Friday, May 8, 1970 - Jimi Hendrix - OU Fieldhouse

[Dave Cook]

On Friday, May 8, 1970, Jimi Hendrix played 2 shows at the OU Fieldhouse in Norman. Notice the wrestling schedule behind the stage and the 'K' armband in honor of the Kent State students killed days before. Roughly 9,000 people attended these shows. Know anyone that attended this concert?

[Bellaboo]

A friend of mine went to one of them, I remember that he said Jimi played the Star Spangled Banner using the guitar pick with his toes. Anyone ever heard of that ?

[johnnyhooper]

A friend of mine went to one of them, I remember that he said Jimi played the Star Spangled Banner using the guitar pick with his toes. Anyone ever heard of that ?

My dad was an OU student then and has mentioned he saw Hendrix play there. I will have to ask him about that.

[harp23]

I know The Moody Blues and Grand Funk Railroad both played the Fieldhouse in 1970 and I think Quicksilver Messenger Service did as well about that time.

[Dave Cook]

A friend of mine went to one of them, I remember that he said Jimi played the Star Spangled Banner using the guitar pick with his toes. Anyone ever heard of that ?

I think your friend may have tried a little bit of the sunshine that was being passed around before the show.

[pedmond]

I was a senior at OU in May of 1970 and happened to go to both the Hendrix and Moody Blues concert. I don't remember Hendrix playing his guitar with the pick between his toes, however, I do remember him smashing his guitar at the end of the concert. The Kent State shootings had happened just a few days before and it sure cast a pall over OU as well as many other universities.

[soonergeezer]

I went to this concert. I was 19 and doing a lot of drugs in those days so my memory is a little clouded. I do not remember him playing the guitar with his toes. For some reason it seems like he put lighter fluid on his guitar and set it on fire and played it. Could be a memory from another concert but I'm not sure. I did see him at the Denver Pop Festival in 1969 also. I have a friend that lives in Stratford that went to the field house concert. I have never met anyone else that went to that concert, or at least talked about it.

[SOONER8693]

I believe it was either March or April of '70 saw Chicago Transit Authority at the OU fieldhouse. This was when they were still known as CTA before dropping to just Chicago. They had only the first album out at that time. Place was jammed and lots of consumption of various things going on in the packed crowd. They opened with the first 2 songs from their only album, "Does anybody really know what time it is?" and "Beginnings". Memories, good ones.

[BlackmoreRulz]