Psychedelic Visions

In the world of psychedelic music, many artists are well known for their incredible live performances and usual appearances. Here is a small compilation of some of the best, weirdest and grooviest videos of psychedelic artists.

Where would any psychedelic blog be without Jimi Hendrix's cover of Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock, 1969. In front of a half empty crowd and amongst the mud and mayhem at the first Woodstock festival, Jimi Hendrix's moving guitar solo has now become synonymous with the end of the 1960s and the decline of the hippy era.

Filmed on a beach in California, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band's performance of Sure 'Nuff N Yes I Do is the ultimate bluesy psychedelic song. Captain Beefheart, a.k.a. Don Van Vilet, is sporting his trademark top hat and gnarly facial hair whilst the rest of the band thrash their instruments looking like a gypsy motley crew. As unusual as the band look and sound, they managed to attract quite a few people watching from the street.

Based on the tales of Alice in Wonderland, Jefferson Airplane's epic ode to psychedelic drugs, White Rabbit, has been captured here being performed live on an American comedy show. The vintage colourful 60s backdrop gives the performance a real character, as well as looking a bit outdated.

The Beatles have often been credited with creating the first music videos, way before they turned their hand to psychedelica. This video for I Am The Walrus was created during development for their third and final film, Magical Mystery Tour. It features The Beatles dancing and singing in fields, dressing up in quite scary animal costumes and plenty of trippy camera techniques thrown in for good measure.

As beautiful and heart-breaking as the song is, the video for Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys focuses more on their crazy antics, such as some very early camera trickery when lead singer Brian Wilson meets another version of himself and the band play around in a pool. Oh, they're a strange bunch of fellows.