A Night At The Family Dog

Various Artists

Ralph J. Gleason, noted music critic and co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, typically championed the underdog. Be it the dissidents of jazz, up-and-coming folkies, or the way-out, psychedelic freaks, Gleason was in their corner, praising the iconoclasts and mavericks for stirring up the conservative cauldrons. The columnist, by no strange coincidence, happened to live and work in San Francisco at the time the city was exploding with the new hippie counterculture. This would not only inspire Gleason and Jann Wenner to give birth to Rolling Stone; it would also enable the award-winning writer to continue producing musically based shows for National Educational Television. Having already set a standard for quality programming with the Jazz Casual series, Gleason went on to produce San Francisco rock shows, including A Night At The Family Dog, now available for the first time on DVD.

Originally airing December 13, 1970, A Night At The Family Dog features three of the Bay Area's most revered bands: Santana, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. The actual event took place earlier that year at the Family Dog Ballroom just as each group was hitting its stride. Santana blazes through two riveting instrumentals: "Incident At Neshabur" and "Soul Sacrifice," a highlight during the group's performance the year before at Woodstock. Carlos Santana and keyboardist Gregg Rolie lead the assault for the first number, while drummer Michael Shrieve dominates the second one. Altogether, the Latin rock of Santana most likely enhanced the trip experienced by those in attendance. If it didn't, the Dead was there to take the reins.

In 1970, the Grateful Dead were settling into a comfortable position that would grow as steadily as their music. They began in earnest with the late Ron "Pigpen" McKernan taking the lead vocals for "Hard To Handle." The dancing girls, doing their best slo-mo twirling, establish the groove before Jerry Garcia takes over with some truly astounding guitar work. "China Cat Sunflower" and "I Know You Rider" follow in succession, further cementing the Dead's reputation as the consummate jam band.

Jefferson Airplane, arguably at the peak of their powers, headlined the show and operated as an unyielding, obdurate unit. As it was, the group was splintering in different directions and would barely stick it out for the next couple of years before losing members and morphing into Jefferson Starship. But on this night in the city by the bay, they were untouchable. The performance of "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" is a spellbinding mix of psychedelia and intervening vocals from Grace Slick, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner that sets the stage for an extended jam sustained by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. Of course, Casady and Kaukonen were, during this period, already devoting equal time to their new group Hot Tuna while collecting their Airplane paychecks. "Eskimo Blue" from Volunteers, the last album with the "classic" Airplane line-up, is captivating on many fronts, mostly for the close-ups of Slick, simultaneously stunning and unfazed by her surroundings.

The Super Jam, which features various members from all three bands along with other players from Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band, is exactly what it implieds: a freeform jam session that meanders and maneuvers all over the road. But no one can deny the spirit in which it was intended — to aimlessly blow the minds of everyone in attendance. Unfortunately, the credits start rolling midstream before the video abruptly ends. Nevertheless, the hour-long A Night At the Family, its video beautifully restored and upgraded to 5.1 surround sound, is a keeper and a must-have for anyone remotely mesmerized by the best bands ever to come out of San Francisco.

~ Shawn Perry

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