The old Capitol Theatre released a sigh when the five veteran musicians ended Monday night's performance of more-or-less acoustic rock, blues and folk, which they squeezed out of their instruments for almost four hours.
The three almost 50-year-old members of Hot Tuna - Jorma Kaukonen, guitars and vocals, Jack Casady, bass, and Michael Falzarano, guitars - played non-stop for nearly 1 1/2 hours - occasionally setting the upper floor of the theatre in motion.The floor was shaking, because at least half of the audience was constantly suffering from RANDOM-DANCE-ATTACK DISEASE. Which means, every now and then when Hot Tuna was in the middle of a breathtaking acoustic-blues tune, say, "Freight Train Blues," some concertgoers would randomly get up and dance, stomping on the floor and blocking the view to the stage for the people behind them.
As sudden as they'd get up, however, they'd sit down again. I'm not quite sure what triggered it and why it always only affected a few, but it was rather interesting to see only one part or the other of the stage almost all of the time.
But then again, why not feel comfortable and uninhibited when even the musicians looked as if they were performing in somebody's extended living room? In other words, the members of Hot Tuna were not only dressed casual, they also played with an ease that made making music look fun.
All right, they didn't always play 100 percent clean and polished tunes, but that gave their blues and rag tunes the right atmosphere. There was nothing glamorous about their foot-stomping music, or the foot-stomping musicians, and yet, they excited the audience with something that's often lacking in today's showbiz: sincerity.
But being casual is nothing new for Hot Tuna, a band that has existed for more than 20 years. Founding members Kaukonen and Casady used to play for the psychedelic 1960s rock band Jefferson Airplane, and they even played a couple of their old tunes Monday night.
Likewise, Bob Weir and Rob Wassermann, who played after Hot Tuna, drowned the audience in new-age folk harmonies, which were rooted in Weir's past as one of the Grateful Dead's founders and Wassermann's ability to provide a solid texture with his skill as a bass player.
Sometimes loud, sometimes shyly quiet, but always entertaining and under control, the duo played jazzy tunes, such as "Mysty," or rock 'n' roll such as the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction," which Wassermann played on his 6-string fretless bass during his solo, inciting the audience to sing along.
Weir's interesting way of playing the guitar - he played an acoustic throughout the entire performance, except for the last two numbers when he switched to a jazz guitar - made up for his voice's occasional shortcomings.