THE RAG by Richard Tedhams:
“The Jimi Hendrix Experience played at the cavernous San Antonio Municipal Auditorium.., to a few thousand jaded San Antonio teenies and assorted other persons... The teenies. . .contributed substantially to a disappointing evening. They could not stay in their seats, nor could they stay quiet. They were not screaming, though: Their noises and movements were largely on a social level as they meandered about trying to let everyone see how stoned they were. Anyway, their noises and restlessness detracted from the ‘show’ (I do not use this term hesitatingly: The Jimi Hendrix Experience does more than play rock - they put on an entertainment where each number is an act centering around Hendrix.)
The performance started (naturally) about thirty minutes late. Then, after an introduction by the two San Antonio top 40 disc jockeys (they were booed), the Soft Machine.. came on for about a forty minute set which consisted of one tedious and pretentious number that had the audience yelling for Hendrix after ten minutes....
Well, the Jimi Hendrix Experience finally came on and, of course, they were fantastic. They did eight numbers in all (about thirty minutes for six dollars), ‘Purple Haze’, ‘Fire’, ‘Foxy Lady’, ‘Hey Joe’, a long blues number and an abstract thing from their next album, and two other numbers.
And Hendrix really does do all those things with his guitar that we read about: he did splits with the neck of his guitar waving at the audience from his crotch. He played it with the mike, with his hands, elbows, teeth, buttocks, knees, and groin. He played it behind his back, over his head, on the floor, through his legs..., right-handed and left-handed.
But, most importantly, he played it well; aside from his some times overwhelming theatrics, he is a brilliant, extremely facile guitarist who has an uncanny rapport with his sidemen"
Sujet: San Antonio (Municipal Auditorium): 2 août 1968 
Mar 13 Juil 2010 - 22:47
