Sacramento (Memorial Auditorium) : 15 Septembre 1968

Sacramento (Memorial Auditorium) : 15 Septembre 1968
5000 spectateurs

Setlist partielle :

1. Johnny Be Goode
2. Are You Experienced ?
3. Stone Free
4. Red House
5. Foxy Lady
6. I Feel Fine
7. Hey Joe
8. Star Spangled Banner
9. Purple Haze

A noter que Jimi joua l’intro complète de “I Feel Fine” des Beatles avant d’entamer “Hey Joe”.

Les témoignages de l’époque parlent d’un concert merveilleux (Source Eyewitness 1968).

THE SACRAMENTO BEE - by Don Speich:

“It is difficult to say whether Hendrix. . . is a masterful technician or a somewhat accomplished musician. Without a doubt he has mastered the art (?) of effectively manipulating the electronic devices on his white guitar and his assorted amplifiers. The net result of this deftness is usually mind-tearing dronings and screeches which sound like they might be emerging from the fabled dark holes of Calcutta.
On the other hand when he was doing such songs as ‘Purple Haze,’ Foxey Lady’ and ‘Hey Joe’ - three of his best known songs which are rated in the rock world as ‘biggies’ - he did what genuinely could be called good work on his guitar. However, to praise an electrical guitarist - especially one whose bag is rock - as an accomplished musician is difficult at best. For it is extremely difficult to determine where the electronics end and the musician begins.
Without a doubt, Hendrix. . . is a showman. On stage he is definitely Mr. Cool, stopping between each number to tune up his guitar, adjust his electronic devices and throw to the audience a few anecdotes - which unfortunately were inaudible due to the continual droning of the amplifiers....
To say that The Jimi Hendrix Experience is either a good or a bad rock group is hard to do. There appears to be absolutely no point to any of his songs other than providing a vehicle from which he can display his technological and/or musical know-how. However, if this is your thing, your kind of rock, complete with numerous chords and tricky finger work, Hendrix is unsurpassed.
The outstanding group of the night, in this writer’s opinion, was the Vanilla Fudge, a New York-based rock group which preceded Hendrix on stage...”

THE SACRAMENTO UNION - by Charles F. Slater:

“Total involvement is the Jimi Hendrix Experience. As the standing-room-only crowd in the Memorial Auditorium Sunday night can verify, you don’t just hear Jimi Hendrix, you feel his music through every pore of your body. You’ve got to be either dead or turned off completely not to pick up the life beat of the Hendrix style. Man, it simply turns you on.
Hendrix performed 12 numbers including blues, rock and rhythm and blues - all with his own signature on each number. As a gesture to the past, he opened with an old rock rendition of ‘Johnny Be Good’ [sic] which sounded almost a thousand years old. After ‘Are You Experienced?’ the trio really began to groove with ‘Stone Free’ that got everyone up. Hendrix was terrific in a soul-rock vocal and solo guitar offering of ‘Red House’ - a straight 12-bar blues composition.
We were all ready to blow our minds by ‘Foxy Lady’ wondering if it could be topped. It was. After a complete intro from the Beatles’ ‘I Feel Fine.’ Hendrix swung into ‘Hey, Joe and swirled the incense.
After a biting musical comment on our present state of violence and cruelty
- achieved by interspersing bars from the National Anthem with electronic gunfire and screams of anguish - the Jimi Hendrix Experience closed with its great hit ‘Purple Haze.’ The audience- there must have been 5,000 - gave this superb 3-man rock-jazz group a screaming standing ovation. It was wonderful.”

A must heard!!!