(label)
29 October 2007 (released)
15 November 2007
Jimi Hendrix is arguably the most famous of all iconic guitarists. He rolled over the England in the mid 60’s and rocked the British public. He did this while remaining little known in his homeland, the US of A. Monterey was his homecoming and his formal introduction to the American audience. This was his opportunity to showcase the talent that had all in Britain stunned into awe. The Hendrix fan base included the Beatles and the Stones and his abilities forced a certain Mr. Clapton back into the practice room.
The festival at Monterey in 1967 provided Hendrix and his band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with 200,000 new comers to his music. They were blown away. He followed The Who to the stage with the cocky guitarist promising Pete Townshend he would upstage them, pulling out all the stops. This he did. This performance was Hendrix driving to win the crowd over. This is the beauty of the performance on this DVD - he had no reputation in the States at the time, this performance made his reputation.
His set is brilliant, but also accessible. It had to be. This set stands as a great introduction to him as a showman and a musician. The set includes Hey Joe, Foxy Lady, The Wind Cries May as well as superb covers of Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone and The Animals Wild Thing.
The DVD screening at the Leicester Square Hippodrome was followed by a live performance with Gary Moore taking lead guitar. His band for the first half of the evening included Darrin Mooney on drums and Dave Bronze on bass. They kicked the evening off with Purple Haze and crashed through Manic Depression, Foxy Lady along with other established Hendrix tracks. The highlight of the evening was when Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell took to the stage along with Billy Cox on bass to support Moore through Red House and Hey Joe. Billy Cox sang vocals for part of Red House with his true Blues voice. Mooney and Bronze then returned for the finale of Voodoo Chile where Moore even simulated using his teeth for the guitar solo. He refrained from setting the guitar on fire leaving the stage with only a wave and a thank you. How the legends change,..
Mitch Mitchell spoke of his fortune as a young man for the chance to play with Hendrix. The 200,000 at Monterey were all lucky to witness this show. The DVD is well worth a watch.
