Hot Tuna with the great Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady played at Hofstra University in the, for us, upscale Playhouse. Another night and another rock and roll road trip to Nassau County.
Jorma is one of the great guitarists in rock and roll history and Jack is just one of the coolest bass players on the planet. The two had played together with the seminal San Francisco rock band the Jefferson Airplane but Hot Tuna was a whole different animal.
The three piece band originally slated to be called HOT SHIT, until the record company intervened, was led by Jorma on vocals and they played acoustic and electric music with equal ferocity.
Hot Tuna was famous for playing two shows a night. The legendary lengthy performances were marathons ; the fans loved it and grew to expect it.
On this night at Hofstra only one set was on tap and for my first Hot Tuna show this was a great entree into a different sort of rock experience.
Two full sets a night for a three piece band? The drummer Bob Steeler with his long hair and receding hairline furiously pounded the drums for hours with Herculean stamina. By the end of its shows the band and its audience were both spent, having expended every ounce of passion and energy into the performances with a communal spirit.
My favorite Hot Tuba album to this day is the electric HOPPKORV named after a German hot sausage; there is not a bad song on the album and it is a powerful electric masterwork.
Hot Tuna ranks up there with some of the great three piece rock bands of our time while they periodically expand their lineup with confidence, ease, and the musical generosity of the great generational musicians who share the music and pass the torch.
A couple of years ago I attended a Hot Tuna Jorma Kaukonen 70th birthday celebration held at New York’s Beacon Theater; there were special guests and the crowd received posters that displayed Jorma’s smile with gold tooth commemorating the milestone.
Hot Tuna is still on the road and just celebrated Jack’s 70th. The band is still on top of its game and you should catch them while you can. You will not be disappointed.
HOT FUCKING TUNA!
Rock on
GQ