ROCK 'N' ROLL NEWS

SRC have finished their third Capitol album, The New Crusader. Before work began on this third album the SRC decided to produce it themselves...that brought about the termination of John Reese’s service. Reese had produced the last two, and had been responsible for a nationwide hit, Happiness, by the Shades Of Blue, before joining the SRC.

The New Crusader is marked by an increase in the use of harmony. In prior albums the group sound was mostly the voice of Scott Richards and an occasional part by A1 Wilmot, bass player. Scott calims that they have discovered a better way to record harmony than is used by most groups. This may be the recording technique used to produce Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young music (although it doesn’t produce the same technique). The highlight of the album may turn out to be the forty piece orchestration used to back one of Scott’s vocals. And then again, it may be By Way Of You.

Inyictus, the Holland-Dozier-Holland label has signed two Canadian r’n’b groups from Toronto; Children of Lucifer • (formerly the Stone Soul Children) and Jason King. Unfortunately, HDH can’t ' write anything (or publish it, actually)-until their Motown litigation is cleared up,

WKNR AM/FM has been sold to Jon’s broadcasting in Boston for a reported sum of 5 1/2 million dollars. The change will probably mean a shake-up within the executive levels, and an air sound change on AM. FM will no doubt increase its air time, and present new personalities and shift changes for the current disc jockeys.

This week, the Litter has not broken up. Check again next issue.

Things are really balled up at Andrew

Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records. The gist of it is:

A - Oldham, president of both Immediate , Records, Ltd. and Immediate Records, Inc., is suing Columbia Records for $7.2 million; under charges of breach of contract.

B - Clive Davies of Columbia; the company president, told Oldham that he was ’’pigheaded, irresponsible" and that he never wanted to see the former Rolling Stones’ manager again.

C - A week later Columbia renewed its distribution option on Immediate. They released, their final Immediate product October 15th, the new Nice ; album.

D - The new Nice isj-also, "being distributed independently by Immediate.

E - Andrew Loog’s suit charges that Columbia failed to make payments on time, failed to manufacture and release numerous recorded performances, failed to use its ’’best efforts" and that CBS is attempting to prevent them from getting other distribution.

F - The^ $7.2 million is $2.4 million damages, trebled.

Immediate groups besides Nice include The original Small Faces (the new ones, if any, will go to Reprise) Humble Pie and Amen Corner (British bublegum). Theentire situation is confusing to say the least.

Despite what you may have heard, the Masked Marauders are in reality the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band (who record under their own name for Vanguard)...at least, that’s what they , claim. But maybe...

Curtis Mayfield: Unimpressed?

Curtis Mayfield will probably leave the Impressions spon to assume more responsibility as a record executive with Curtom, his label. He will continue to produce the Impressions and maybe record solo (a la Diana Ross).

The Palladium, a new downtown suburban Birmingham rock n roll club is presenting the same caliber of national acts that the Grande and EastownTiave been exclusively staging. The Palladium

offers a movie room for old time movie freaks, and a room that’s used for just sittin & rappin. And the popcorn is free.

Howlin’ Wolf,' the great Chicago bluesman, suffered a heart attack November 15th. He is reportedly already out of the hospital Still, what with Muddy Waters’ car accident and the death of Skip James, it looks like it’ll be a bad winter for the blues.

Wilson (Harold) and the Pirates

Pirate radio is returning to Britian. A group of five European businessmen are planning to return with a station modeled after Radio Caroline and Radio London, the first pirate stations of the mid-sixties. They expect to begin test broadcasts shortly after Christmas. Tentatively named “Radio 266,”. the station will transmit on the old Radio London medium wave frequency. It will broadcast “progressive and commercial pop” twenty-four hours a day. The shipv will be anchored off Frinton, Essex coast, four miles from the British mainland. • • -

In a further development, two former Radio Carolihe ships have been moved to a new harbor in Amsterdam and are currently under police guard there. Radio Nederland’s Alan Clark reported that, ‘The studios are still intact and they could be used at any time The old Radio London ship,' Galaxy, is rumored to be returning to Amsterdam for a refitting too.”

Cant. Next Page

ROCK & ROLL NEWS

Support for the project by British record companies would be at the risk of violating the British Marine Offenses Act, the same law used to close down Radio London/Caroline, over a year ago. Strangely enough, it is the “liberal” Labour Party which closed down and opposes the pirate stations; should the conservatives be returned to power it is highly unlikely that the stations will be bothered.

