It is a strange time for legacy rock bands. Some bands are touring with no original, or “classic era” members, some have multiple lineups competing against each other, and now, some exist as avatars or holograms. While the current lineup of Jefferson Starship is certainly not an avatar or hologram, it does fall somewhere between the first two options. While members like Paul Kanter, Marty Balin, Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico, and Mickey Thomas are no longer involved, founding member David Freiberg and longtime drummer Donny Baldwin are, while vocalist Mickey Thomas fronts his own version of 80’s spinoff Starship.
The night began right at the designated ticket time with the 1981 hit “Find Your Way Back”. Immediately, Cathy Richardson grabs your attention as she easily handles the Mickey Thomas vocal. Guitarist Jude Gold also commands the spotlight with his playing and stage presence. Gold has not only manned the guitar spot in Jefferson Starship since 2012, but he has also been an editor of Guitar Player magazine since 2001. Richardson, who formerly fronted Big Brother & The Holding Company, has been with the band since 2008.
The opening run of songs (“Find Your Way Back”, “Stranger”, “Count On Me”) was really strong. As the show progressed Freiberg took some of male vocals, and while he sounded good, it’s tough for anyone to match the legendary sounds of Balin and Thomas. Freiberg mentioned that he recently injured his back and had to play the show sitting on a stool. When Freiberg was at the mic, keyboardist, and Connecticut native, Chris Smith, who has been with the band since 1998, played the bass parts.
This version of Jefferson Starship, blessed by both Paul Kanter’s estate and Grace Slick, embraced the entire history of the collective. The first half of the set saw a pair of 80’s Starship hits (“Sara”, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”) which featured drummer Donny Baldwin on the original recordings (mega-hit “We Built This City” came a little later in the set). There were also a handful of Jefferson Airplane classics (“White Rabbit”, “Somebody To Love”, “Volunteers”) that featured founding member Paul Kantner on the original recordings. Freiberg was a later member of Airplane but did not feature on the classic material.
As well as the band played musically, Richardson and Gold are the clear standouts. Gold showed off his skill on a reworking of the Jorma Kaukonen Surrealistic Pillow classic “Embryonic Journey” while Richardson deftly handled the classic Grace Slick vocals as well as some of the Balin and Thomas parts and rhythm guitar throughout the night. In addition to her work with Jefferson Starship and Big Brother & The Holding Company, Richardson also has a handful of solo records and has done some amazing work with Jim Peterik & World Stage.
In a recent interview I did with Mickey Thomas, he stated he doesn’t see a reason to reunite with Jefferson Starship and is happy with his version of Starship. While the current lineup of Jefferson Starship puts on really enjoyable show that embraces the entire complicated history of this collective, one can only imagine how the pairing of Thomas and Richarsdson would sound. The personality and musicality of Paul Kanter is sorely missed, but Freiberg and his crew do the music and the history justice, which is all you can ask from the band.
