Thursday night's show with Hot Tuna at El Rey is gonna get me to re-animate this blog, being as it was such a spectacular evening. 41 years have passed since I saw this band live and it was as if time has been standing still.
I knew the show was sold out, but still, it was a surprise to see a line wrapped around the block when I got there. And man, have we gotten old! But the spirit and enthusiasm was potent and everyone seemed as giddy and excited as if they were going to a Jefferson Airplane show. Standing in line waiting for the doors to open one struck up conversations with one's neighbors, comparing notes, who did you see and when?, which Hot Tuna songs are your favorites?, did you see them back then?, did you go to Woodstock?
Actually did speak to a couple of Woodstock alumni and it was a trip to share experiences, find out when they got there (for me it was 4 PM on Friday, August 15, 1969, see, I do remember the sixties), who they saw, how long did you stay, did you buy tickets...all the questions I've wanted to ask fellow concertgoers for 49 years. We all shared the same conclusion that we left with no idea that it changed our lives, and it took twenty years to realize it.
Inside, the El Rey had set up seating for the decidedly upper-middle aged (I love that term) audience and I gleefully slid into an aisle seat only nine or ten rows from the stage. Don't get me wrong, there was a huge variety of ages present and a lot of very youthful fans, as great music knows no generations.
Right at nine o'clock Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy strode on stage, accompanied by current drummer, Justin Gulp, and launched into "Been So Long" from their second album First Pull Up Then Poll Down, and suddenly the years melted away and it was 1971 all over again. It was all there, the nimble finger picking of Jorma, the driving undertone and plucked stings of Jack's bass, one could have been listening to any one of the improvisational instrumental jams that often punctuated the center of extended concert versions of Jefferson Airplane songs. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, that delicious, jangling Airplane sound.
The crowd was abuzz and agog by now and the room glowed with astonishment at how fresh and vital everything sounded. Returning about twenty-five minutes later, they continued to play on and on
into the night.
On stage banter was minimal, but when it came time to play "Good Shepherd", Jorma did take a minute to say that they probably would not be standing on this stage were it not for a woman named Grace Slick, It was a sweet and sincere acknowledgement, and he said "This is for you, wherever you are". The vocal she contributed to that song on the Volunteers album has been incorporated into one of the guitar lines in the song.
I had to work the next day so I was forced to leave around 11:30, but I understand they played till well after midnight. Seeing these two school-boy friends, who joined a band that happened to explode into worldwide fame, and still stay true to their musical roots and integrity, it truly awe-inspiring. It was an evening I will never forget.
whrabbit
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