret]
Returning a couple of hours later by the front entrance... I found the house packed and the stage deserted. I was late, but Hendrix was later. If any fault was to be found in the show it was that it seemed disappointingly truncated. I don’t think Hendrix could possibly not play well, but this fourth time I’ve seen him in concert reminded me again that if you can possibly catch him jamming (not difficult if you stay up late and can make the Scene when he’s in town), you’re going to hear Hendrix at his very best.
He is a born entertainer as well as musician, very much at home on stage, but as the innovator he is, he is at his best exploring, experimenting, or even just noodling around in the freedom and challenge a jam session provides.”
(Page?) [title?] Eric Barrettinterview by by Annie Fisher: “Do you think the generation gap applies to Hendrix’s music?” [….]
[Eric]: “After the Hendrix concert in Philadelphia [31 March], an older lady who had just come from the concert gushed to me, ‘Isn’t it wonderful, all those young people coming out to hear Harry Belafonte!’ Belafonte was scheduled to appear the week after.”

RAT SUBTERRANEAN NEWS - by Vince Aletti:
“Jimi Hendrix was late for the first show..., and it was taken as a bad omen. During the ever-lengthening intermission, another bad sign began to take shape: the audience....
The teenybopper contingent was out in force, holding down the front rows or, later, taking frantic headlong runs from the back to crouch religiously in the front aisles. In the lobby, someone offered a joint to a boy who looked like he might soon be fifteen. ‘I don’t need it,’ he said, already somewhere else: ‘I’m tripping.’ Another one of those audiences. A sort of dread began to set in.
But as usual, omens proved a waste of time and when Hendrix finally came out on stage.. .he easily dispelled them... He broke exuberantly into ‘Fire,’ sending warm waves of excitement through the audience. This was not entirely reassuring since what had bothered me about previous Hendrix concerts was his decision to stick with the crowd-pleasing over first album material. And as soon as the first song ended, people began to scream requests for ‘Foxy Lady’ and ‘Purple Haze.’ But Hendrix told them to relax, that he
was gonna jam and would get to everything in time.. It was the first time I had seen Hendrix take command of the audience rather than let them command him, and after that everything got better.
At one point, a girl called Hendrix to the edge of the stage, handing him a string of beads. He took it and put it on top of one of the amplifiers, still torn in a gaping hole from the last guitar attack (a scene mercifully left out of this act). When the girl persisted in calling Hendrix over again he laughed, telling her. . .back at his mike, ‘Watch out, baby, I’m a booger man. Watch out.’ Dig it. I think maybe I’ve been underestimating Hendrix all this time.”


BILLBOARD (page?) ‘Hendrix Knocks the Stuffings Out of Hall’
“Philharmonic Hall underwent a Jimi Hendrix Experience and a unique ‘Electronic Thanksgiving’ Thursday (28), surviving the two-show assault with its classical aplomb ruffled like the feathers of the holiday turkey. Appropriately plumed for the occasion, Jimi Hendrix.. punished two guitars till they cried out in great gulps of psychedelic agony and flashed his classical-type virtuosity for a savage bunch of teeny-hoppers....
Hendrix ‘jammed’ with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, coloring his athletic guitar man with sexy twists, hip quips and struttings and the lack of inhibition of a one-man revolution erupting on stage. Taking in his gait and dress, it becomes apparent that the instrument Hendrix plays best of all is Hendrix himself, a circus with all three rings in rhythm.
Hendrix’s impossible licks and riffs, coaxed out of his guitar without mercy, screamed through Philharmonic in waves and bursts. His […] were frantic translations of blues, lyrically retarded but soaring in their mind-bending psychedelic effect. His high-frequency guitar work, fed to the audience through giant amplifiers torn open from previous Hendrix destructive fits, flitted through a range of decibel and vocal imitations as Hendrix threw himself bodily into the beat.
Arrogant as a barroom bully and erotic to the point of outright invitation, Hendrix wailed from his knees while changing strings and by raking the strings across the microphone and his mouth. Following a rude reception to virtuoso harpsichordist Fernando Valenti and
the New York Brass Quintet, Hendrix stomped on stage to the war whoops of excited fans. And though the Hendrix Experience is the most ecstatic musical experience in rock today, Philharmonic should have been spared the scene of the rock trip and left in darkness to enjoy a quiet Thanksgiving.”

Superbes !

Yesss!

J'ai échangé des mails avec un photographe qui était droit devant Jimi pour le premier show. Il m'a dit qu'il n'a aucun souvenir d'une équipe de tournage autour de la scène.
J'imagine mal une équipe arriver comme ça, uniquement pour le deuxième show. Donc, Mitch a sûrement confondu ces performances avec RAH. Pourtant c'est Keith Shadwick qui avait dit dans "Jimi Hendrix: Musicien" que l'événement avait été filmé par Gold & Goldstein !
Je vais envoyer une lettre à Jerry Goldstein en personne pour essayer de résoudre le mystère.

Purple Jim a écrit:

J'ai échangé des mails avec un photographe qui était droit devant Jimi pour le premier show.

Bravo Purple Jim.
Il pourrait donc confirmer si nos photos sont bien du premier show, car finalement, on n'en est pas sûrs ! On a peut-être posté certaines des siennes...
Et, aussi, est-il resté pour le second ?

Pour le second show, d'après Ben Valkhoff, on sait seulement qu'ils ont joué Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Voici le lien vers sa page Flickr :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aabriss/4477855248/in/photostream/

Merci pour le lien, Purple Jim. Il y a des photos qu'on n'a pas.
Mais il dit qu'elles ont été prises en 1969.