Last Monday night, WABX presented another free movie, Oh, What a Lovely Warf af the Studio North. ABX’s Open City Benefit produced over $1,200 pledged to the community organization. Large amounts of food and medical supplies were also donated. The ■ radiothon lasted over 24 hours. Larry Miller of WABX said that ABX plans to work even closer with Open City in thefuture.

Detroit’s Blues personality, Little Sonny, has just had an album released on the Stax subsidiary label, Enterprise. The album is a killer.

Carnal Kitchen has broken up. The same old story; no jobs no money...

Are You Rockin’ With Me, Jesus?

Superstar isn’t likely k to b° remembered by history as one of rock’s finest moments; it is however causing a highly predictable stir. Released on Decca in the U.S. the song is from the British rock t opera (another one of those!) Jesus Christ Recorded by England’s Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers the song asks that age-old musical question“Who are you Jesus Christ?”. The song has the endorsement of Martin Sullivan, Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; condemnation of the record has come from other pious religious honks. The song tied up switchboards on the British version of the David Frost Show for over an hour.

Nartsi Nevins,' | lead singer with Sweetwater, was involved in an automobile accident in southern California December 8th, and as of this ■ writing she is still in a coma. '

More on the Jeff Beck car crash: The multi-talented guitarist was sidetracked from his newest - super-group,^ with 'members of Vanilla Fudge, when he broke his nose, suffered facial cuts, and (what else?) a broken pelvis, maybe. He’s laid up for about three months.

Howard Tiner is struggling to re-open Toronto’s Rock Pile.

Latest word from James Brown is •that rather than retire the king of soul will cut back to thirty big city tconcerts a year. Filming for Brown’s life story begins in March. Brown’s first album of the New Year will probably be called Broadway Funk. Brown is also hpping to get a TV Show, probably once a week. The black Dean Martin?

One last note on the Beatles Hoax. Have you ever noticed that Russ Gibb spelled backwards is Bbig Ssur. (Russ himself, . however, does not have a speech impediment). What do you think of that, kids?

At last, at last.

Louise Heubner the recordmaking astrologer will have a nationally syndicated astrological tv show chat-type program. Miss Heubner, whose program starts in January on Metromedia’s 22 city network, is also a

WTAK, Detroit’s all-talk AM radio station, will drop its all talk format to change over-to music in January.

The station has asked the Federal Communications Commision for a name change to WIID as part of its image renovation. But, according to general manager Harvey Grace, no decision has been reached on the new style of musie" to be broadcast by the station.

Warren Pierce is the only personality definitely signed to stay, however, said Grace; He said that most of the personalities at -the station have been asked to stay on, with the exception of J.J. Scott, the morning talk man, who was fired last Friday, and Paul Winter, who has resigned.

WTAK, liseensed to Garden City, went on the air in 1963 as WERB. The call letters were changed to WTAK in 1965 when an all talk format was adopted. The station was sold to the present owners, GraceWolpin Broadcasting Company, last Febuary.

WKNR-FM radio has begun to chart independent Detroit productions. With this extra push, stations around, the country will be picking up more independently produced Detroit singles.

January 24th is designated International Free John Sinclair Day, a day of benefits and concerts to be held throughout Amerika and the world. . Sinclair is Chairman of■ the White Panther Party, which recently merged with the Youth International Party, to become the Youth International Party with a white panther as its symbol. Offices will be in Chicago, home of the Yippie/White Panther terrorism of August 1968.

Well, yes...competition rears its ugly head. The killer Quatro/Gibb Conspiracy/Coalition will present on the 29th of December a really big and nearly legendary Chicago show at the Aragon Ballroom. It’s to be a 6 or 7 hour event; does this put Uncle Russ and mother mike in competition with Cousin Aaron Russo in the Windy City? Another merger? Chaos? Glee!!!!!

John Sebastian is moving from MGM to Warner Bros. MGM is a rather unstable company while Warners is one of the best;Sebastian deserves (and got) better. ’

Rumor has it that Dave Dixon is moving to Colorado.'We hope they are ready for it.

News from Crosby, Stills, Nash &

Young, the menage’ a trois plus one of rock n roll, the sedond record is finished for release January 15th; Crosby is having Wooden Ships made into a science fiction flick by Theodore Sturgeon, the noted sci-fic writer; Neil Young and Crazy Horse are completing his third Reprise album. Young is having a .16-track studio built in his Topanga Canyon home. Crazy Horse will do a tour beginning in February.

