Propylaen2001:  Sorry, I have not checked this forum for a few weeks.  For sure, the February show was Hendrix, Mayall, and Albert King.  The Soft Machine did tour with Hendrix in early '68 but they were not at Winterland at that time.  By the way, I recently saw Alan Holdsworth perform in Berkeley and as I am sure you know, he was the Soft Machine's guitarist in the mid-70's.

Back to Jimi: Thanks to all who noticed my concert review, you are welcome.  You know, I was extremely lucky to have been born in 1951 and therefore able to experience the turmoil, drugs, love, sex, rock and roll, and political changes that were the hallmark of the Bay Area (and other parts of the country) at that time.  I really enjoyed Tenorcat's description of his night with Jimi at Winterland.  His remembrance of the red wine being poured reminded me of an incident we had on Sunday night (this is the October show later in the year, which of course was Jimi's last there).  Without going into details, my friend (who was trippin') layed his head back on the floor into a pool of vomit, as someone from the balcony (!!drinking wine??) had puked over the edge.  Ahh, the old Winterland shows. 

Actually, I found the Winterland and Fillmore West shows to have very civilized crowds.  It wasn't until the late 60's and maybe even the 70's that crowds seemed to get much more rowdy.  One thing I hated was when dudes would put their drunk girlfriend on their shoulders.  I want to see the performer, not some wispy, dirty blond waving her arms, trying to get the lead singer to look at her for 3 seconds.

I have also wondered why a movie of the times has not been made.  Without chronicling what has been attempted (like the recent "Almost Famous"), I know that there is no movie that captures the 60's and the concerts scenes.  Would people want to see actors portray Janis, the Airplane, Quicksilver, Moby Grape (casting Skip Spence would be fun)?  I would pay to see it.  The story line could be about the concert-goers or about the groups, or both. Maybe when I retire, I will write something, but by then the baby-boomers will be too old to be interested.  Actually the future success of the Vault will be one way to guage interest in the material.  I for one, am chomping at the bit to buy DVDs of the concerts I atttended. Now, if the legal crap can get cleared up....