The Experience Hendrix 2014 Tour stopped in Albany, NY’s Palace Theatre on March 28th, 2o14, for a night of tribute to one of rock and roll’s first gods: Jimi Hendrix.
The annual tour is produced by Janie Hendrix, Jimi’s younger sister, as a tribute to her brother’s life and music. Along with featuring artists who cover his music while showcasing their own talents, the show presented short clips from a biographical documentary. The full house was treated to many different musicians, but highlights certainly included Doyle Bramhall II, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, Ana Popovic, Billy Cox, and Buddy Guy.
The tour has featured all types of virtuosos and has functioned essentially on the premise that “this is how Jimi would want to be remembered: in a fun, musical way,” to paraphrase Janie Hendrix. In fact, at the beginning of the show, Billy Cox said, “we like a rowdy crowd!” and launched into a high-energy performance of “Stone Free,” just to get the crowd to clap along.
But this was simply a warm up compared to the next part of the show which took the audience to a whole new level of energy. The legendary Eric Johnson (Cliffs of Dover) took the stage and had no fear of imposing his 100-pound violin tone and Texas accent on “Power to Love.” Johnson also threw his own spin onto each song as set-mates Scott Nelson and Chris Layton, as well as Eric Gales at one point, allowed time for duels and improvisation.
When Ana Popovic took the stage alongside Dweezil Zappa, she took full force, never leaving an opportunity to play another note. However, Zappa was not hard-pressed to keep up; he became his own force as they dueled for the audience’s awe. Together, they covered “House Burning Down,” and “Can You See Me?” Besides Zappa and Popovic’s ability to play guitar in an unbelievable fashion, the audience soon learned that Popovic had an uncanny ability to sing Hendrix songs as well.
The standouts of the night, though, included Doyle Bramhall II, Jonny Lang, and Buddy Guy, all of whom impressed the audience with their ability to collaborate with other musicians while mixing in their own style and keeping an overall handle on the music. As the night went on, the crowd became more and more excited, screaming, “excuse me while I kiss the sky,” while Eric Gales powered his way through “Purple Haze.”
Jonny Lang’s ability to cover “All Along the Watchtower” left those watching in awe; his voice was both majestic and practiced. He put on a show with the quality of his cover certainly rivaling both Dylan’s and Hendrix’s versions. Not only this, but Kenny Wayne Shepherd and singer Noah Hunt covered “Gypsy Eyes.” Hunt may have appeared underconfident on stage, but his ability to vocally mimic Shepherd’s solo paved the way for the final act of the night.
Buddy Guy has never really lost it. He can still play guitar as well, if not better, as he did years ago. The tone of his guitar is warm and his charisma and control of the crowd are almost political. There is not much to say about Buddy Guy — especially after his onstage appearance with Billy Cox to play “Hey Joe” — that has not been said throughout the years. This show was truly wonderful and it is not one fans will forget for a long time to come.
Setlist: Stone Free, Message to Love, Freedom, House Burning Down, Can You See Me?, Power to Love, Ezy Rider, May This Be Love, Are You Experienced?, Purple Haze, Foxy Lady, Hear My Train a Comin’, Angel, New Rising Son, All Along the Watchtower, Fire, Spanish Castle Music, Gypsy Eyes, Come On (Let the Good Times Roll), Voodoo Chile, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Who Knows, Louisiana Blues, Them Changes, Hey Joe, Red House
With their most recent name change, Alan Evan’s 
Taking the stage quickly after Assortment of Crayons, The Jauntee started with “I Wanna Love You > J.M.O”, the latter of which was short and goofy, always a plus when a band doesn’t take the music too serious. “Mr. Murderin’ Man” had some early jam potential that built up with hypnotic guitar and keys, to the point where it was hard to tell which instrument was making what sound. Beck’s “Devil’s Haircut” wedged inside what later turned out to be the not-always-jammed “Gravity of Thought” was impressive, not just for matching the complexity of the Beck song, but putting a little twist on the song, dropping it down a tempo to create a signature sound. “My Shadow” had a dash of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” inside, an example of great band chemistry on stage – even when bassist John Loland bolted off the stage for the bathroom, the other three never missed a beat, and he was back on stage a half a minute later to fall right back into place. Impressive, but another show or two might convince me further. The Jauntee are certainly talented musicians and put on an impressive show; I’d expect their festival appearances this summer raise their bar even higher, for they are still young but the talent is already apparent to many, including myself.
Alan Evans recently announced that the group would drop “Trio” from their name, despite remaining a three-piece band. Evans supplies the drums and vocals, Beau Sasser is still on organ and Danny Mayer is on guitar. Though they have now adopted Playonbrother as part of their moniker, Alan Evans Trio will still appear on their latest album. Please don’t refer to them as a jazz trio. In fact, don’t try to put your thumb on them at all. They are three musicians, who happen to play for other bands, but don’t dare call this a side project either. In fact, they would just rather you just tune in and enjoy.
