Friday November 12. The place was the Landmark Theater, front row seats. With an oversized Heineken in hand, and what turned out to be undersized expectations, I watched as the Experience Hendrix Tour 2010 exploded onto the stage.
First up was Billy Cox, bassist on the Band of Gypsies album with Hendrix. Cox was joined by Ernie Isley on lead guitar and Chris Layton on drums. Their rendition of “Manic Depression” was excellent. Next came Living Colour, with what was the most audience-rousing piece of the evening, “Crosstown Traffic.” The band played a high-charged version of the Hendrix hit on stage while singer Corey Glover, wireless mic in hand, roamed through the audience, including the balcony. When he would sing the line “You’re just like--” the audience would sing back, “Crosstown traffic!” We were all sweaty when they finished.
The concert featured a Who’s Who of current blues guitarists. In the lineup, in no particular order, were Johnny Lang, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Robert Randolph and Mato Nanji of Indigenous. Also, playing a mean lead guitar, was Brad Whitford, rhythm guitarist for Aerosmith. The set must have included over twenty Hendrix compositions, but who’s counting? There were also continuous variations of players, changing about every two songs.
The evening closed out with Billy Cox back onstage, leading the very bluesy “Red House.“ The entire evening was a wonderful tribute to Jimi Hendrix. If you closed your eyes, he was up on that stage. The tickets were worth every penny. My ears are still ringing.