On the northeast corner of West Huron and First Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, lies a gravel parking lot. A half-century ago, this unassuming plot of land held the Fifth Dimension, advertised as “One of Michigan’s newest and finest young adult clubs (16 to 21).” For two years, this venue echoed with the reverberations of local rock bands and headlining international acts, notably The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, the Yardbirds, the Jeff Beck Group, the Mothers of Invention, and–most significant of all–the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Built in the 1950s, the building originally housed the Twentieth Century Lanes bowling alley. In the mid-1960s architect Rich Ahern acquired the property and redesigned its interior with hippie splendor. As described by Frank Uhle on the Ann Arbor Chronicle website, when the Fifth Dimension opened in the fall of 1966 concertgoers entered “a psychedelic showplace with trippy pulsating lights, a huge spinning op-art wheel at the entrance, splatter-painted wall panels, carpeted sitting mounds, a sunken soda bar, and a mod clothing store.” Ahern converted the bowling alley’s pro shop into a dressing room directly behind a small stage that was so small and low that fans could stand within arm’s reach of the performers.
On Saturdays the Fifth Dimension hosted matinees with local acts such as Our Mother’s Children, Bob Seger & the Last Heard, the Prime Movers, the Scot Richard Case, the MC5, the Stooges, the Talismen, and the Rationals. Bob Seger and Iggy Pop (drummer for the Prime Movers and singer with the Stooges) would later become headliners themselves. The first international acts to play there were the Yardbirds in December 1966, followed by The Who in June 1967.
Then, on August 15, 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience came to town. Just two months earlier the trio had given their historic performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival. The Fifth Dimension concert would be the group’s only non-coastal appearance during their first American tour.
Two shows were scheduled for that Tuesday evening, at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Two bands opened: The Hideaways, a group of Ann Arbor High students who specialized in covers of R&B and rock hits, and Kalamazoo’s The Thyme. After their opening sets, the Experience came onstage.
Hendrix, bedecked in tight gold pants, a colorful jacket, and beads and scarf, played a white Fender Stratocaster for most of his thirty-minute sets. As Hendrix biographers have been quick to note, he also used his Ann Arbor appearance to test-drive two new additions to his stage setup: a Gibson Flying V guitar, which he’d just acquired and hand painted with psychedelic swirls, and a Vox wah-wah pedal. On assignment for the Detroit Free Press, freelance photographer Wilson Lindsey shot of series of stunning photos of the Experience’s performance. (You can view them here: Gallery: Detroit Photographer Wilson Lindsey Captured Music and More in the 1960s.)
Hideaways lead singer Al Jacquez vividly remembers the performance: “The Experience opened with ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ which was such a cool thing to do! I remember them playing ‘The Wind Cries Mary,’ ‘Foxy Lady,’ and ‘Purple Haze.’ They sounded good! Hendrix was loud, but not excessively, ridiculously loud. The drummer, Mitch Mitchell, did not play hard at all–he had a very light touch.” Other attendees remember the Experience playing “Hey Joe” and “Fire.”
Jacquez, who as lead singer for Savage Grace would open for Hendrix in 1970, was especially impressed with Jimi’s demeanor that night in Ann Arbor: “He was very relaxed. He had a humbleness about him, a shyness, and he smiled a lot. As the group played, you had the sense that they were having fun. They were looser and freer than the bands we were used to seeing. Jimi did have amp problems during one of the sets. At one point he unplugged the guitar from his amp and plugged into Noel Redding’s bass amp. But he wasn’t a diva about it at all–he struck me as real mature.”