Hendrix came into Toronto from a gig in Detroit. As his luggage was inspected at the Toronto airport, a bag of heroin was found on top of his belongings. It was left there by a devoted groupie in Detroit. Jimi was now busted for possession and importing dope into Canada.
Along with some other fans, I was waiting in the hotel lobby for two hours that afternoon for the band to arrive. Finally, the tour manager and Noel and Mitch arrived but not in a good mood. They had just spent two hours with Canada Customs being searched and interrogated.
Jimi arrived two hours after that and went right to his room and refused to do the sound-check.
That night, in front of a sold-out Maple Leaf Gardens, Jimi played the blues. No wild stage antics, no feedback into the amps, just a night of stand-your-ground, play-your- heart-out blues. It was not what the audience came to experience, but it reflected Jimi's 'bad day at the office' kind of vibe. His subdued performance made for some interesting photos.
He would later return to face the courts, and his case was thrown out because it was obvious he had no knowledge of the drugs in his baggage.