Original vintage 11 x 8.5 handbill for a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert at Symphony Hall in Newark, New Jersey, on April 5, 1968, with central image of Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell, and border area containing venue, ticket, and travel information. In fine condition.
On Friday, April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the Experience were scheduled to play two concerts at Newark’s Symphony Hall. According to bass player Noel Redding, what greeted the band upon their arrival was beyond his comprehension. ‘Our gig in Newark brought home to me how little I understood about America. We got into the limo and drove from Manhattan and as soon as we crossed into Newark we were somewhere weird, a place with tanks in the streets, but no people. I didn't know what was going on. At the hall we were met by police. We freaked. What had we done? Then we heard that Martin Luther King had been assassinated and Newark was under siege. This was beyond my experience. The cops told us that there might be a riot and that we should do one show, do it quick and f--k off. The hall was huge—a several-thousand-seater—but contained at most two hundred people.’ The Experience canceled their second show and shortened their first, playing for roughly 45 minutes. The night concluded with Hendrix informing the crowd that ‘this number is for a friend of mine.’ The trio played an improvised song in honor of King, and then quietly walked off the stage.
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