Hot Tuna at the Beacon Theatre

Hot Tuna, with Steve Kimock (left)

Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady discovered guitar and a love of the blues, country, and jazz as teenagers in Washington, D.C. Kaukonen left for college in Ohio and there learned the elaborate Piedmont fingerstyle guitar picking. Casady, meanwhile, stayed in D.C. and continued his study of guitar and then bass, often playing with local club bands. After college, Kaukonen took a work-study program in New York City, where he joined the burgeoning folk, blues, and bluegrass scene. He then traveled a bit and landed in California. In the mid-1960s Kaukonen was invited to play in a rock band that was forming in San Francisco; though roots music was his passion, Kaukonen joined what was to become Jefferson Airplane, and invited Casady to play bass in the band. Jefferson Airplane became a leader in the new psychedelic rock scene. In 1969, while Jefferson Airplane was on hiatus, Kaukonen and Casady formed a side project called Hot Tuna to play Airplane songs, roots music and original songs. From a commercial standpoint, Hot Tuna failed to rival or eclipse Jefferson Airplane and its successor, Jefferson Starship, but nevertheless outlasted those bands, both of which are now defunct.

Hot Tuna at the Beacon Theatre is an annual pre-Thanksgiving given, as year after year the band performs pretty much the same set to the same audience. With no new album to promote, the band relied on older originals and covers of vintage folk blues tunes, along with a smattering of Airplane songs. Backed by drummer Justin Guip, the trio dazzles because Kaukonen may be the foremost remaining guitarist of the Piedmont style. Without being flashy, Kaukonen tastefully used alternate bass thumb techniques, along with runs, bends, double-stops, bass walk-ups, turnarounds, blues licks, and ornamental notes. Casady, meanwhile, floated his right hand in a relaxed position, often striking the strings close to or over the end of the fret board, sometimes plucking with two or three fingers for thicker tones. Kaukonen's deep, bluesy vocals gave the songs an anchor, but once the musicians jammed, a symbiotic chemistry between the three musicians made the performance far more than lyrics and music. Guitarist Steve Kimock joined the band for several solos and added a new twist to the familiar songs. Hot Tuna's roots music is out of fashion these days, but the band's dedicated fans always will be ready for yet another Hot Tuna concert.

Visit Hot Tuna at www.Hottuna.com.

Setlist

Set 1:

1. True Religion
2. I See the Light
3. Ode for Billy Dean
4. I'm Talking About You (Chuck Berry cover)
5. Living Just for You
6. Wolves and Lambs (Jorma Kaukonen song)
7. Sea Child
8. Hesitation Blues ([traditional] cover)
9. Bowlegged Woman, Knock Kneed Man (Bobby Rush cover)

Set 2:

1. Been So Long (Jorma Kaukonen song)
2. Roads and Roads & (Jorma Kaukonen song)
3. Trial by Fire (Jefferson Airplane song)
4. Watch the North Wind Rise
5. Sleep Song
6. Good Shepherd (Jefferson Airplane song)
7. Walkin' Blues (Son House cover)
8. Hit Single #1
9. Keep on Truckin' (Bob Carleton cover)
10. Funky #7

Encore:

1. Water Song