By Andrew Bansal
May 23rd 2014, Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills CA: Embarking on their journey in the early 70s, Jefferson Starship is a San Francisco-based psychedelic/progressive rock group that began as a successor to Jefferson Airplane but over the past four decades established its own name under the leadership of Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Kantner. As would be expected from any band that lasted this long, they went through transitions in musical styles, from the psychedelic classic rock of the early 70s to the poppy, commercial 80s era and revisiting the classic tendencies on later albums in the 90s and 2000s. Last night, they paid a visit to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills to perform Airplane’s 1967 album ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ in its entirety along with an assortment of other classics, and for a rock fanatic like myself whose parents’ age wasn’t even in double figures when this album was released, it was a rare opportunity, and for older fans, it was an equally great chance to relive the classics.
Beverly Hills is not a city I ever go to for a rock show, or for anything, but this was going to be one of those once-in-a-blue-moon occasions when I did just that, and upon entering this classy venue and observing and absorbing the upscale atmosphere inside of it, I strongly felt out of place and as I took my seat sixth row from the stage, my eagerness for the start of Jefferson Starship’s set heightened even further.
Promptly at 9 PM, they appeared on stage and truly rocked this theatre with a nearly two-hour long set that not only glorified the ’67 Airplane classic album but also presented other tunes that showcased the more classic, progressive facets of the Jefferson Starship catalog, as opposed to the 80s pop numbers. Paul Kantner and co certainly kept it old-school, which made it all the more enjoyable for true classic rock fans. Because of their origins in the San Francisco psychedelic rock wave of the 60s and their history with festivals such as Woodstock, they always get roped into the whole ‘hippie rock’ sub-culture, but based on this performance, it’s clear that their music encompasses a lot more than that.
Dominated by awe-inspiringly pristine tones emanating from the guitars of Paul Kantner, David Freiberg and Jude Gold and well backed up by the powerful rhythm section of Chris Smith on keyboards and synth and Donny Baldwin on drums, Jefferson Starship put forth an unmistakably rich-sounding performance, fronted excellently by Cathy Richardson who besides channeling and doing justice to the vocal abilities of original Airplane/Starship singer Grace Slick, lent her own touch and personality to these tunes, and presented herself with great energy and expression, also rocking the cowbell and doubling up with Donny Baldwin on drums for a few moments during this set. But one member who deserves as much credit as any of the six is David Freiberg, who at the age of 75 put vocalists half his age to complete shame with his stunning vocal delivery the quality and authenticity of which served as a virtual time machine that took us back to the 60s and 70s.
The set comprised classics such as ‘White Rabbit’ and ‘Somebody To Love’, but Jefferson Starship left the audience thrilled with just about everything they played, and also gave each member full opportunity to shine in the spotlight with well-placed solos that fit perfectly into the flow of the set. The unison of Cathy Richardson, Paul Kantner and David Freiberg on vocals combined by the multi-layered instrumentation with the guitars, synth, keyboards and drums was spine-chilling in the truest sense. All the right notes were hit, and no stone was left unturned by the band in ensuring that the Jefferson Airplane/Starship material was done complete justice to. They ended with an encore performance of a track off of the 2008 album Jefferson’s Tree Of Liberty called ‘Imagine Redemption’, an arrangement that combines John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’.
While Jefferson Starship’s music may not be defined by hard rock fans or metalheads as ‘heavy’ in the superficial sense, and some readers might even be wondering why the band is being featured on this site, but based on this performance I would have to say their live musicianship sonically came across as just about as rich and full as anything I’ve ever witnessed, specially because of the choice of songs they went with for the set list.
It’s important to remember that Jefferson Starship took inspiration from their idols such as The Beatles, The Byrds and blues/folk rock to turn it into something that would go on to inspire the classic, progressive and psychedelic rock acts that came in the next generation, in turn leading to heavier forms of rock in subsequent decades, and to someone that has observed and is able to appreciate all of these eras of rock, this Jefferson Starship performance at the Saban Theatre was a glorious representation of this journey.
Jefferson Starship links:
JeffersonStarshipSF.com
facebook.com/OfficialJeffersonStarship
Set List (This is how it was written on stage, and I was not able to decipher it so I decided to post it as it is. If someone can figure out these song titles, feel free to contact me):
01. Chi
02. Get
03. Mir
04. Lather
05. Count
06. Wood
07. R
08. C.D.E
09. Baby
10. Blows
11. FB
12. J
13. (Poo)
14. S
15. V
Confirmed US dates:
05/24 – Big Bear Lake, CA – The Cave
06/07 – Maricopa, AZ – Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort
06/14 – Grand Junction, CO – Two Rivers Convention Center
06/19 – Onamia, MN – Grand Casino Mille Lacs Event Center
06/28 – Fayetteville, GA – Southern Ground Amphitheater
06/29 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
07/10 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
07/11 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
07/13 – Littleton, CO – The Hudson Gardens & Event Center
07/19 – Forest City, IA – Winnebago Industries Grand National Rally
08/01 – Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center
08/03 – New York, NY – B.B. King Blues Club and Grill
08/08 – Three Forks, MT – Rockin’ The Rivers
08/31 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Outdoor Amphitheater
Saban Theatre links:
SabanTheatre.org
facebook.com/TheSabanTheatre
twitter.com/Saban_Theatre
instagram.com/SabanTheatre