Reviewed: Hot Tuna (Carnegie Hall & The Cabot), Jorma Kaukonen (Bombyx) - Happy Birthday Jorma!
There are days when I think Hot Tuna is the coolest band on the planet. Back in the 1970s, there was a saying, “There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.” Of course nowadays, there are plenty of things like a Grateful Dead concert. Sometimes it even features members from the original lineup. However, there truly isn’t anything like a Hot Tuna, or a Jorma Kaukonen, concert. While things have changed since their original days as an offshoot of the Jefferson Airplane, the same vibe, and musical excellence, has remained constant. Their fan base continues to be fanatical, if a bit more subdued. No one really plays like Jorma, or has the decades-long friendship that he has with bassist Jack Casady. Plus Jorma, either solo or with Hot Tuna, still delivers the goods. Over the past 13 months, I’ve seen Hot Tuna three times, and Mr. Kaukonen once. ( See my review of last year’s show at the Wilbur Theater in Boston.) This is an honor usually reserved for either Bob Dy...
