Description on Youtube:
I went from Australia to the USA in 1969 for a few years with my parents. My dad, who passed away this year (2010) at age 83 took me and two Australian friends to this Baltimore concert (13 June 1970), as we were teenagers and did not drive. Our fathers would take it in turns to drive us to rock concerts in the Washington DC region where we lived. When we got back to Australia, over the years that followed, if Jimi Hendrix's name came up in conversation, Dad would casually mention that he had seen him live, which would be met with disbelief. He loved doing that although he was not into Jimi's music like I was.
I taped the concert except for the first two songs with a Panasonic portable reel to reel recorder (RQ-1565 or similar model with 3 inch tape spools). It had a proprietary microphone with an off on recording switch, but unfortunately the cord was faulty and it would sometimes turn off and back on again when recording.(Although it did not do that in this song except for one bit, I used another source for this video as the quality was slightly better). Update: I have only provided my recording to one trader about 10 years ago and I just found out that it has been shared on line (Crosstown Torrents), and it is described as 'third audio source' out of five for this concert. I don't mind that it was shared, as I love hearing bootlegs as much as the next person. It was interesting that the site commented that other than the problems mentioned (start stops) it was probably the best sounding mono source available! I see it has also been used in a merge of four different sources, atlhough I have not heard that.
I have four ektachrome colour slides taken on the night (by a friend of one of the guys I went with) which I have made into a slide show (not easy to do with just 4 images!). Included in the video is an original ad from the Washington Post for that concert, which I still have. Check out the ticket prices starting at $4.50! My recollection was that album prices were about $5 at that time (at least from the PX Store where I bought my records).
The following is an excerpt from a review of the concert by James Dilts in the Baltimore Sun, June 21, 1970: "Jimi Hendrix appears, resplendent in a purple ruffled shirt, green bell-bottoms, a silver spangled vest that ended at the shoulder blades, a multi-coloured headband that trailed down his neck, a bright silk scarf tied to his left arm, and a fringe belt that hung down his right leg. Hendrix seems to have given up the sideshow antics, except for a brief few bars near the end of the concert when he played the guitar with his teeth....It's just that music is now at the center of the group's presentation which is, of course, where it should be".
I was a real Hendrix fan back then (still am) and the first album I ever bought here in Australia was the English version of Are You Experienced. Foxy Lady was the first song on that album and is the song from this concert that I have selected
