Experience Hendrix Live at The Strathmore – Gallery 1

By: Craig Hunter Ross

Experience Hendrix 2012 Live at The Strathmore – Gallery 3

The legendary Billy Cox at Experience Hendrix 2012

Over the last few years, The Experience Hendrix Tour has quickly become one of the most anticipated concert events of the year, for both guitarists and Hendrix fans alike. It certainly seemed more than appropriate that this year’s tour would kick off just weeks after Rolling Stone’s designation of Hendrix as “The Greatest Guitarist of All Time.”

While the line-up of players is scheduled to vary slightly from show to show, an all star line up of axe men would dazzle the opening night audience at the palatial Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland. The tour’s premier evening roster resembled a venerable who’s who of six string masters, in various groupings and combinations, each anxious to showcase their unique styles and pay homage to “The Greatest.”

The evening got off like a flash of lightning as legendary Band of Gypsys bassist Billy Cox took center stage. Flanked to his left by Mato Nanji (Indigenous) and to his right by blues phenom Eric Gales, the group tore right into “Stone Free”. Gales brought the house down with his “left hand brand.” The trio left little time for the audience to catch their collective breath before launching into “Foxy Lady”, this time with Gales handling the vocal duties. Anyone who has seen Gales live knows there is no other player that better embodies the style and spirit of Jimi Hendrix. Should a motion picture ever be produced on the life of Jimi Hendrix, the casting call will go out to one man only, that man being Eric Gales.

Gales and Nanji would exit the stage, as Dweezil Zappa would join Cox for their rendition of “Freedom”. The personnel changes were now coming fast and furious with Cox departing, leaving Zappa to be joined by a returning Gales, with bassist Tony Franklin rolling out an incredible version of “Manic Depression” resulting, again with Gales on vocals.

At this point, the crowd was exhausted following the freight train that is Gales and with many no doubt in desperate need of oxygen. Mato Nanji then took the stage and provided a stirring version of “Little Wing”. He would be joined shortly thereafter by none other than Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford for “Hear My Train a Comin’”, followed up with Jonny Lang and his acoustic guitar joining the two and picking up the vocal duties for ‘All Along The Watchtower”, “Fire”, “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Like a Rolling Stone”.

Dweezil Zappa and Eric Gales at Experience Hendrix 2012

The more subdued set and pace was short-lived as Lang and Whitford would trade solos within an extended version of “Spanish Castle Magic”, setting the table nicely as they soon yielded the stage to Kenny Wayne Shepherd and vocalist Noah Hunt, who provided bluesy versions of ‘I Don’t Live Today” and “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)”.

Hunt’s spot on vocals and Shepherd’s lengthy solo on “Voodoo Child” had to be the highlight of the night for many in attendance, as the number resulted in a lengthy standing ovation from the sell out crowd.

The evening could have ended at that point and sent a grateful crowd home in amazement. But, as the stage cleared, a voice was then heard over the sound system, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the legendary Buddy Guy” and the audience was right back to their feet. Guy would provide an emotional version of “Rock Me” with Jonny Lang, before explaining he was losing his voice and requesting Lang’s assistance with the lead vocal. For the Hendrix classic “Hey Joe”, Nanji would oblige the blues legend and provide the vocals. The finale of the evening was served up by Guy, Cox, Shepherd, Lang and Nanji in a “Red House” jam.

With approximately twenty more cities scheduled for this year’s tour and the exponential possibilities of musical moments and player combinations, the Experience Hendrix tour continues in 2012 to be truly that, an experience…and one not to be missed.

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