Experience Hendrix 2008 Tribute Tour
 

Experience Hendrix 2008 Tribute Tour, Louisville KY Center for the Performing Arts

Last night I had the privilege of witnessing some really great blues rock legends together on one stage performing nothing but Jimi Hendrix. The line-up included:

• Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox (of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience)
• Eric Johnson
• Jonny Lang
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd
• Buddy Guy
• David Woodford (Aerosmith guitarist)
• Divid Hildago and Cesar Rosas (of Los Lobos)
• Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (of SRV's Double Trouble)
• Eric Gales
• Mato Nanji (of indigenous)
• Hubert Sumlin (legendary Howlin Wolf guitarist)

Some really great moments. The duet between Eric Johnson and Eric Gales on Waterfall brought the house down.

Because of the nature of the tour, different players rotated in and out nightly. So it was somewhat unpredictable as a production aspect of the show. There were some rough spots, but the stage crew was able to keep the show rolling nearly seamless between artists. There was no dead time.

Lots of Marshalls (plexis and modern), Fenders, boutique amps, vintage Strats, Tele's, Gibsons, custom axes, and vintage (vintage sounding) Hendrix era effects. At times there were 4 lead guitars and 4 drummers... awesome! All soulful, intense, and thunderous :)

One critique: Buddy Guy, one of my guitar heroes, was a disappointment. His tone was shrill and he fucked off way too much. But hey... he's earned it.

I wish I had time to cover more highlights, but I stayed up late dusting off my Hendrix chops and trying to remember how to play Manic Depression. Here's a link to the tour website EXPERIENCE HENDRIX TOUR | Celebrate the Music & Legacy of Jimi Hendrix | 2008 Tribute Tour: October 15 - November 7, 2008

I highly recommend this concert if it comes your way.

How did Mato Nanji sound? I've never seen him live, but I like what I hear on YouTube. Very SRVish to my ears.

He was really good, one of the better vocalists... He started out as backup to Eric Gales, then rotated in for a couple of songs where fronted. His playing was great, but his stage presence was kind of subdued. But then Eric Gales is an awesome showman. Tough act to follow, but Nanji held his own. He returned for some of the jams. It was a great night!

interesting...generally, i'm not inclined to see tribute shows--or cover bands for that matter (though i make exceptions in suitably goofy instances), but i'll consider making an exception for this.

i've long had a real affection for hendrix and sometimes wonder if i might be seeing the functional equivalent of hendrix back in the day at a particular show in real time. one band that has made me think this way several times is acid mother's temple:

Acid Mothers Temple "Soul collective" - entrance

a japanese psychedelic band. kawabata makoto is a monster guitarist. acid mothers put out WAY too many cds, but in a sense that's a pleasure because it gives lots of options to explore, if you can find them (tons of releases on tons of labels means tons of distro arrangements yes yes)

check em out.
hope you enjoy.

wow!... some of the clips I heard were very noisy, but once I focused through the crowd and stage (mic placement)... there were some really tasty nuggets in there. I'll try to find some better recordings when I get a chance.