Trans-Love Energies and the White Panther Party have prepared a 34 page report on last summer’s Ann Arbor street fighting. Entitled Youth Culture,; the South University ‘Disorders’, and the Community Interaction Project in Ann Arbor“ the report runs down what the Panthers feel are the causes and results of the so-called ”riot.“ It also makes an extensive list of recommendations of what equipment should be provided by the city to the alternative culture it contains; e.g. mimeograph machines, presses, rock and roll equipment and a park or other piece of land to call its own. Copies Of the report are available from Trans-Love at 1520 Hill St., Ann Arbor.

Jimi Hendrix beat his dope bust in Cahada. It took a jury 8 1/2 hours to decide that Hendrrx was innocent of possession of heroin. Jimi claimed that he had a headache in L.A. and this chick handed him a bottle containing’ some white powder, saying ’’This’ll make you feel better." (It would have been a bettej story if she had said ’This will fix you up“). Naively trusting the willing young damsel, Hendrix accepted the offer, presuming the powder was Bromo-Seltzer and just sorta threw it in his bag. It took ‘em 8 1/2 hours to believe that, but they did it.

Memphis and the mid-south have another recording studio in Tupelo, Miss, where Triangle Sound, Inc. is located.

The studio features four track .equipment with an 8 track board; producers include Gene Simmons, who did Haunted House some years ago.

Grace in the Fields

\ Savage Grace started recording their first Warner Brothers LP last Monday at Archie Field’s studios on Woodward., Their producer is Joe Wisseft who formerly worked with the Loving Spoonful, among others, and is one of the first to implement the new 16 track board just installed in the Field Complex.

An unprecendent meeting of six of Michigan’s leading booking agents was held December 12th at the offices of Kramer-Day Associates to discuss their role in improving and strengthening the Michigan rock scene. Representatives of Diversified Management, A-Square Booking, Kramer Day Associates, A&A productions, Jerry Patlow and Gale and Rice met in ”a unified effort to strengthen alliances between agents, club owners, bands and people.

“Solutions are being sought” to what was termed “the foreseeable demise of the Michigan rock scene”. The bookers’ statement also makes reference to -“crazed often maniacal tactics on the part of some' bands and clubowners”. Monthly meetings are planned for the conspirators.

Beaver Shot

Beaver Cleaver, of TV fame, is dead in Viet Nam, Informed Sources report.

Nick Butzakaris, formerly of TimTam and the Turn Ons, is now working with Jeep Holland’s A-Square Productions as a subsidiary agent.

Tim Leary went on trial December 1st for “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” in the death of 17 year old Charlene Rene Almeida of Laguna Beach, California. Leary has denied that he ever gave the girl LSD, the killer narcotic substance he has been known to occasionally purchase and use wantonly, and stated that he was in his tent with his old lady when the girl drowned in his Riverside, Cal. pool. “I am told I am to be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” said the hopeful gubernatorial candidate. “Since this is a religious strugle we are. involved in, I proudly confess to having contributed to the delinquency of over thirty million young people who are, in fact, rapidly becoming the majority.”

Commander Cody, is in town taping audition tapes for his as yet unnamed | company; he will be performing here o over Christmas. The Lost Planet Airmen are almost as legendary by now on the fc west coast as they jire in the Mid-West. And they even got Billy C.!

Peter Green was in town for about ten days; he went to see Crosby Stills and” Young and Taylor and Everyone courtesy of Russ Gibb.

Chuck Berry is back with Chess Records after three years with Mercury, which released nothing astounding , or even earth-shaking.

Mitch Ryder, righteous rock and roll singer and noted - pedophiliac, is currently recovering from an emergency appendectomy. 1

Richie Stoneman, former New York representative of’ Concert Hall Publications, has been, canded. Concert Hall is the national * advertising representative for all UPS newspapers. Stoneman will continue as head of the John Sinclair International Defense Fund:

Bob Coffe and Linda Haney are reopening the lovable old Grande, where the sweat is wetter but the vibe is better. And it’s official because this is a piece of OFFICIAL RUSS GIBB ROCK A^D ROLL NEWS.

