Experience Hendrix tour - Sony Centre, Toronto, Oct. 28, 2010

I don't go to a lot of concerts these days - I work most evenings and it's hard to justify taking one of my rare nights off to spend $100+ on a show. But when I saw this concert advertised I was so impressed by the lineup that I decided to round up a couple of guitar freak friends and check it out.
The Sony Centre, formerly the Hummingbird Centre, formerly the O'Keefe Centre, is an acoustically excellent concert hall in downtown Toronto. Janie Hendrix, Jimi's half-sister and the administrator of the Hendrix estate, started the evening with a short speech, which we missed because we were in line to get beers. I regaled my friends, Rob Quail and John Davis, with stories of Experience Hendrix merchandising gaffes of the past, such as the Jimi Hendrix golf balls and the Jimi Hendrix red wine (one of the substances that killed Jimi in 1970).
We settled into our seats in the centre of the orchestra section, midway between the soundboard and the stage in the middle of Ernie Isley's three-song set. He was backed by Billy Cox (Band of Gypsys, Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Chris Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble). Isley played some Hendrix-like guitar and told a quick story about Jimi staying at his house in the early sixties when he was an Isley Brothers sideman. Isley played "Stone Free" and "Message To Love" with a nice touch but a ratty tone to my ears.
I believe that Living Colour was next - their second lineup with Doug Wimbish on bass. They did very good versions of "Power of Soul" and "Crosstown Traffic" - some of the best-rehearsed music of the evening. It was nice to see black musicians well represented in this show; it could easily have gone the other way, but curator John McDermott should be commended for a well-balanced and interesting lineup. Living Colour was not much changed from their late-80s heyday, though Corey Glover has put on a few pounds and his plaid sweater and cap ensemble brought the "Rerun" character from the 70s series "What's Happening" to mind for me. Vernon Reid played his trademark flurries of fast notes in every solo; Rob Quail commented something to the effect that when it comes to phrasing, VR just doesn't. It's a love-or-hate thing. I happen to enjoy what he does - there's a modernism to his playing that appeals to me.
Eric Johnson, the Texas guitar god, performed "House Burning Down," "Drifting," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," and "Are You Experienced?" very faithfully in terms of arrangement and tones. When he let loose on his trademark wide-interval solos, the crowd of mostly male, ponytailed and mulleted baby boomers shouted their approval, along with entreaties for him to "turn it up." Johnson's guitar was not as audible as it could be; the sound crew had a hard time balancing the various guitar rigs on stage at times.  With some of the players, the amps were so loud on stage so as to obviate the need for the PA altogether, as was the case with Mato Nanji from Indigenous, a subpar player whose Marshall cabinet was hurting our ears right off the stage. In spite of his stiff image and hard-to-hear guitar, Eric Johnson made an excellent impression with his impeccable execution and musicianship. I especially appreciated his astounding reproduction of the backwards solo in "Are You Experienced?"

part 2 to come...