Jefferson Starship @ Pirate's Ball

I.C. Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1997

Review and Commentary by Terence Mulligan

Man, this tour's has its share of troubles. First Rick Danko got busted in zero-tolerance Japan. Stupid, but that's what addiction does to your judgement. Hope they let him out before the millennium. Then the show at Merriweather (in Maryland) got canceled, and I had front row seats! Surfing the Web for alternative shows was a hassle, with lots of conflicting information regarding dates, times, locations, and even who was gonna play. Finally settled on Pittsburgh, about 250 miles from home. Booked a hotel in town and drove up Saturday morning. I never "toured" with the Dead, so it's a fairly new phenomenon going on a long road trip just for a concert. But hey, I'm almost 40, and I haven't missed a Kantner/et al. tour since 1974. I ain't gonna miss it for nothing!

I skipped the 3 local opening acts, although I caught the tail end of one of them. Very good stuff, whoever they were. The venue was pretty loose--a few cops around, but they largely left people alone or just gave them a serious talking-to. This was definitely a Deadhead party scene, and the parking lot was much more hassle-free than many GD shows of the early 1990s. People drank and toked pretty openly, both inside and out, which was nice. Great view of the Pittsburgh skyline from the outdoor site, and the perfect weather made for a nice sunset on the river.

Here are the details:

JGB

Started about 7:00 p.m. and played for about an hour. I sort of expected it to be more bluesy, but I was pleasantly surprised. Lots of Dead tunes, and their new lead guitarist was outstanding. Notice how at the Furthur Festivals no-one is willing to play lead guitar to fill in Jerry's shoes? Well this show filled in the gap, and the dude was more than adequate. Obviously not Jerry, but clearly in his style. Great instrumentals, but the singer was a bit more raspy (and off-key) than Jerry. Check Glenn's review for more info on the band, since I'm not familiar with the line-up--only saw them once in 1989.

Shakedown Street
Sugaree
(??)
Not Fade Away
(??)
Fire on the Mountain
Don't Let That Deal Go Down--
Dark Star Jam--
Deal (continued)
I'm missing 2 or 3 songs from the setlist.

Vince Wellnick's Missing Man Formation

Outstanding! Moving, inspired playing, excellent keys, synth, and vocals from Vince, plus some nice guitar solos. Check out their own page for band line-up. Very much what you might expect after hearing Vince's influence on the Dead's last 5 years--remember those Beatles' arrangements he brought to the band? Well, he didn't do any of them, but that powerful, melodic style was definitely Vince-esque. A great show, lots of instrumental highlights and crescendos. I HIGHLY recommend this band.

By the way, Diana Mangano sang a duet with Vince on one tune, and Prairie Prince was his drummer. Very nice. This was the only Furthur-style crossover jamming for this show. I'd like to see more interaction, let them loosen up some if this tour survives the summer.

Jefferson Starship

Mixed feelings for my favorite band. Don't take offense, fellow Starshippers, but I'll be frank:

First, a large portion of the Deadheads left before they even came on. This has been a perennial problem since at least 1975--when Red Octopus alienated the Jeffersons forever from a large portion of their psychedelic audience. Kantner (and Grace, in earlier years) always carried the hippie flag, and I think he still wants to associate himself with the acid rock scene. The last 5 years have seen a remarkable return to the Airplane and early Starship roots. But most of the Deadheads still wouldn't give them a chance. They still think of Jefferson Starship as those guys who put out "Miracles" and never came back down from the corporate empire's penthouse.

They opened with a killer "Crown of Creation"--spectacular! A really full, loud, overwhelming sound, just as it should be. Jack was, as usual, GOD. Paul was fired up, and the large venue really let them crank up the volume. Diana was both beautiful and fantastic, as we've all come to expect. Marty's voice is in top-notch shape. Slick's lead guitar work was better than I've ever heard him play, and I've watched this guy since the old KBC Band days of 1985.

"3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds." Terrific. Marty screamed it, totally in key, loud and clear.

"Somebody to Love"--Diana's killer version, with Jack leading the speed-thump rhythm.

Then the inevitable happened. After three Airplane classics, Marty broke into "Count on Me." At least a hundred people walked out of the venue. This audience was NOT into the schmaltzy muzak material.

"All Fly Away"--A rare electric version. Paul usually reserves this for his acoustic tours, so definitely a pleasant treat. Sounded great!

"Feeling in Love Again (?)." New Marty love song. Another 100 people split. This was just not working well.

"Miracles." I went to take a piss. When I got back almost half the audience was gone.

"Across the Board." What can I say? Diana just keeps getting better and better. She knows this song inside out, and she was so hot you could feel her vocal chords burn. Smokin'!

"White Rabbit." Obligatory, but great anyway. Yes, Jack wailed. Slick did the Craig Chaquico "bolero" bit at the beginning. Nice.

"Ganja of Love." One of my favorite new Marty tunes. This was more like it, Marty. At least one of us was still there to enjoy it.

"America." Paul rocks out.

"Volunteers." EVERYBODY rocks out--Marty, Diana, Paul, Jack, Slick, Prairie, and whoever was playing keyboards today (not sure).

No encores. Short set, only an hour. 12 songs, 9 of them good (IMHO). But no real obscure stuff, and an unexpected absence of ANY of the new tunes from the (hopefully forthcoming) new album. Would've been nice to hear some of the recent vintage songs, like "Shadowlands" or "The Light," and maybe some rarities. You'd think that with this tour they could aim their choice of material at the acid-rock audience a bit more. Would've been better to cut all 3 of Marty's bubble gum hits and replaced them with "Today," "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon," "Share a Little Joke with the World," and then maybe throw in a little "Blows Suite" at the end for good measure. Just a suggestion.

Love the band, loved most of the show. But it was kind of sad to see so many people walking out. Much as I like Marty's voice, he's really separating the band from people who might really learn to dig them.

Created August 13, 1997. Review written by Terence Mulligan.

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