No More Live Joni, It Seems

Joni Mitchell has decided to give up doing live gigs. Her last scheduled performance will be in London, February 7th. Miss Mitchell wants to devote full-time to song-writing and painting.

Rusty Day’s. Day and Night Blues Band, has evidently broken up. You will remember Rusty from the Amboy Dukes and the MidnighteTS.

Bob Dylan is filing suit against a Vancouver record pressing firm for copying and distributing a bootleg album (The Great White Wonder). Dylan is claiming damages for infringement of copyright on material written and sung. The action was brought against International Record Corp. Ltd. and Pat Allistair and Dub Taylor, all of Vancouver, British Columbia. They are said to have pressed 10,000 of the LP at a cost of about $1.50; the record sold, in Canada and the U.S. for from $6.95 to $ 12.00.

As we go to press, Willard Kehoe of Delta Productions informs us that there may be two sides to this story. The following is based on the best information available to us at this time, but Kehoe has promised his version intime for the next issue.

And now... Bootleg Bands

As if bootleg records and non-entity studio groups weren’t enough, now we’re faced with' the first wave of phony, bootleg . bands. Delta Promotions, a firm located in the Saginaw/Bay City area, with offices in Lansing, has been producing several groups, including the non-group, the " Archies, which they calim are “real” bands.

In reality, the only thing real about the groups are their names. In addition to the bubble-gum Archies, the shucksters to the north are also claiming to possess the Animals, the Zombies, and (the one band they ready do have the real one of) Question Mark and the Mysterians.

The company claims that the groups are the real thing; at least one member of each group is from the original band, they say. Yet, it has been confirmed that the Animals were formerly known as “Dick Rabbitt” in Saginaw, that the Zombies were the “Excels” and god only knows who’d have the nerve to admit that they were the Archies.

As can be seen from the copy reproduced below, the company’s press releases are vague enough to be nearly true. The Animals’ neatly avoids mentioning any names of the individuals now in the group, while at the same time asserting that these are the “real” Animals/ Zombies/Archies. The Animals’ press kit even fails to show a ' picture of the band, instead containing an artists rendering. If they’re no more convincing as British pop-stars than the Zombie-Excels one shouldn’t wonder why; - the Excels look like the factory/crackers they probably are.

Delta, run by Bill Kehoe and cohorts, uses as a ruse that the American Federation of Musicians has no groups presently registered under those names allowed to perform. And i apparently a name is given to whomever gets there first? The only thing that means, however, is that Delta did get there first; not with anything but some words .however.

The companies are hardly successful vin their straight-forward manner of lying to the public. For the • Animals a spokesman claimed “They’re not local; they are from England.” Yeah, southern drawl and all. Well, “I do know that one of them is original. 1 don’t know where the other three came from.”

Unlike Eric Burdon’s multitudinous Animals, or Jim McGuinn’s ever-evolving Byrds or even Mayall’s on again/off again Bluesbreakers, the bootleg bands have no historical rationale for their existence.

Even the company’s own flacks have trouble keeping things straight. “I wish I knew a lot of this stuff too cause I’m having trouble. I’m supposed to get ’em booked. And I’m having trouble.”

The Zombies have been playing in the West and West Coast areas; they actually got booked into L. A.’s Whiskey A-Go-Go for several nights. Their relationship to the “real” Zombies is tenuosly nonexistent. “I heard the Zombies tapes last night and that group is the Zombies”, the shuckster told us. “They perform Tell Her No and Time of the Season better than the originals. They’re good tapes and they are Zombies but I don’t know how many are original.”

The original (or should one say “real”?) Zombies are apparently freaked, as is their record company, Columbia; the Zombies, perhaps suffering from self-delusion or else just plain idiocy, have twice had the nerve to ask the company for front money.

And supposedly scrupulous booking agents and club owners have booked these groups. In Detroit the most, notable are booking agent Artistists’ Associates’ Dale Leonard, who is~a burn . artist anyway. He still owes CREEM a couple of hundred dollars from when he ran the Village Pub (now the. Palladium) in Birmingham.

The bands work “a lot” and get upwards of $1500 a night because their names are a “draw”. And, in the final case, it’s truly ridiculous.

The Archies of Sugar Sugar fame don’t exist except in a recording studio, on tv and in the comic books. Even their producer Don Kirshner admits,“Basically we’re selling 5,000,000 records and we may not need to put out” a group. We’re outselling the Beatles and the Stones^ right now and every major group in the country with a group that doesn’t exist.”

