Jimi Hendrix Experience – Hollywood Bowl, August 19, 1967
Eventually I figured out that what I want from a Jimi Hendrix record is for it to be live. I’ve already written about “Are You Experienced?” and how I prefer “Axis: Bold As Love,” but my real favorites from Hendrix have long been some live digital bootlegs. Then in 2020, I got the “Live at Berkeley” album, which is stunning. Well, that was from 1970, and Hendrix was something of a known quantity.
This, on the other hand is from August 1967 – five days before the release of “Are You Experienced,” just a few weeks after Monterey. A crowd of 17,000 people is there to hear The Mamas & The Papas – and they get something they’ve never heard before for an opener. You can hear Jimi’s frustration as the crowd essentially gives him nothing, but it also seems like he just doubles down on being Jimi – which is the best reaction an artist can have.
Bought this in November 2023. Makes me think that one of the genres I’d love to be able to sort my records by would just be “live.”
My intro to Jimi was seeing the “Jimi Plays Berkeley” film at a midnight screening at the Uniondale Mini Cinema. I think it’s footage from the same 1970 show(s) on the “Berkeley” album. We didn’t really care what was playing when we would go there, it was just a late night place to be with friends, but I paid more attention to the screen and speakers that night than was typical for me at the time!
I think you’re right about the footage. I remember having seen snippets of it from time to time, but also that the sound wasn’t terribly impressive. What they can do these days to recover sound is astonishing.