With drummer Mitch Mitchell’s recent death, the physical legacy of the Jimi Hendrix Experience finally came to an end, 38 years after its leader’s tragic, premature passing. But just because a rock icon is dead doesn’t mean his baby brother can’t throw him a rockin’ birthday bash, which is essentially what this gig amounts to. Jimi’s younger sibling is Leon, a 60-year-old former street hustler who didn’t pick up a guitar until six years ago, at roughly the same time when it became apparent that his exhaustive legal efforts to regain a cut of his brother’s lucrative estate would prove futile. But while critics will be apt to dismiss Leon and his backing band as a cheap imitation of the real thing, his prowess proves that playing electric guitar is hard-coded in the Hendrix DNA. While Leon’s singing voice leaves something to be desired (the same was said of Jimi), he is a respectable axe wielder, even if an emergence from his brother’s long shadow is virtually impossible at this point, if it was ever possible to begin with.
Sat., Nov. 29, 7 p.m., 2008