reCAP :: Electric Hot Tuna w/ Leon Russell :: 2014.06.19
On June 19th, The Capital Theatre hosted a gorgeous night of music from Leon Russell and Electric Hot Tuna. The two acts could not have dovetailed better into the roots of blues and rock ‘n’ roll.
At age 72, the consummate session musician, Leon Russell, has collaborated with all the greats from Dylan and The Band, Sinatra, Clapton, Ray Charles, Badfinger, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and the list goes on… The troubadour’s iconic white beard is a veritable trademark in good time music.
Russell gave us many greats from behind his white grand piano, including a heartfelt rendition of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” the idiosyncratic protest song from Bob Dylan. He ran through a “Wild Horses,” in double time and a southern rock version of Ray Charles’s “Georgia On My Mind.” He honored the late, Richie Havens with a well sung “Tightrope.” And everyone was touched by the Leon’s own elegant ballad, “A Song For You”.
Hot Tuna, the core of which being Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, long time friends and members of the band Jefferson Airplane, took the stage next. Always at ease, Jorma opened the set with a good, loud chuckle, followed by three songs off their most recent release Steady As She Goes, recorded at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock.
The band started slowly with “Second Chances,” a poetic message of finding oneself, “Our chances live in children/They’ll grow beyond our reach/Our purpose turns from self to all/Our mission is to teach.” It is a mission that Jorma attends to regularly with his work at the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp in Ohio.
The band rolled into “Children of Zion,” by Rev. Gary Davis, the blues and ragtime great, whose finger picking style Jorma emulated as a young guitarist. The song featured special guest, Larry Campbell, on mandolin, providing the perfect twang against the “amen’s” of this gospel. “Angel Of Darkness,” was next, co-written with Campbell, who sat in throughout the evening playing a broad range of instruments from steel pedal, mandolin and electric guitar.
Teresa Williams’ backup singing was in perfect harmony to “Water Song,” a gem off the album Burgers. After this ballad the band laced up a smoking “Bow Legged Woman, Knock Kneed Man,” a tough track made famous by Bobby Rush, the Louisiana born bluesman. Jorma’s lead was impeccable showing why he mastered psychedelic pop with his wide array of effects.
The groove was getting heavy. The traditional “Rock Me Baby,” featured a nice give and take between Jorma and Campbell, shifting leads nicely into gear. A Jefferson Airplane ditty, “Chauffer Blues,” came before a crowd pleasing “Sugaree.” Williams’ voicing was a nice complement to the Hunter/Garcia gem. The place was bouncing.
Hot Tuna closed out the evening with two tracks off of the 1975 album, America’s Choice. Funky #7 featured a screeching bass from Jack Casady, literally melting the filigree off The Cap, as Jorma’s phaser effect pierced the core of the many fans standing in honor of some of the greatest American musicians of all-time. The encore, “Hit Single #1,” left everyone satisfied as devotees of Hot Tuna left filled with good vibes.