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lights reflected off the wet asphalt guiding them home.
mn
THAT SAME MONTH Jimi had caused a stir in Britain with an inter-
view in the N.M.E. in which he said he might want to take a year off.
Doing press in L.A. during a tour break, he told a different story, sug-
gesting to Rolling Stone that he d soon be touring with a different band;
when he announced this, he had yet to discuss it with the members of
the Experience. Jimi also told the magazine that he was writing songs
with the Aleem twins who had formed a group under the name
Ghetto Fighters for an album he planned to produce with them. In a
different interview, he said his future direction might be toward sym-
phonic things. So then the kids can respect the old music, the tradi-
tional, you know, like classics. I like to mix that in with the so-called-rock
today.
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 259
On June 19, Jimi flew to Toronto, where he appeared in court for
a preliminary hearing. It was the first time he had worn a proper suit
since he d played with Curtis Knight and the Squires. At the hearing,
his case was set for a full trial on December 8. He flew back to Los An-
geles, where, on June 22, the Experience were set to play the Newport
Pop Festival, a gig that would earn them $100,000, their biggest one-
night fee yet.
Despite the large payday, the show was lackluster. Noel later ar-
gued Jimi s sour mood was due to the distraction of the court hearings.
Feeling remorseful about his performance, Jimi returned the next day
unannounced and, without additional pay, jammed with Buddy Miles
and Eric Burdon.
The same pattern of dynamic jams and uninspired shows contin-
ued the next week when Jimi flew to Colorado in advance of the Den-
ver Pop Festival. On an off night in Denver, he called up musicians
Herbie and Billy Rich and asked them what they were up to; they had a
wedding reception gig that night and didn t have time to see Jimi.
Later, at the reception, which was in a public park, the Riches were sur-
prised to see a limousine pull up. Instead of the bride and groom, Jimi
climbed out. He joined them onstage, and since the park was public, a
huge crowd gathered. He only played for about fifteen minutes before
it got out of control, Billy Rich recalled. Everybody in the park ended
up coming to the wedding to see Jimi play.
The next day, before his show at Mile High Stadium, Jimi
dropped acid with his friend Herbie Worthington. I had one tab of
purple Owsley, Worthington recalled. He said, We ve got to split it.
And I said, No. I know how much you take, and if you re going to get
high, you ll have to take it all. Jimi insisted they split the tab, and after
doing so, they headed to the concert. Before the show began, a journal-
ist spotted Noel Redding, and having heard reports that Noel was out
of the group, he came up and asked, What are you doing here? I
thought you had left the band. It was the first Noel had heard of it.
The rumors were the result of Jimi complaining in front of writers.
If there was a nadir to the history of the Jimi Hendrix Experience,
260 C H A R L E S R . C R O S S
it came in Denver which would also prove to be the last Experience
show ever. Outside the stadium, fans had rioted, demanding the festival
be free. When the show began, Jimi seemed out of it, perhaps a result
of the acid, or maybe something else he had taken, since performing on
acid usually put him in a pleasant mood and not the sour one he exhib-
ited that night. Rather than entertaining the crowd, Jimi antagonized
them, changing the lyrics of Voodoo Child to Gonna make a lot of
money and buy this town / Gonna buy this town and put it all in my
shoe. At one point during the set, he announced, This is the last gig
we ll ever be playing together. Spurred on by that declaration and by
continual clashes with police, rioting broke out among the seventeen
thousand people inside the stadium, with many trying to climb on-
stage. When the police shot tear-gas canisters into the audience, Jimi
joked, We see some tear gas that s the sign of the Third World War.
But as the gas began to drift onstage and engulf the band, the three
members of the Experience put down their instruments and fled. Their
last moment onstage as a band looked like something out of a horror
film as they bolted at breakneck speed from the surging crowd and
cloud of gas.
Road manager Gerry Stickells had procured a U-Haul truck, and
he pushed the group and Herbie Worthington into the back, pulled the
door down, and locked it. Stickells then attempted to drive through the
massing crowd. Tear gas had engulfed the entire stadium, and to evade
it, fans had climbed on the top of the truck. The weight of the fans be-
gan to snap the roof supports of the panel truck. The band sat inside in
darkness, but could hear people on the roof. They were pounding on
the doors and the roof, and you could see the sides of the van start to
buckle, Herbie Worthington recalled. Jimi was silent. The only one
who spoke was Noel, who had decided that if he survived this moment,
he was getting on a plane to England and never coming back. Still, even
in his state of abject fear, he made a joke. That s my leg, mate, and I
don t know you that well, he said to Worthington, who was sitting
next to him. The Experience had been together for three tumultuous
years, and Noel s sense of humor had been one element that had helped
R OOM F UL L OF MI R R OR S 261
hold them close during difficult times. Now Noel joked that it was all
going to end with their deaths in the back of a U-Haul and they d never
get a chance to spend their money or enjoy their fame. Though it took
them an hour to drive a hundred yards, Jimi, Noel, and Mitch survived
the Denver Pop Festival. They would never again play together as a
trio, though.
Noel took a plane to England the next day, while Jimi flew to New
York and checked into the Hotel Navarro. One day later, Jimi heard
that his friend Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones had drowned at his
Sussex home. Jones was only twenty-seven years old.
mn
ON JULY 10, Jimi was scheduled to appear as a guest on the Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson. As soon as Noel split, Jimi attempted to
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