Ash and Jonathan on the Gibson Bus
Little visitors!
Newspaper review from Seattle
Three-hour celebration would've blown Hendrix's mind
By MIKEL TOOMBS
SPECIAL TO THE P-I
No guitars were harmed during the Experience Hendrix concert Thursday
night at the Paramount.
MUSIC REVIEW
EXPERIENCE HENDRIX
WHEN: Thursday night
WHERE: Paramount Theatre
Of course, borrowing from Seattle-born Jimi Hendrix's bag of tricks,
one was picked behind the head. And another was played, this time
with inimitable style by influential bluesman Buddy Guy, with
overalls and a drumstick.
In celebration of rock's most influential guitarist, whose meteoric
career ended with his death in 1970, instruments were caressed,
coaxed and cajoled to maximum, this-one-goes-to-11 effect. It was a
star-studded night of electric-guitar heroics and, save a brief
appearance by Seattle's Kim Virant singing "Little Wing," a total
testosterone fest.
The three-hour blowout featured some of the best guitarists of the
past half-century, from Chicago blues legends Guy, 72, and Hubert
Sumlin, 76, to young phenoms Jonny Lang (he was truly phenomenal
here), Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Eric Gales. Playfully, lefty Gales,
who wielded his guitar upside down in the familiar manner, opened
with the behind-the-head maneuver and by repeating the classic
mishearing of the "Purple Haze" lyric, " 'Scuse me while I kiss this
guy."
The local representatives alone indicated the breadth of Hendrix's
influence. It comes as no surprise that Pearl Jam guitarist Mike
McCready is a fan, or that his trio Shadow '86 is a tribute. Here,
McCready, bassist Rick Friel and drummer Chris Friel brought the
raucous crowd to its feet (OK, it was cheating a bit) with a full-
band version of Hendrix's Woodstock-classic reworking of "The Star
Spangled Banner."
More intriguing was the effect on '80s-concept-metal rockers
Queensryche, with singer Geoff Tate declaring that hearing Jimi's
rendition of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" made him want to
rock. And while the contrast between Tate's slick vocals and
Hendrix's nonchalant-sounding ones was jarring, Scott Rockenfield
very impressively doubled up on Jimi Hendrix Experience veteran Mitch
Mitchell's drum parts.
Once one of rock's most explosive percussionists, the frail-looking
Mitchell was reduced to the role of nostalgic reminder. That wasn't
the case with bassist Billy Cox, the longtime Hendrix sideman who
shepherded Thursday's ever-changing lineup for a good portion of the
evening.
Cox took to the microphone for "Stone Free," playing off of Mato
Nanji of the Native American band Indigenous, and later sang on "Red
House" as Lang, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Robby Krieger of
The Doors and the still-vital Guy dueled behind him.
Mikel Toombs can be reached at mikeltoombs@gmail.com.
2nd Review from Seattle
Concert review | Tribute concert unites those who inspired and were
inspired by Jimi Hendrix
Concert review by Patrick MacDonald: The Experience Hendrix Tribute
Tour featured nearly two dozen musicians playing the music of Jimi
Hendrix — from Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Mike McCready to
Hendrix bandmates Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox — at a concert at the
Paramount on Nov. 6.
By Patrick MacDonald
Music & Nightlife RSS feed
Concert Review |
Jimi Hendrix continues to inspire, 40 years on.
Guitarists young and old waved their freak flags high Thursday night
at the Paramount, channeling their inner Hendrixes, while a big,
appreciative crowd danced and cheered and air-guitared the night away.
It was a kick hearing Jonny Lang tear through "Let Me Stand Next To
Your Fire," his face contorting along with the feedback and piercing
high notes; exhilarating to watch Kenny Wayne Shepherd march across
the stage like a man possessed while grinding out an extended "Voodoo
Child"; and inspiring, on the day after the election, to stand with
the audience for Mike McCready's moving, powerful rendition of "The
Star Spangled Banner," the Pearl Jam guitarist echoing Hendrix's
famous Woodstock version while adding some fireworks of his own.
The occasion was the next-to-last concert of the five-week, 19-stop
Experience Hendrix 2008 Tribute Tour, the third and longest in the
series, and bigger than the 2004 and 2007 editions.
The show also featured drummer Mitch Mitchell, of the Jimi Hendrix
Experience, looking frail but in good spirits, and another Hendrix
bandmate, bassist Billy Cox, from Band of Gypsies, who played bass
and sang the lead on "Red House."
Brad Whitford of Aerosmith showed his mighty blues chops on several
numbers. He traded fiery licks with Lang on "Spanish Castle Magic"
and "The Wind Cries Mary." Michael Wilton tore the place up with his
guitar solo on "All Along the Watchtower," with fellow Queensryche
member Geoff Tate handling the vocal.
Robby Krieger, legendary guitarist of the Doors, was featured on "Got
Me Floating" and played on most of the other songs. Mato Nanji of
Indigenous played guitar and sang the lead on "Hey Joe."
Blues greats Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy, who both inspired Hendrix,
played classic blues songs and joined in Hendrix jams with the other
musicians, about 20 in all.
The songs stayed faithful to Hendrix's recorded versions at first,
but all were expanded into long flights of improv and guitar
shootouts, to the delight of the crowd. Old-timers like me, who
remember seeing Hendrix back in the day (as I write this, a picture
of Hendrix and me taken 40 years ago is on the wall in front of me),
made up a sizable portion of the crowd. But there were a lot of young
fans, too. His spirit lives on.
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