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Saturday, March 22, 2008
THE NIGHT I MET JIMI HENDRIX- 10 WEEKS BEFORE HE DIED
My first concert, a big name national act concert, was Jimi Hendrix playing with The Amboy Dukes (and Ted Nugent), The Vanilla Fudge and The Soft Machine. I think tickets were $3.50 and I know there were two shows. Hendrix was trying to downplay his showman theatrics that people had heard about and seen at the Monterrey Pop Festival, but Nugent and lead singer John Drake were off stage and out in the audience. Their show was quite a show, and the remaining tickets for the second show sold out in seconds after their performance. Unfortunately for them, they were fired for "showing off" and didn't get to play the second show. I had tickets for both shows, so I saw Hendrix twice in one day.
Ted Nugent and John Drake put on quite a show- and got booted off the Hendrix tour by phone by manager Chas Chandler! They were paid off for the entire tour.
Jimi did not like playing the South because of the way he was treated by cops and rednecks, so it would take the Second Atlanta Pop Festival for him to play Georgia again.
I stood at my friends car looking at the camera I held in one hand, and a hit of acid in the other. This was my dilemma, here I am waiting to head back to the speedway where the second Atlanta International Pop Festival was and I know taking my 125 dollar camera and losing it would be a tragedy. I had to decide- take the acid, or take the camera.
I looked at the list of names playing, Hendrix, Bloodrock, Spirit, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter, The Chambers Brothers, Ten Years After. The Allman Brothers, who hadn't played the first festival were not only set to play this one but were the lead act! This I decided, was a night for tripping. After all I could take pictures of the bands later, next year. This was going to be a blast. So I put the camera in the trunk of my friends car, and headed back to the grounds. I had been to a lake to try and cool off from the over 100 degree heat where I discovered people having sex in the bushes, on a slide, right out in the open. I realized I probably wouldn't reconnect with my pals until the next day, but at least I knew where the car was. So I went back to the grounds. As I got inside I could feel the tingling in my jaw and my face relaxed into a smile. I walked around the crowd to the stage and people were standing around discussing the fact that the bikers doing security had left because they hadn't received the beer they were promised. One hand and a slight push and the small fence separating the crowd from the backstage was gone.
 Grand Funk Railroads live excitement never made it on record- they arrived in a helicopter to the show, too!
The Chambers Brothers did their song TIME HAS COME TODAY and it was an unforgettable performance- which caused a long line at the LSD OD tent, too! The Temptations and Chambers Brothers were doing psychedelic music which signalled that LSD had hit the working class. Songs like PSYCHEDELIC SHACK, CLOUD 9 sigalled a change in the Detroit/ Gary sound. The door was kicked all the way down when The Funkadelics released MAGGOTBRAIN.
A helicopter flew over the crowd.
This was amazing. Hendrix was arriving from the sky.
When Jimi Hendrix arrived he had a headband made from cloth and a shirt that was opened enough to give the women eyeing him a glimpse of his chest. He was smiling and asking where he could tune up. One of the musicians said onstage! Hendrix rolled his eyes, signed an autograph for a girl and I spoke up. I told him I had seen him play when he first came to Atlanta with Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes, The Soft Machine and The Vanilla Fudge twice in one day. He looked at me quizzically and asked how old I was. Before I could answer I remembered my fake ID in my pocket and told him 19. I didn't tell anyone how young I was in those days. He asked me about the scene in Atlanta, and said to me the scene in San Francisco was over "because of the teenyboppers". Ouch. We spoke for about 20 minutes before some promoter types came by and grabbed him for photos.
I decided I would walk to the front of the stage to see him play and sure enough, at the start of some of the songs they were all out of tune, but within a minute everything was fine. A girl that saw me leave the backstage area asked if I knew Hendrix and I said I just met and talked to him, and she began making out with me in front of the stage while he played. G-R-O-O-V-Y. here you can actually see the videos of Jimi performing at the Festival. http://www.thestripproject.com/1970_Atlanta_Pop_Festival.html
We went off after he finished playing and found a spot to ball and by the end I was coming down from my trip. She left to find her boyfriend (!) and I headed back to the car.
Two festivals and I had seen the top acts of the day. But there are times I wish I had photos of the night I met Jimi Hendrix!
Posted at 11:54 am by Psychomike
 | | | Mike
March 22, 2008 12:32 PM PDT
It is so great to be able to watch and listen to the show I was at, linked in The Strip Project.
There were cameras everywhere, anyone know what happened to all the footage? | |
| | | Patrick Mystere
March 22, 2008 12:49 PM PDT
Sadly lots of the cameras weren't in the same vision space as many of the photographers resulting in lots of blurry and strangely artistic photos. We've found two rolls of good if mundane shots from there.
PsychoMike did a great job of telling his story. Love the hippie era stories! If you have one drop it by theStripProject for publication. | |
| | | Mike
March 22, 2008 02:18 PM PDT
I mean the film/ movie cameras. Where tie film footage of Hendrix came from. I recall movie cameras shooting the concert and wonder what happened to the movie that was being shot but was never released. The Hendrix footage reminded me there were movie cameras on and below the stage. | |
| | | Jerry
March 22, 2008 04:03 PM PDT
I think I had read somewhere that the film crew failed to get permission to shoot the bands- it wasn't written into the contracts like it was for WOODSTOCK. The Hendrix footage is from a bootleg sold in Japan. there are probably films of lot's of the bands but I have yet to run into any. | |
| | | Ryan
March 22, 2008 10:00 PM PDT
How did you get the story of what happened behind the scenes of The Amboy Dukes being fired? I'd heard rumors, but never anything so detailed. | |
| | | Mike
March 23, 2008 10:51 AM PDT
I met John Drake at The Red Lion years back (you can read about The Red Lion by clicking on my name) and not only talked to him about what happened, but John ended up singing with The Wighats at a party hosted by Penn and Teller at the Limelight for my film society.
Hendrix was known with the first album as the guy who played the guitar with his teeth and destroyed his guitar based on his performance at Monterrey. He didn't really want to do things like that at every show, but the audience expected it.
When Nugent and Drake went off stage to sing and play in the audience it forced Hendrix to do his theatrics, and he was trying to become known for his guitar playing, not his stunts.
He called Chandler, who called the theatre and fired the Dukes from the tour- with payment. So the Dukes were paid to not play.
Now, who played better that night?
The Fudge and Soft Machine had no stage show, they just played their music. Of the two I remember The Soft Machine more.
I have no idea if he was high, or just angry at the Dukes when he came on, but Hendrix seemed off the first show- he was barely reaching the mic to sing into. No question the audience had responded to the Dukes as the remaining tickets for the second show sold out to the audience that was there.
So first show I would say The Amboy Dukes did the better performance.
The second show was a different matter, Hendrix didn't feel the need to try and upstage anyone, and his performance was music wise much better and relaxed than the first performance.
But I can honestly say I saw The Amboy Dukes blow Hendrix away- and the proof was the line of people buying up tickets to the second show seconds after they performed. | |
| | | Sandi
March 23, 2008 11:56 AM PDT
I bought tickets for both shows in advance and I was excited. I remember The Vanilla Fudge playing SET ME FREE but don't remember The Soft Machine at all.
I do remember liking The Amboy Dukes and wondering why they weren't on the second show.
If you click on my name you can see a picture of the Municipal Auditorium and a few ads for shows. That place was a famous wrestling hall- until rock shows started drawing more! | |
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