GOWN by Liam and Roisin McAuley:
“It is now an acknowledged fact that a Pop Concert should be ear-splitting and kaleidoscopic. Last week’s Jimi Hendrix concert fulfilled both criteria. On stage, amplifiers dwarfed and deafened the performers; in the gallery frenzied amateurs feverishly juggled with six squares of coloured cellophane and two spotlights. Fifteen hundred people sat in the ’Whitla’ and waited for their minds to he blown...
It was Hendrix’ s birthday. The audience sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in a feeble and slightly embarrassed fashion. The compére hurriedly initiated a cry of ‘We want Jimi.’ The lights dimmed and weaved; Hendrix exploded on to the stage; ‘Plug your ears, it’s gonna be LOUD.’ the ensuing welter of noise, confusion and flashing lights could not obscure the fact that Jimi Hendrix is a guitarist of considerable talent and though it is at times difficult to separate sheer gimmickness from genuine musical expression. He played the guitar in fifty different positions from the Kama Sutra, made an indecent assault upon the amplifier, and in a final frenetic gesture smashed a Fender Stratacaster [sic] against the wall (having first displayed method in his madness by unplugging it). It was as though he had finally succeeded in identifying the instrument with his own arrogant virility and subsequently frustrated with the latter had involved it in the final act of destruction. It is now as important to smash a guitar as it is to play it. Hendrix did both with admirable expertise.”
Offstage, Hendrix is incongruously mild, affable, and unassuming. He sat in the dressing room, temporarily detached from the bevy of road-managers, and munched birthday cake. He constantly strummed a guitar covered in psychedelic patterns.”
L&R: [on his painted flying V guitar?]
Jimi: “Just something I painted on in half an hour.”
L&R: [on his dress style?]
Jimi: “The comments on my dress don’t worry me - it’s good publicity.
L&R: [on his hair?]
Jimi: My hairstyle? I got it from watching a lot of old Tony Curtis movies.”
L&R: Playing for anything from £750 to £1,000 for a single performance, Hendrix claims that the money is not so important now, although his original motive in coming to Britain was that be?:
Jimi: “I needed the bread. I don’t mind about the money so long as the atmosphere is good.”
L&R: [on his influences?]
Jimi: “Influences? I’m influenced by Dylan; I’m influenced by the whole world. My songs are usually personal. I was glad, for instance, that “The Wind Cries Mary” [sic - most likely a transcript error by the McAuley’s as Jimi probably referred to “The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” instead – Caesar Glebeek.] which meant a lot to me, wasn’t a big hit. I wouldn’t like it kicked around like any old Dave Dee number.”
L&R: [on drugs?]
Jimi: “Drugs? If they do something for people then it’s up to them. Take the Beatles for example. People are like sheep, they have to follow somebody. If this Maharishi cat turns them on, I suppose that’s O.K. But I think that a human being should believe in himself a little more.”
L&R: [on Vietnam?]
Jimi: “I have no views on Vietnam because it doesn’t affect me personally. If something doesn’t directly affect my life, then I’m not interested.”
L&R: [on the press?]
Jimi: “The press depict me as some kind of monster.”
L&R: “Hendrix is indeed widely known as “the wild man of British Pop,” but whatever one may make of his performance on the stage, offstage he is polite (he deftly prevented me from sitting in a puddle of cold coffee) approachable and articulate. A monster? Hardly.”
Sujet: Belfast “Festival Of Arts” (Whitla Hall, Queen’s College) : 27 novembre 1967 
Mar 13 Juil 2010 - 21:23