As far as performances, however, “We have liscensed nobody. We have given approval to nobody. And I don’t care what they tell you, they’re certainly not doing it legally.”

Even Delta admits the Archie plasticity’; but of course, their Archies are “the only existing Archies. They are the only road group. They are the road group Archies, f do know there is a studio group that did the record. They formed the road group to do the performing, the actual concerts.”

Yet, according to Don “We have not liscensed any grbup to perform as the Archies. That group isn’t the Archies because we have the authority to put out the group.”

The Archies, who operate on a thin edge between reality and whatever is on the other side of Sugar Sugar anyway, are a creation of Kirshner along with comic artist John Goldwater and Jeff Barry, Phil Spector’s former associate who did the illusion, Dot’s plastic psy-key-del-ligk group, and Andy Kim, who himself is bubble-gum big.

Speaking of the ruse, Kirshner said, “It is completely false. Archie is a copyright. It goes back for 28 years and nobody can just take it and go out and do it unless we liscense it ... I control the music and the records, of course, but Archie is a property owned by John Goldwater, who does the comic strip. We have the sole fight to all Archie’s property.”

Delta doesn’t seem too bright anyway. They’re only getting $1500 a night for groups that, were they real, would get much more; in the Archie’s case they’d be worth five grand, easily. But anyone who would have the real, original (Question Mark and the Mysterians can’t be too bright.

At any rate, the Archies will be in Detroit the 19th through the 21st. The Animals will be in around Christmas, please stay away in droves.

Barry Kramer and Dave Marsh

Dog’s Life Is In Danger

The Family Dog is into a period of hard times, tottering periously near the brink of financial disaster. They owe a total of $20,000 in debts, $5,000 of it to the Internal Revenue Service. And their creditors are clamoring at the door, i

If the taxes aren’t paid soon, the Dog will be closed down by the San Francisco sheriffs department.

Why all the money hassles? There are only two full-time ballrooms in SanFrancisco, a city that lives and breathes rock music; why is it that the Dog can’t even draw in enough people to make ends meet, while the Fillmore West is packed and turns over a comfortable profit?

Lots of reason. Despite its romantic location on the ’ ’’edge of the western world14, the Dog is hard to get to. They’ve never had enough money for adequate advertising. But mainly their whole concept of what a ballroom should be, and how to run it, seems to have fallen flat in a city that’s growing increasingly jaded, hardened and spoiled as far as the music scene is concerned.

The Dog started out with the premise that the usual ballroom scene of superstars, audience-musician separation and paying lots of money to sit passively gazing at your cultural heroes was all wrong. They wanted to revitalize' it; to put the emphasis on the audience as well as the performers (thus the low stages and —lack of light on - the musicians), to get everybody stirred up and working together to raise the vibes in the place.

ANIMALS

The summer of 1964 did it. That was the summer that a song called “House of the Rising Sun ” hit the market. It was a different sort of tune, but it made an impression and paved the way for a different sort of group — the ANIMALS - who have been making impressions ever since.

The list of accomplishments is indeed remarkable. Songs such as “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Boom, Boom”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, and “It’s My Life” have become classics in rock history’s background. The newer songs — “Monterey”, “San Franciscan Nights”, and the very exciting “Sky Pilot” - continue to shape the boundaries of today’s music. In all, the impact made by the Animal sound includes fifteen 45 ’s that have hit the top-twenty nationwide and[

■ a half dozen best selling albums.

Through all its ranges and changes since then, the Animal sound has continued to grow. Still there is the superb craftmanship veach artist is the master of his own instrument. In addition, ’there’s no denying that collectively the group has acquired Some 45 years experience.

Yet the never static music continues to flow with the times. Change is the constant that allows yesterday’s top entertainers to become today’s pace — setters. And the Animals have changed somewhat over the yeftrs. The end result is similiar to the beginning - a dynamic group doing impressive music.

Direction: Delta Promotions, Inc.

352 Tuscola Road Bay City, Michigan 48706 Phone - (517) 892-5501

They weren’t much interested in money or superstars. They wanted to use their ballroom as a showcase for local bands, as a place where people and acts that weren’t big name could get together dance aand have a good time. And people didn’t come. What about everybody who bitches about Bill Grahams, superstars, the ’’rock scene,” the high priced dances, etc.? Are they just jiving? Fact is, they never turned up in numbers to keep the Dog alive. And if it dies, there’lll be nothing else like it anywhere around.

