Hey Joe ; Jimi 'does' Miami Pop

(A word of , perhaps caution ; "Jimi 'does' Miami Pop" is intended as more than a double-entendre .) Never one to shy away from pyrotechnics on stage , when Jimi played Miami 'Pop' festival on March 18th , 1968 he had his usual bag of tricks and a few more in store . As an avid fan of his from day one , or when I first heard 'Fire' on the car radio while traveling with my family to visit relatives in Pennsylvania , I've semi followed the release of many recordings made by various people , including Jimi back in those halycon days . I know much more about the music now and the history behind it , including the 'bizzness' end of it . Always the boring stuff that most folks could care less about but with Hendrix the story of the money is like a cloak and dagger mystery . Not only did Jimi seem indifferent and above such worldly concerns , he signed so many contracts as to give the nerdiest of tax attourneys a headache and left a shit-pile of feduciary concerns for the Hendix family to sort out after he passed . There's an assumption that Jimi was just getting high and doing what he wanted and that is partly true . But he was not completely irresponsible and did fix one obligation by turning it into an opportunity in the form of the Band of Gypsy recordings . Also , I've always thought Jimi had something he was trying to say about money and things and if not an outright 'teaching', at least a suggestion on how we should treat all the 'plastic' people and bussiness men , who walked down the street so confident that their world was secure . Jimi know better and throughout his short time in front of us he spoke calmly of freeing ourselves from all the materialistic chains that others placed on us . Spoke softly but played loudly and continuosly about it . Actually, Jimi seemed kinda bored with it , as the way seemed so simple to him and I think he was also frustrated by having to deal with all the hang-ups and questions so much . And his playing often reflected this attitude of disdain , as on the stage at this Miami racetrack that day . I wouldn't say Jimi's playing was hackneyed , maybe 'off-hand' is a better way to put it . Perhaps he's showing his boredom with what he feels are old songs and maybe taking the opportunity to snub the cynical record co. execs who had sent their techs to capture what they must've viewed as "a can't lose , pure golden chance" to cash in on their latest electric guitar god . But Jimi had been here before , since before the days of ice and knew that the hand that grasps never catches the sweet Bird of Paradice . He presents a loud , feedback laden set that may have been good enough for the concert goers that day , although judging from the footage I've seen and the polite applause seem to have wandered in tourist style , on a break from the Republican Convention . It obviosly wasn't deemed worthy enough to put out back then and I have to admit , if I'd have heard this at the time , my opinion of Jimi Hendrix would've suffered . It's been noted elsewhere that this recording does nothing to change our perceptions of Jimi , sort of given a neutral charge but I would suggest that his playing (poorly), in such a throw-away fashion is a message to consider as one of importance , 46 years later . Yes , he rushes through these songs , rarely taking the care to tune or even act very concerned about timing as he seems to be clashing with his peppy sidekick drumer ,Noel and the riff between Mitch and Jimi can be felt in every uncaring beat of the bass or body language in photos that measures how little comradery either of them felt . Jimi's mind may have been distracted also by being about a step , hop and spin away from going into the studio and creating his masterpiece , 'Electricladyland' . But this concert was about rehashing old shit and getting it out of the way . Jimi sounds like he's playing a fuzzy Gibson through most of the show and amps up the rock side , giving less slinky atistry then expected and more of , well , you paid to see a rock show and that's what I'll give you . Slightly less than a year from the warm , orgasmic love fest that was his homecoming out in Monterey , Ca. , Jimi's playing can be seen as a rascally trope on 'expectations' and the bizzness of crowning 'Rock-Gods'. Such is the casual and destructive manner that he treats fame and all it incumbrances that a dropped ending to a song or a rushed intro seems hilariously caustic to me . When Dylan objected to being labeled a 'prophet' and spokesperson for the generation and claimed he was just a song and dance man , intent on 'entertainment' he struck at the crux of the challenge for artists to this day . He too was being less than honest but just wishing that damn camera would go away for a while . Now a-days it's on all the time but almost to the point where nobody is singled out that dramatically . Much to the chagrin of people who make a living selling other peoples art , the stakes have gone up and the work of selling more difficult . I'm not sure who Janie Hendrix is but I want to thank her on behalf of all those who only want more 'Jimi' to bang their heads to . But also for those of us who felt more deeply the messages of Love that he wanted to inspire , this concert is meant to be heard . There's a thick Karma it expresses about who we are and the roads we continue to follow . And perhaps shows us something unexpected and revelatory form this master of blues guitar communicator , something human about the man , Jimi Hendrix . Uh, thanx .?