Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Child- Berkeley CA 5-30-70 (early show)

It has largely been lost over time that, up until the middle Seventies and the construction of big multi-purpose arenas in America, it was common practice for big-name touring stars such as Jimi Hendrix to be booked to play two shows at the same venue in one night (the Allman Brothers Band regularly would play four shows in just two nights at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East in New York City, and I witnessed The Police play twice on the same night at a little midtown Memphis bar as late as Spring 1980).

Hendrix may be the most-bootlegged performer in recording history, primarily because of this, as well as the facts that  his manager kept him constantly on the road in order to pay for the construction of his own Electric Lady Studio in New York City; and that Jimi wisely insisted that every session, jam, and many concerts be professionally recorded. To my knowledge, the Jimi Hendrix early show at Berkeley CA on May 30, 1970 has never officially been released, so “Voodoo Child” is a nice appetizer for the 55th anniversary of Electric Ladyland coming up. –Redbeard