Disc One
Jorma Kaukonen begins the show with “Blue Railroad Train,” which was the lead track on what was then his most recent release, 2002’s Blue Country Heart. It’s a song written by Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore, and recorded by the Delmore Brothers in the 1930s. Jorma Kaukonen delivers a really good rendition, featuring some delicious work on guitar with a rather cheerful vibe. There is also some nice work on mandolin, particularly during the instrumental section in the middle of the track. Yes, this is certainly a good start to the show. That’s followed by another song that Jorma Kaukonen included on Blue Country Heart, Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting For A Train.” What better way to start a night of folk, country and blues music than with a couple of classic train songs? He delivers more excellent work guitar here. And, by the way, the sound is really good. Everything is clear, and if you close your eyes, it’s easy to imagine you’re in the room with the musicians.
We next are treated to a cover of “Re-enlistment Blues,” a song written by James Jones, Robert Wells and Fred Karger, and recorded by Merle Travis in 1953. Jorma Kaukonen included it on The Land Of Heroes, which was released in 1995. “You know, I hit the bars Wednesday/Made me some friends on my own/I found a pretty baby/She wouldn’t leave me alone/Kept me buying booze.” And something about that familiar rhythm has me smiling. There is some good jamming on this track, and we can hear the crowd’s appreciative response. There is a bit of stage banter before they go into a cool rendition of “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” a blues number written by Rev. Gary Davis. He jokes about how the song makes people so happy. This is one that I first heard as done by the Grateful Dead, who included it on Live/Dead. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady included this song on the first Hot Tuna album, released in 1970. The version here is approximately eight minutes long and contains some excellent playing. So, yeah, despite the song’s subject, this actually might make some folks happy. The musicians are clearly into it.
The first original song of the night, “Do Not Go Gentle,” is a tune from The Land Of Heroes. Jorma Kaukonen introduces it by telling the audience, “This song I wrote for my dad is after a Dylan Thomas poem,” and reminds folks that the poem itself has a different title, something I forget. I always think it’s called “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Anyway, it’s a rather pretty instrumental. I like this rendition more than the studio recording. Jorma Kaukonen then returns to Blue Country Heart for “I’m Free From The Chain Gang Now.” In the introduction, he talks about how they followed a polka band at a gig in Bozeman, Montana a few days earlier on the tour (that was August 2nd at the Sweet Pea Festival). This is a sweeter-sounding folk number. “Know my mother’s poor heart was broken/For she knew that an untruth was spoken/There were tears on the mail/That she sent me in jail/And I’m free of the chain gang now.” That is followed by another song included on Blue Country Heart, “Blues Stay Away From Me,” which is another song by the Delmore Brothers. This track features some really nice vocal work, some good blending of their voices. “Love was never meant for me/True love was never meant for me/Seems somehow we never can agree.” This is one of my personal favorite tracks. It features some beautiful work on steel guitar, and some wonderfully sad lines, like these: “Life is full of misery/Dreams are like a memory/Bringing back your love that used to be.” The audience clearly appreciates this one too.
“I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave” is another original number, this one from his album Quah. And in the introduction, they talk about how that album was finally re-issued, with bonus tracks, and that it was available at the merchandise table, along with T-shirts. By the way, that introduction is included at the end of the previous track, rather than at the beginning of this one. “I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave” is a cool instrumental tune, this version featuring some good work on steel guitar. Jorma then goes back to Blue Country Heart for the show’s second Jimmie Rodgers song, “Red River Blues,” a more energetic number featuring some wonderful playing. The first disc concludes with another original composition, “Living In The Moment,” which would be included on Kaukonen’s 2007 album Stars In My Crown. When introducing it, Jorma and Cindy also talk about how the song was recorded for one of Cindy Cashdollar’s albums, Slide Show, at that time also not yet released (it would be released in 2004). This is a beautiful instrumental number, making living in the moment sound like a natural, relaxing thing to do, something we’d be crazy not to do ourselves.
Disc Two
The second disc opens with “Good Shepherd,” a song that was included on the Jefferson Airplane album Volunteers. In the introduction, Jorma makes no mention of that, instead saying they were going to “do an old spiritual song called ‘Good Shepherd.’” The audience of course is excited, as was I when I saw him do this song that night back in 1989. This is a wonderful version, featuring some excellent work on guitar. These guys allow themselves to stretch out on this one, and toward the end the song builds in power before returning to the main theme. This track is more than eleven minutes long, and it’s fantastic. That’s followed by “Uncle Sam Blues,” another song that was included on that first Hot Tuna record. It’s a great old blues number, and again the musicians get to stretch out a bit on this one, delivering an excellent blues jam. There is some stage banter and tuning at the end of the track, with Jorma joking that it might become a song, singing “Talk about your tuning problem.”
Jorma Kaukonen then goes back to Blue Country Heart for “Prohibition Blues,” a delightful blues tune. And it sounds like there is a brief nod to “Wipe Out,” which some folks in the audience seem to catch as well, but just as they react, that little nod is over, making us wonder if we heard it right after all. Well, no matter. This is a completely enjoyable track. There is some stage banter at the end of the track, where they talk about how different regions react to certain lines in the song. That’s followed by “I Am The Light Of This World,” the second Rev. Gary Davis song covered at this show, and one that Jorma Kaukonen had included on Quah. This one has a much more gentle feel than “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” and there is some more tuning and stage banter after it. “Didn’t you just get inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame?” Jorma says to Cindy, giving her a chance to talk about that honor.
The final song of the set is also the final of the show’s songs from Blue Country Heart, “Just Because,” a song written by Hubert Nelson and James Touchstone. Interestingly, Jorma again mentions the polka band in Bozeman, relating how those guys played this song too. It’s a playful number, with lyrics like “Well, just because you think you’re so pretty/Just because you think you’re so hot/Because you think you’ve got something nobody else has got.” The encore is “Hesitation Blues,” which was the lead track from that first Hot Tuna album. There is a bit of banter at the beginning, leading him to introduce the song as “The Excitation Blues.” What a great way to close the night (well, the first show of the night), with a delightful number with plenty of jamming.
CD Track List
Disc One
- Blue Railroad Train
- Waiting For A Train
- Re-Enlistment Blues
- Death Don’t Have No Mercy
- Do Not Go Gentle
- I’m Free From The Chain Gang Now
- Blues Stay Away From Me
- I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
- Red River Blues
- Living In The Moment
Disc Two
- Good Shepherd
- Uncle Sam Blues
- Prohibition Blues
- I Am The Light Of This World
- Just Because
- Hesitation Blues
Live At The Bottom Line is scheduled to be release on May 26, 2023 through Omnivore Recordings.
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