For now, the Family Dog is making a last ditch effort to get back on its feet. They’re going to cut back on their week-day shows, and put all their energies into the weekends. Starting in November, they’ll be putting on a series of benerfits at the Winterland, to make the money to pay off their debts.

[ EDITOR’S NOTE: The first benefit was held two weeks ago; only $1500 was raised. The Dog ■ needs help desperately and people should do what they can, especially people 'in California.]

-Jean

From the Berkeley Tribe (UPS)

A. Hitler Live And Well At Fillmore East

We went to the campus Saturday night and that’s wheje >Thanksgiving happened.‘Fifteen of us $at‘ around on an old wooden table in deserted Keating Hall, Fordham, and ate Beef Strogonoff, Baked Ham, bread, cheese, salad and wine. One of the cats had to go back to an apartment to get the'acid. He returned just in time to get into one of the limousines we had hired to take us to the Fillmore.

In' the Fillmore we find our seats'— eigth row on the right - won’t see much of Casady. Go upstairs with my woman and a braless-seethrough-blouse chick to get some popcorn or something. The woman’s rapping with some old ‘acquaintance’ from college days -raw-raw. A note cuts around the corner of the balcony wall and directly through my head ~ that is definitely not “Crossover”. Ten years to find my seat and — shit! — there’s Kaukonen and Casady doing it. Did I miss the Youngbloods? Where was I upstairs? No — asshole — that’s Kaukonen’s brother and some other cat jamming with them

“Crossover didn’t show;” O thank God. What?

A set of hard brutal strength. Beautiful drums, sometimes in the wrong column of sound, crippled by a lousy drummer-vocal. He sounded like a bad flat Lonnie Mack. Giggle. I’m going back upstairs — that was a pisser. Why are the good things so fast and the bad things so long?

The Youngbloods fart around on stage and it’s the best farting in the world. The happy bouncy music sounds like it never left the back porch in the hills. Somewhere in the woods Jesse is singing a pretty song and the trills his voice takes you on, you’ll never go on again. The sound waves just keep on going out into space, never to be repeated. Now he’s nudging my gut with something else — a protest song — I’m getting tired - of... but, shit, it’s a fantastic song like only he could do it. Just Jesse and a blue light up there and he looks kind of worn but he’s not going to give up.

I refuse to go upstairs because she’s going to be on stage, in a moment. She is on stage already — behind an amplifier — dressed up as Hitler. What? And through the first half she stands there taut, spurting the words from her mouth. Bitched fascist bitch — scaring the shit out of everybody. When they split for a moment, the place is delirious and she stands on the edge of the stage in brown leather coat with arm extended — Heil! Fuck — I’m going upstairs.

They’re out again — breathe much easier — she’s unbelievable. Hoarse and strung out — they break the audience in two with a smile — a nice smile. And Casady will always walk up three steps and back three steps for as long as he lives.

The Jefferson Airplane is one living organism. It believes in every note and particle of its sound. It also has complete faith in and coordination of each one of its members. It is ever creative — a deeply religious, if you will, ability. I know that sounds like a Madison Ave. hype — but I can’t get it out of my head.

I saw them in their last of six shows in four nights. It isn’t easy — but by now for them it is a lifestyle. It was utterly incredible to begin to realize the unselfish devotion that was happening up on that stage.

As always they picked material from almost all of their albums to perform, and as always they tore the place apart.

Dryden kept up with the night, but at the second encore, he looked hesitant, even though smiling. Casady was as deep and as freaked as ever. Kantner seemed to be in a wOrld of his own. Balin presided over everything smoothly, but was a little rough around the edges on wails. He attempted a couple of things that I don’t think were wise for him to try in the sixth show. Slick was having trouble, too. Where she could still belt White Rabbit, she just wasn’t able to hit the high backup vocal in Wooden Ships.

They all seemed to lean on and get results from Kaukonen. Contorted and vulture-like, he led them through the night without rest. He looked and played as if we had luckily caught him midway in a ten-week speed thing, and it was at that point that everything in his head and body was synchronized perfectly.

The audience drained itsfelf, too, and kept the excitement at a strong pitch all throughout. This helped motivate the band to break their asses one more time. You walk out of the place with less than you walked in with — but o so much more.

John M. Woodruff