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Jimi Hendrix Tribute, Palace Theater Waterbury, 2008

 

View: eighth row, centre

Staged like an R&B revue with the bands performing one after another, we were treated to nearly three hours of music, including Eric Gales, Bernard Allison, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang – all stomping their effects pedals. And who knew Billy Cox could sing? He did an admirable job on Hey Joe and Red House, while Gales led on Purple Haze and Stone Free. Eric Johnson layered his technical brilliance with passion on Axis: Bold As Love and Love Or Confusion. Lang did stunt-guitar on Fire, with Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford. And albeit looking frail, it was nice to see Mitch Mitchell; though Double Trouble’s Chris Layton kept the beat for most of the evening. Until the jam at the end, Buddy Guy didn’t play any Hendrix, but whether crooning, cursing or clowning, he lit up the place, imploring Hubert Sumlin to “play it so funky I can smell it!” Later, he won a cutting contest with Bernard Allison and Jonny Lang, playing with his teeth. Everyone involved was on top form.

 

Published in Record Collector Magazine
 

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