Fact #159925
When:
Short story:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience play in The Teen America Building, Lion's Delaware County Fairground, Muncie, Indiana, USA, supported by The Soft Machine.Full article:
Jeff Carter (gig promoter) : Two days before, they told us they weren't coming unless we gave them an extra two thousand dollars. They held us up. It's as simple as that.
Now, Muncie's a town of 80,000 people, and we ended up, I think, with 2,300 to 2,400 people. I mean, we almost had a heart attack. We couldn't believe it. And probably half of those people came from Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis. In other words, the kind of groupie Hendrix fans who'd follow him around.
And with a college here with 20,000 people. And we did the radio and the handbills - the whole nine yards. It didn't happen.
And I think ultimately we only made a few hundred dollars.
I was out with the crowd, and my head of security, who is an investigator for the Sheriff's Department, came up to me and he says, "I'm gonna have to bust Hendrix." And I looked at him and said "Why?" And he says, "He's back there, smoking a joint."
So I went back there and I said, "Jimi, ya can't be smoking that joint." And he said, "Well, you got a cigarette?" And so I got him a cigarette, and he passed off the joint. Then he went out there and he put on just one helluva show!
David Bruce (fan) : I was no more that 8-10 feet away from Hendrix. Because of cramped space on stage, Hendrix had no more than 6-8 feet square to move around in.
Hendrix played all, or almost all, of Are You Experienced and probably introduced material from Axis: Bold as Love, along with standards from his stage repertoire. No song was rushed or 'played down', as Hendrix put legitimate effort into presenting every song with the characteristic sonics they were known for.
Hendrix frequently retuned his guitars between songs, but this was never a long affair. He always kept an eye on the audience, particularly when switching guitars between songs, which he did frequently. One of the reasons for the frequent switching of guitars became apparent toward the end of the concert. He was using a nice Strat for straight songs, an older, more worn one for stunts and a very nondescript older guitar with lots of wear for things like spearing the amplifier cabinet, setting fire to it and so on.
Hendrix brought that old guitar to stage front, and removed a can of lighter fluid from a pocket. Spraying the lighter fluid on the guitar from between his legs (and carefully closing the can!) Hendrix lit the fluid and fanned the flames with his fingers - exactly the routine he'd used at Monterrey. After a few seconds, he pulled out a rag to smother the flames.
Regardless of his mood in Muncie, Jimi Hendrix was loud, brash, and completely in charge of himself, his act, and his audience. Concerts don't get better than that.
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Now, Muncie's a town of 80,000 people, and we ended up, I think, with 2,300 to 2,400 people. I mean, we almost had a heart attack. We couldn't believe it. And probably half of those people came from Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis. In other words, the kind of groupie Hendrix fans who'd follow him around.
And with a college here with 20,000 people. And we did the radio and the handbills - the whole nine yards. It didn't happen.
And I think ultimately we only made a few hundred dollars.
I was out with the crowd, and my head of security, who is an investigator for the Sheriff's Department, came up to me and he says, "I'm gonna have to bust Hendrix." And I looked at him and said "Why?" And he says, "He's back there, smoking a joint."
So I went back there and I said, "Jimi, ya can't be smoking that joint." And he said, "Well, you got a cigarette?" And so I got him a cigarette, and he passed off the joint. Then he went out there and he put on just one helluva show!
David Bruce (fan) : I was no more that 8-10 feet away from Hendrix. Because of cramped space on stage, Hendrix had no more than 6-8 feet square to move around in.
Hendrix played all, or almost all, of Are You Experienced and probably introduced material from Axis: Bold as Love, along with standards from his stage repertoire. No song was rushed or 'played down', as Hendrix put legitimate effort into presenting every song with the characteristic sonics they were known for.
Hendrix frequently retuned his guitars between songs, but this was never a long affair. He always kept an eye on the audience, particularly when switching guitars between songs, which he did frequently. One of the reasons for the frequent switching of guitars became apparent toward the end of the concert. He was using a nice Strat for straight songs, an older, more worn one for stunts and a very nondescript older guitar with lots of wear for things like spearing the amplifier cabinet, setting fire to it and so on.
Hendrix brought that old guitar to stage front, and removed a can of lighter fluid from a pocket. Spraying the lighter fluid on the guitar from between his legs (and carefully closing the can!) Hendrix lit the fluid and fanned the flames with his fingers - exactly the routine he'd used at Monterrey. After a few seconds, he pulled out a rag to smother the flames.
Regardless of his mood in Muncie, Jimi Hendrix was loud, brash, and completely in charge of himself, his act, and his audience. Concerts don't get better than that.