In theory at least, I can't take Jefferson Starship at any price. If only for "We Built This City On Rock And Roll" they deserved my placing them on bands that are going to hell, a couple of years ago.
But that's me.
You would bet that a packed out BB King's ready to celebrate Paul Kantner's 70th Birthday would be actually happy to see em. But here is Starship manager saying if we don't wanna stay we can get a refund, and they will be playing a free gig on March for all ticketholders, and this is one of the greatest San Francisco bands of all time and we can get the set for free somewhere around here http://www.jeffersonstarshipsf.com/ and and and…
What gives?
What gives is Paul Kantner isn't here (the get well soon shout out suggests why), and so what do you get when you get Jefferson Starship with neither Paul nor Marty Balin nor (God knows) Grace Slick? As becomes clear before Cathy Richardson has completed the second song of the set, a wailing, bluesy "Who Do You Love?", what you get is a first rate groove band.
The third song of the set is "Somebody To Love" -a track with Grace's imprint so indelible since 1967 on Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow. Written by Grace's brother-in-law at the time, Darby Slick, and if you listen to an early version of it on the Great Society's demo tape, it is obvious the Airplane gave it funk, they caught its bassline and jumped all over it..Grace got its blackness, the second time around.
So does Cathy Richardson.By around about here it is all over, Paul Kantner may well be missed but this ain't karaoke time. Cathy, who portrayed Janis Joplin in "Love Janis", is a beautiful song interpreter. She can scream in tune, she can handle blues with the same power as soul, or psychedelia, she can drift into the background and leave the stage to big time guitarist Slick Aguilar or bassist and a pretty damn great vocalist himself Danny Freiberg and his wife Linda Imperial. More impressive, a show stopping Nona Hendryx mini-set doesn't make us forget her. Also she looks great:
The highlight of Cathy's night was a brilliant cover of Heart's "Crazy On You". Supporting herself on acoustic guitar, Cathy ripped the song to shreds; it has always been a great song. Too great. It is too difficult to breathe ife into it, but Cathy, who mentions that Starships manager called it the best thing he'd ever heard, and that she is also nervous, tears the chorus away and plays the lick and sings the riff.. A thing of wonder.
If I am writing about Cathy to the exclusion of the rest of the band, my apologies.
Let me rectify the situation by mentioning that my surprise at Slick's guitar work with Nona Hendryx is due to my not realizing he used to play for KC And The Sunshine band. During an extended medley of Al Green songs, Nona and Slick bring the house down.
And here is why Jefferson Starship is misunderstood. "We Made This City" destroyed their reputation. The money wasn't worth it. It was so bad that I, among millions, wouldn't pay the slightest attention to them ever again. But that's not what they are; they are a 60s band in the sense that Sly And The Family Stone were: they aren't the Dead (despite a Jerry Garcia cover). They are a psychedelic dance band and they mine country not at all: This is the part of 60s bands that got lost in time.
I got Jefferson Starship wrong.I can take or leave their catalog but on stage, they are a brilliant bass heavy dance band.
Grade: A-
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