i'm an old rock & roller, originally from the great city of new orleans....which always rocked ......inspite of the GRATEFUL DEAD getting busted on BOURBON STREET..BACK IN ABOUT 1969 OR SO WHEN THEY OPENED THE BEST CONCERT HALL OR PLACE; NAMELY THE "WAREHOUSE," a 100 year old cotton warehouse; with the original "FLEETWOOD MAC" (PETER GREEN & COMPANY); and the "FLOCK" ..I..saw 'jimi' twice, what a genious & waste of a musical icon's life...*(*among others ..JANIS, JIM MORRISON, AND ALL THE OTHER BROTHERS & SISTERS WHO PASSED PROBABLY WAY TOO SOON THAT HAVE LEFT THEIR GREAT & RICH MUSICAL HERITAGE..don't forget motown!.......BUT ..one of the "absolute greatest performances" by a musical group back in that era..had to be SPIRIT W/RANDY CALIFORNIA PLAYING A CLEAR "DAN ARSTRONG" SG TYPE SOLID BODY AT THE 2ND ATLANTA pop festival.(1970?)..where jimi played that night to fireworks doing the star spangled banner!...earlier that afternoon, HOWEVER, on the main stage,..there was one great kick-ass rock group after another...this was not long after woodstock...many of the same great bands, PUT on as good or possibly better performances than @ 'woodstock'..IF THATS POSSIBLE, ...."10 YEARS AFTER; GRAND FUNK; B.B. KING; PROCAL HARUM W/ROBIN TROWER; RARE EARTH .....ETC"....ALL KICKING OUT GREAT TUNES AND GREAT INCREDIBLE SOUNDS AND JAMMING THEIR ASSES OFF..(THE ORIGINAL ALLMAN BROTHERS JAMMED WITH JIMI HENDRIX & JOHNNY WINTER @ THE STAGE IN THE WOODS....ONE OF THE BEST & MOST ENJOYABLE EXPERIANCES I'VE EVER HAD AS A YOUNG MAN OCCURRED AT THIS FESTIVAL..POSS THE LAST GREAT POP FESTIVAL IN THE U.S...W/OVER 500,000 PEOPLE..BACK THEN,...THEN...SUDDENLY THE NEXT BAND IS "SPIRIT"...I HEARD A STRANGE BUT DISTINCT SOUNDING BASS GUITAR PENETRATING THROUGH A LOUD PA SYSTEM THEY HAD THERE ..LIKE A DIFFERENT WAVELENGTH, OR SONICLY DENSE "PRONG" OF CONCENTRATED SOUND..AND "SPIRIT" STARTED PLAYING "FRESH GARBAGE"....RANDY & THE GUYS PROCEEDED TO PLAY A REMARKABLE HIGH ENERGY SET..AMIDST RANDY CALIFORNIA DOING A BIT OF A PETE TOWNSEND LEAPING BUT CERTIFIABLY RANDY CALIFORNIA STYLE, ALL THE WHILE PLAYING HIS GUITAR WITHIN THIS TIGHT, UNIFIED FRAMEWORK W/TINGES OF JAZZ, DEATH METAL(B4 DEATH METAL WAS INVENTED) AND BY THE TIME THEY DID 'MECHANICAL WORLD'...RANDY'S HIGH PITCH SCREAM, HE OBTAINED THROUGH HIS GUITAR STARTING THE BRIEF SOLO, BROUGHT ALMOST EVERYONE TO ATTENTION AS FAR AS I COULD SEE IN THE MASSIVE CROWD...BUT THEY EXPLODED ON ALMOST EVERY SONG....FINISHING THE SET W/THE GREAT BUT FINAL TUNES FRM 12 DREAMS OF DR. SARDONICUS..(HAVE YOU LISTENED TO RANDY'S SINGING ON "NATURE'S WAY" RECENTLY? ....ONE OF THE GREATEST ANTI-POLUTION SONGS OF THE LAST CENTURY...STILL SOUNDS GREAT TO THIS DAY!! WHEN THEY DID, AS A FINAL ENCORE; "GOT A LINE ON YOU!"....THE BAND ...THE 1/2 A MILLION PEOPLE....AND EVERYONE THAT WAS THERE HAD TO REALIZE THEY JUST EXPERIENCED ONE OF THE VERY BEST ROCK ACTS TO EVER PLAY THERE....YET SOUNDED VERY DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER BANDS!!WITH MUCH MUSICAL CLASS! MAKES ME WANT TO GO AND LISTEN TO SOME OF RANDY CALIFORNIA'S PLAYING RIGHT NOW ...SAW HIM @ A ROCK & ROLL CLUB IN HOUSTON ABOUT 1983-84 SORT OF A SOLO GIG W/2 OTHER MUSICIANS & WAS STILL IMPRESSIVE WITH HIS ADVANCED OR FUTURISTIC GUITAR TEXTURES HE WAS LAYING DOWN ...BUT SADDENED BY THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE I JUST READ ...THOUGHT ONE OF MY FAVORITE GUITARISTS FROM THAT ERA WAS STILL ALIVE SOMEWHERE BUT OBVIOUSLY HE WAS LOST AT SEA ....GOD BLESS HIM,JIMI,....AND A MILLION MORE THAT HAVE LEFT US W/SOME GREAT SOUNDS ....(THEY'VE GOT TO BE JAMMING SOMEWHERE IN THE AFTERLIFE .....BLESS YOU RANDY & THE MEMORY OF A BETTER THAN GREAT ROCK BAND......AT LEAST THAT DAY, THEY WERE THE BEST! Z