Hot Tuna (Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) Bring 50 Years of Chops to L.A.’s El Rey Theatre (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

They are two legendary members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, who continue to amaze and delight audiences. As founding members of Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady deserve their place in rock’s pantheon of greats – and that’s the pioneering psychedelic rock band that earned them those prestigious inductions. 

Ironically, Hot Tuna, their side project from those early days (formed in 1969), has lasted much longer than the Airplane. Hot Tuna has been going strong for over 50 years, as the duo and their assorted friends have been playing both acoustic and electric shows all along the way. They brought the electric version of that blues-rock focused band to the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on February 18, 2020. 

It is not uncommon for fans to wonder about the sustainability of geriatric classic rockers and blues musicians. Guitarist/vocalist Jorma Kaukonen is 78 years old and bassist Jack Casady is 75. Many of their devoted fans come to a Hot Tuna show hoping to relive some of the music of their youth. The packed El Rey Theatre was unusually filled with seats – it is normally a general-admission, standing-room-only club. Although many were seated and the audience skewed older, the crowd showed no less enthusiasm than a much-younger crowd. Several yelled out encouragement to Kaukonen and Casady, while others danced to the music on the sides of the room. 

True to their reputations, the two legends are still able to deliver the goods – bringing virtuoso performances on songs many remember fondly. Kaukonen, Casady and Justin Guip, their drummer since 2014, played a long set of brilliant tunes that met or exceeded the expectations of those in the audience. The show opened with a set by another illustrious blues artist, David Bromberg, who performed with his quintet. Bromberg led his group through several tunes that touched on classic blues, Americana with a bit of a twang, ballads, country and bluegrass. They even did a five-part a cappella song that delighted the crowd. 

But the headliners drew the largest applause. Hot Tuna amazingly remains as skilled as they were in their youth, offering up superbly executed, authentic blues-rock at their live shows. Kaukonen and Casady play off each other like two soulmates who have shared the stage thousands of times. They played several tunes from their 70s catalog like “Ode for Billy Dean” and “Hesitation Blues.” For the naturally sounding, finger-picking songs, Kaukonen played a blonde Gibson Chet Atkins SST acoustic-electric guitar. For the fuzzy, psychedelic tunes he played a gorgeous Gibson Firebird.

Midway through the show, Casady launched into an intense bass intro on his signature Epiphone bass. He was accompanied by Guip’s rhythmic drumming before being joined by a heavily distorted guitar from Kaukonen. It all led into a jam-heavy version of Bobby Rush’s “Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed Man.” Casady also drew some well-deserved applause for a monster solo during the Robert Johnson classic “Walkin’ Blues,” as Kaukonen delivered more fuzzy soloing on the song.

The band slowed it down for the melancholy Jefferson Airplane classic “Good Shepherd.” Kaukonen’s voice was particularly sweet and soulful on the tune. For the show-closing “Funky #7,” Casady and Guip played a house-thumping intro while Kaukonen smiled and watched. Eventually, he joined in with his fuzzy guitar effect. The song started at a slower than normal pace, but they gradually sped it up as members of the audience cheered and yelled for more. Kaukonen played a thrilling, extended solo to end the set. 

The guys said goodbye to enthusiastic applause and shouts for another song. Kaukonen consulted with his guitar tech on the side of the stage and quickly told Casady and Guip to stick around for one more. They launched into “Hit Single #1,” another distortion-heavy, psychedelic rocker to finish the night of excellent blues-based music that recalled fond memories and made some new ones for the appreciative audience.

Live photos courtesy of Andy J. Gordon ©2020.