Monterey 'Pop' Fest and reflections on Jimi (bellybutton window redux)

    I just watched 'Monterey International Pop Festival' and it was a blast . Not so much from the past ,
as Faulkner would say , 'the past is not gone , it's not even past' , but it was a 'gas' to see and hear the first
true rattling of the 'Rock' culture . We are still connected to it , just as a few years later we would rise in such numbers as to be labeled with the moniker "The Woodstock Generation". But this was 1967 and
nobody considered it all that important at that time . Otherwise we'd be the 'Monterey Pop' generation and the 8,000 , record setting people that attended the last day would be credited with much more than
the minor multitude could ever have comprehended .  And just to be correct , this was no 'Pop' festival ;
It contained elements of Pop , as it contained elements of Folk , but mostly it was a Blues scene that was
in the midst of American youth awakening to the creative potential of the music , combined with the LSD they had begun experimenting with and the harnessing of electrified instruments . Young people
felt the raw power at their fingertips and unbeknownst to the older generations (the"Great" one),        were crafting ,with wit the words to songs that vented feelings of 'Love', that were accecptable and easily ignored and anger , and alienation , over the stupid war and other perceived social/racial iniquities.
 This aspect of the flowering 'Hippie' culture was routinely noted in the moderate press of the time and was roundly criticized by politicians who were 'hawkish' or sided with the military efforts in Vietnam ,
as it never was officially a 'War' , and was part of the double-speak that young folks were decring as they
protested and 'dodged the draft . Our military's professional standing and separation from mass society
today is a direct result of the fire storm of disapproval that most Americans felt as the war dragged on and people ,(thus politicians) eventually realized those crazy long-haired kids were right . But I don't
want to bore you with these well established facts , and as the protesting done at Monterey was minimal as the musicians who crafted this 'scene' decided to focus on the music and creativity .
   Of course not all avoided speaking out , as with 'Country Joe and the Fish' and there was a young David Crosby beginning a career of thumbing his nose at authority . But for the most part it was just fun . And getting high , and music of uneven quality coming on in fits and starts . But it was the first of its kind , which today would probably be seen as a minor festival , much as it was then , but the money boys in the record industry noticed the headlines it created and the signing pandemonium and
big recording contracts soon followed . This too has been duly noted and practically every rock historian has traced the ensuing music money mania to Monterey Pop as the beginning of it all .
    Two unlikely stars were 'born' with few aware of the potential for their overnight greatness , by the
now famous names of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix . Perhaps Otis Redding should be added to that as
he was vitually unknown to the white kids . Janis had a superb , heavy blues band backing her  called,
'Big Brother and the Holding Co.  She was known to insiders as was the band via a few appearances
prior to the festival but it was definately a coming out party and she more than satisfied . She be unlikely in that she enbraced 'Black Blues' unashamedly and synched perfectly with the wild , screeching heights that Big Brother drove the electric blues to . Janis was also not that sexy looking but somhow through the force of her devil-may-care attitude became a liberating sex symbol for youth
who apprieciated her 'tell it like it is' gritty truth telling . 
     For Jimi , it was a homecoming where only rumors and a single hit of 'Hey Joe' gave any hint of who these few thousand people were about to witness . Jimi's sex appeal was apparent from the git'
as he was a good looking black guy with a showmans sense of wild , almost feminine dress . But nothing prepared the crowd for what the British had been seeing and hearing the past few months back
in England , where he'd been working out the kinks in his act with his newly aquired backing band called , The Experience . Noel Redding on drums was a fiery , free jazz styled muscian who flailed
along . Mitch Mitchell on bass did his best to add some rythmn but with Jimi adding his own base lines it was often impossible to tell Mitchell was even playing . This was electrified R&B but only in
the supersonic , psychedelic moden sense that everyone today has come to exspect . Then it was totally unexspected . And that's not to say that all of Jimi's secrets have been figured out . As John Phillips , of the Mama's and Papa's and the main organizer of Monterey Pop has pointed out , that even
though Jimi showed eveybody what he was doing , nobody could get the sounds out of their guitar that
he produced . Apparently Jimi was right when he later crated the words , 'they were still arguing about
me then'. But I progress , when to look at the influence Jimi weilded it is still being weighed . From
that time on Mick Jagger became much more flamboyant , trying to outrage as good as Jimi did ; Johnny Winter , perhaps one of the few American blues giutarists to rival Hendrix would eventually
'hump' or fuck his guitar while playing , and as intimated most guitarists of note who followed would
become somwhat imatative of Jimi's free flowing , hard-driving , sexy but pretty way of playing .
     I've seen Jimi play in other movies and at other concerts but I'd never made the effort to watch his
gig at Moterey . Even though it was perhaps the most moving recording I had heard back inthe day .
Seeing him perform Dylan's ,'Like A Rolling Stone' takes me back to a time when all things suddenly
became clear and still moves me as one of the more meorable experiences in sound . There's a way to
describe what he does but no telling the transcendant nature of how I feel on hearing this , somwhat
pissy rejection letter Bob Dylan penned as an anthem to fake or feigned love . And Jimi was such a casual player , he makes it look easy as the guitar is more of an appendage of his anotomy than some
instrument crafted of wood , plasics and metal . His 'act' throughout the show was highly sexual and
premeditated to disturb more than a few young ladies minds as the college crowd had never seen what
the 'chttlin circuit' demands from it's wannabe black artists , but Jimi laid it on heavy as this was definately his comen' out party . And how good it was to share , back then or even today .  One thing I'll add as a kind of comment on so called 'heavy-metal' stuff , is that even though Jimi played loud
he was always goin somwhere . I don't see any reference to the rythmn and blues in todays or yesterdays for that matter 'metal music' . And that's where Hendrix was rooted . So , even though it's
a nice gesture on the part of the metal folks I doubt Jimi would accept it as originating with him . He
minght even say somthing like , 'it don't mean a thing if it , no , maybe more like ,'music sweet music,
I wish I could caress and kiss , kiss ...'         Peace to all ya'll , and if any of the people who were actually at 'Moterey Pop' , June 17th , 1967 read this I'd like to know what you thought , or what you
think today . Did it change you or is it all just a part of the growing , Love thing ?