On May 30, 1970, the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed two sets at the Berkeley Community Theatre. Audio and video recordings from both are featured on dozens of posthumous live compilations. Before VCRs, DVD and Blu-ray players, the 1971 concert film Jimi Plays Berkeley became a cult favorite in college movie theaters and select arthouses around the world, cementing the legend even further. Now, the first show can be heard as it was played on Magic Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Berkeley (First Show).
At the time, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was embracing its past, while forging ahead with a funkier edge. For Berkeley, this transition is on full display. Fresh fish like “Ezy Ryder” and “Freedom” blend well with early-days favorites such as “Fire” and “Purple Haze.” The shows were a sign of a new direction for the guitarist and anyone else willing to join the ride. Four months later, that ride was cut short in London as Hendrix took his last breath.
In Berkeley, however, his spirits were high and he kept it light, suggesting everyone “forget about tomorrow and yesterday because everyone’s right on together tonight.” He then introduced the band (drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox), and thanked everyone “for showing up.” From there, the Experience torched “Fire” and the audience was treated to what would become rock and roll history.
That momentum carries over to Hendrix’s incendiary take on “Johnny B. Goode,” followed by a bluesy stroll through “Hear My Train A Comin’.” The performances of both were powerful enough to make the final cut of Jimi Plays Berkeley where you can watch Hendrix effortlessly feel and fangle his way around the fretboard like no other. For those of us too young to see him in person, this was a revelation in the early 70s. Hearing it on Magic Boy merely underscores its significance.
“Machine Gun,” which Hendrix and Band of Gypsys brandished to an unsuspecting audience five months before on New Year’s Eve at Madison Square Garden, had developed into a sleeping monster, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. An instrumental written in protest of the Vietnam War, the biting Berkeley performance of “Machine Gun” may not sound as raw and visceral as the Band of Gypsys version, but its sting is every bit as intense. Afterwards, Hendrix suggests everyone finish their popcorn and ice cream while they tune up. He proceeds to take an ax to any remaining snacks with a pulverizing shakedown of a still-in-development “Freedom.” Its studio counterpart was the first single from the first posthumous Hendrix album, Cry Of Love.
It’s hard to say if “Star-Spangled Banner” resonated as well in Berkely as it did at Woodstock. Here, it loudly assumes its place a segue into “Purple Haze.” Now matter how many times you hear, it’s one of those Hendrix classics that never loses its luster. At this point, the guitarist could breeze through it without breaking a sweat. Only it can be outdone by a show-stopping trip through “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which ended both shows that night. Few would argue this is the one that pushed the bounds of where the guitarist was willing to go. The workout he goes through in Berkeley is nothing short of fiery and ferocious, with a couple of intricate departures into never-never land that should leave any listener worth his weight in denim and leather blown away.
Magic Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Berkeley (First Show) is another fine example of how committed Jimi Hendrix was to his craft up until the very last few months of his tumultuous life. As the gold nuggets continue to tumble out of the vault, it’s nice to hear one complete performance as if you could have been there yourself. Indeed, as it was then, this is the next best thing to being there.
~ Shawn Perry
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