Message-ID: <39071154.9F0584B2@javanet.com> Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 11:55:00 -0400 From: csdixon Reply-To: csdixon@javanet.com Subject: JH+30 30 years ago today, on April 26, 1970, Jimi played his second show of the '70 tour, an afternoon show at the 'Cal Expo' State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, Calif.. Daylight shows (hell, daylight period!) were fairly rare for Jimi and coming the afternoon after (and some distance from) the previous evening's LA Forum show it would not be surprising if Jimi had pulled an all-nighter - note that he is pictured in Sacramento wearing the exact same clothes as the previous night! The stage was apparently set up in front of the grandstands at the fairground's racetrack. News reports refer to a windy day, though thankfully the tape doesn't show many obvious wind blasts (mic movement rumble is another story...). Even though it was an outdoor show, the tape has the sound of a hall's acoustics so the taper may have been in a semi-enclosed area. The guitar is most prominent (though still a bit distant), vocals and bass low but audible, and the drums are virtually non-existent. There's a bit of static and the tape appears cut between songs. As a side note, one of the tales we hear of this date is from a stage builder/ stage hand named Craig Chaquico, who would go on to make a name for himself as a guitarist for Jefferson Starship and others. I've always wondered if that's him at side stage watching Jimi in the Sacramento pic that appears in the booklet for the 'First Rays' CD (the face in question appears behind the credits for 'Straight Ahead')! Despite the (for Jimi) early morning hour, some photos show Jimi really getting into it (well, it looks like he contorting his face with the music...maybe he's just yawning!). (Setlist): Lover Man; Spanish Castle Magic; Freedom; Machine Gun; Foxy Lady; Roomful Of Mirrors; Ezy Rider; Purple Haze; Star Spangled Banner; Voodoo Child (SR) - -'Lover Man' fairly rare as a set opener. Short as usual, under 3 min. Afterward we hear a lot of audience calls to "sit down!". - -'SCM' gets a long solo this time (after a very short set-opening version the previous night), featuring some nice bent intervals around 2:20. After some fiery playing Jimi switches to some long sustained single string notes at 4:30, conjuring effortless overtones on virtually every note! At 7:30 he switches to some muted strums... - -..segueing perfectly into the intro for 'Freedom' (it's a natural transition as they're the same key, C# using the open B and E strings ringing out on top- though he never again joins the two). Jimi's solo over the bridge changes feature some sliding intervals with a very eastern sounding tonality. After this song there's some tuning and the tape cuts quickly in and out of a very strange snatch of an unfamiliar riff with some vocals- goes by real quick, could be Jimi messing around between songs or possibly just an artifact on the tape. - -'Machine Gun' gets a very cool free form intro of about :30 before the familiar opening riff. Jimi would do this occasionally around on this period and it really sets the mood (then again, just hearing the ominous wobble of the Univibe sets the mood pretty well by itself!). Typically intense opening solo, lots of high register/high speed runs and wide bends, morphing into some multi-layered feedback. Jimi once again uses the guitar to imitate the backing voices on the BoG record (BTW The Buddy Miles Express opened this show and the LA show the night before). Revisits the hammered on notes with 'wobbly' whammy bar vibrato as heard on the album. - -Some loud mic rumble during 'Foxy', though seems more from mic movement than wind. Typically wild coda. - -'Roomful of Mirrors' stands on its own this day after anchoring the 20 minute medley in LA. Jimi adds some scat singing near the end. - -'Purple Haze' appears *before* 'Star Spangled Banner' here, which is opposite Jimi's typical placement (then again, since when was Jimi 'typical'?). Jimi mixes up a few words but no matter, the crowd digging it. - -By the set ending VC(SR) we seem to be hearing Mitch a little better (just a little), either he's had his mics turned up or the taper has moved in a bit! Jimi starts his solo aggressively then backs off for a cleaner sound around 3:30. Sounds like he tries using the Univibe for a bit, with some manipulation of the speed control pedal. Again repeats the "If I don't see you no more...' line 4X, then goes 'full shred' for the final solo, ending by restating the opening riff and adding a little dental work. The tape cuts the song, and show, a bit prematurely (but probably not much so) at 8:30. At 50+ minutes this is a fairly short show, though understandable as it's Jimi's second show/venue in less than a day! Chris ------------------------------