Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Tom Baldyga
After a five-year hiatus, The Experience Hendrix Tour is back on the road with a winning roster of young and veteran musicians paying homage to guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. For over two hours, the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Noah Hunt, Taj Mahal, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Zakk Wylde, and Eric Johnson graced the stage, each offering their own interpretation of one or two of Hendrix’s songs. The rhythm section of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Kevin McCormick kept the engine room purring for the duration of the night.
After a Hendrix video montage and brief introduction by Jani Hendrix, Jimi’s step-sister and Experience Hendrix CEO, guitarist Mato Nanji of acclaimed Native American band Indigenous began the night off with a rousing take of “Foxey Lady.” Heavily influenced by Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Carlos Santana, Nanji leaned into his distortion while images of Jimi Hendrix filled the backdrop screen.
Seattle-based guitarist Ayron Jones followed with heavy readings of “Stone Free” and “The Wind Cries Mary.” Jones played many of the landmarks leads in his own distinctive way, infusing his style into the seams. And it was about to get better.
Disregarding the age gap, 82-year-old Taj Mahal was joined by 25-year blues, R&B and soul guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram for burning renditions of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” The Leaves’ “Hey Joe,” and Robert Petway’s “Catfish Blues” — all revived, reinvented, and recorded by Hendrix.
Steel guitarists Chuck Campbell and Calvin Cooke (AKA The Slide Brothers) dusted off Elmore James & His Broom Dusters’ “The Sky Is Crying” with such fury and vitality, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the heavens had actually opened up to shed a tear or two.
Things got downright wild when longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde stepped up for a screeching “Manic Depression.” Wylde, who also sings, gave an impassioned vocal of “Little Wing” without compromising his own mastery of lead work. He’d return later to perform Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.”
Veteran guitarist Eric Johnson prodigiously took the baton from Wylde to slay deep, cerebral Hendrix nuggets “…And the Gods Made Love / Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)” and “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp.” You have to hand it to Johnson for straying a bit off the script.
Ayron Jones and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram returned to the stage for a red-hot “Red House.” Jones popped up later for a run-through of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes” before handing off the rest of the night to Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Noah Hunt. Together, the duo churned though “Gypsy Eyes,” Earl King’s “Come On (Part I),” “I Don’t Live Today” and the epic “Voodoo Chile / Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which provided a showcase for Shepherd’s impervious gifts on the fretboard.
There is little doubt that Shepherd, who released his latest solo album Dirt On My Diamonds Vol. 2 in September, has taken the reins from players like Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn and inserted his own signature cut to the framework.
While it might have been nice to have garnered an appearance from Samantha Fish or Dweezil Zappa, both of whom have been at other shows, or maybe even bassist Billy Cox, conspicuously missing from this tour — the performances in Anaheim most definitely exceeded all expectations.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Experience Hendrix Tour, along with the new documentary Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision, is keeping the music and spirit of Jimi Hendrix alive for past, present and future generations. As more young guitarists discover the legacy and more music emerge from the vaults, it seems like the love for Jimi Hendrix is never ending.
