The tickets for the concert were a princely sum of USD 6.50, which meant at least four hours of work at minimum wage at Dunkin’ Donuts where I worked part time
TORONTO: It was exactly 51 years ago on May 16, 1970, that I witnessed in person Jimi Hendrix – the Guitar God of rock – send everybody to Nirvana.
It was early Spring on the campus of Cornell University and we got wind of a concert with Hendrix and Grateful Dead coming up in Philadelphia. Two of America’s most famous bands were going to perform back to back just a four-hour drive away and it was on a Saturday, so no disruption of classes. However the tickets were a princely sum of USD 6.50, which meant at least four hours of work at minimum wage at Dunkin’ Donuts where I worked part time. To put that in perspective, a typical concert would be US$2 or less and this was US$6.50!
Nonetheless, my friends and I decided what the heck, let’s do it!
As fate would have it, Tricky Dick (as President Richard Nixon was known) decided to expand the Vietnam War into Cambodia that resulted in the Kent State University killings on May 4, 1970. Classes all over the US were cancelled as deans and professors stood in solidarity with students.
With no pressing need to study, do homework or finish projects, we were all in a super relaxed mood as we drove down to Philly, extremely excited to see the God of all musicians. By that time we also knew that the band Cactus featuring America’s best drummer, Carmine Appice (formerly of Vanilla Fudge), was also going to be part of the show.
Arriving at the venue, Temple University, we ordered a Pepperoni, meatball and sausage pizza and several Dr. Pepper cans. At the venue we learnt that Jam Factory and Steve Miller band were to perform as well, which meant the show was FGVFM (F$$king good value for money)!
As the afternoon wore on with fans zapped out smoking pot and many on mind-bending alternatives a la Timothy Leary, the atmosphere got very chummy with strangers passing joints to one another and sharing food and soda (as pop is known in the US). Like how can you go see Grateful Dead and Jimi unless you were in a purple haze (name of a Hendrix song referring to a hallucinogenic state of mind) with lots of Panama Red (potent marijuana) around?
I don’t remember the set lists exactly but I am sure they are on the net somewhere, but Carmine on the drums sent everyone asunder. Grateful Dead wowed everybody with “Mama Tried”, “China Cat Sunflower” and their anthem “Casey Jones”, with everybody singing “Ridin’ my train, high on cocaine, Casey Jones you better watch your speed…”, along with Jerry Garcia and the rest of the band.
Then came Hendrix! The moment everyone was waiting for! Lore has it that every last band member who was playing that day joined the audience to watch him perform!
The “man with the guitar”, who had Eric Clapton quiver in his shoes and had Pete Townsend gape in awe at his prowess, appeared and took it to the top and then… OVER THE TOP!
His rendition of The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, still rings in my head. What a version! I even heard Paul McCartney at a concert once remarking that he was totally touched and blown away when he heard Jimi do it. Jimi was backstage and heard that Paul was in the audience and practised it once before going on stage and perform the song as a tribute to The Beatles. The other cover that still rings in my mind is Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”. Man oh man!
His originals though were what everybody was waiting for and he let loose with “Machine Gun” where he actually made his guitar sound like a machine gun ratatatting away, something he picked up while in the army. Red House and Foxey Lady had everyone yelling for more. When he rammed into “Fire” with the lyrics “Move over Rover and let Jimi take over”, you could hear just Jimi on the guitar, bending, stretching and twisting every note, speed warping to realms other guitarists never even knew existed!
Purple Haze and Voodoo Chile took everyone on a spaced out odyssey to the outer reaches of the galaxy!
Nirvana was never so sweet!
(A financial/mortgage expert, Lachman Balani lives in Mississauga)
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