Winterland in their hometown of San Francisco for a weekend of
concerts, supported by blues legends Jimmy Reed and John Lee
Hooker. A sense of moment is in the air: the second single from the
soon-to-be-released SURREALISTIC PILLOW album is only a few weeks
old and the A-side ("Somebody To Love"), on the strength of Grace
Slick's searing lead vocal, has begun to vault them out of the San
Francisco club scene onto the national stage. AM radio will soon
seize upon the sound and the record will catch fire in a big way,
shaking the band to its very foundations before redefining it in a
big way.
What is perhaps most remarkable about thisperformances is
that it captures a very brief moment in time when JeffersonAirplane was entering its full instrumental potential while
founding member Marty Balin was still holding the vocal reigns of
the group. Just listen to the first night's performance of "Don't
Slip Away" from JEFFERSON AIRPLANE TAKES OFF: the album's cautious,
guitar-driven performance is here replaced with a thunderous bass
solo intro by Jack Casady, who is quickly joined by the joyous
swing drumming of Spencer Dryden; the two of them set up an
irresistable groove before guitarists Jorma Kaukonen and Paul
Kantner can jump in. The final instrumental playoff is an
incredible, charging showcase for the band as a whole, with Balin
riding the crest with a voice that is at once virile and vulnerable
and romantic in the best sense. Amazingly, the song's performance
on the following night (when Grace makes the surprise move of
joining Marty on the chorus with an engaging harmony part) would be
its last known appearance on the band's playlist. Also, given rare
public performance on all three nights is "My Best Friend," written
by the group's ex-drummer (and Moby Grape founder) Alexander "Skip"
Spence, which happened to be the first 45rpm single picked from
SURREALISTIC PILLOW by RCA. Reportedly, Casady and Kaukonen loathed
the sweet, AM-friendly number and it was retired from live
performance as soon as "Somebody to Love" freed the group from
their obligation to plug the earlier single.
The band's rising star, Grace Slick, is virtually absent from the
first set, offering some soulful background vocal shadings to
"Tobacco Road" (one of the Airplane's best performances of this
standard) before stepping up to the front mike for "Somebody to
Love." Even seasoned collectors of live Airplane tapes will be
startled by this performance of the song, which stretches out to
incorporate a like-themed Balin stomper called "Leave You Alone."
While it's a lusty, gripping performance, it's hard to get past the
idea that Marty was (subconsciously or not) jealously intruding on
Grace's already meager time in the spotlight, and keeping her "in
her place." (The album and single have yet to be released, but
"White Rabbit" is already attracting the loudest applause when it's
announced.) Similarly, Jorma Kaukonen is given one token vocal
spotlight per night; on all three nights, Jorma burns his way
through "Come Back Baby" (introduced by Marty as "Jorma's Blues"),
a wildcat blues groove which he, Casady, Dryden, Balin (on maracas)
and possibly Kantner had laid down in Hollywood's RCA Studio B only
three days earlier. Jorma's first studio vocal, "Come Back Baby"
sounds like it was being primed for a slot on the band's next
album, but the song remained unreleased until it showed up on the
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE LOVES YOU boxed set, decades later, in 1992.
Review by Tim Lucas
Jefferson Airplane
WinterlandSan Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
March 10, 1967
SET 1
And I Like It
Don't Slip Away
Tobacco Road
Somebody to Love
Leave You Alone
SET 2
High Flying Bird
She Has Funny Cars
Let Me In
My Best Friend
Come back Baby
White Rabbit
3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds
