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Cajun Ragin' in St. PetersburgHot Tuna / Little Feat - Jannus LandingMay 3, 2008 First Appeared in The Music Box, May 2008, Volume 15, #5 Written by George Weiss Thu May 22, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
On May 3, Hot Tuna and Little Feat brought their classic rock, blues, and New Orleans-styled rhythms to the outside courtyard of Jannus Landing. Opening the show was the electric version of Hot Tuna with Jorma Kaukonen — otherwise known as "The Captain" — on electric guitar and Jack Casady on bass as well as their current accompanists Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin, electric guitar, and electric mandolin — think bonsai guitar — and Erik Diaz on drums. Beginning with a cover of Martin Bowles’ Oh Lord, Search My Heart, the band ripped through an hour-and-a-half of blues and late ’70s rock ’n‘ roll.
When Barrere announced that the next song would be a sing-along because everyone knew the chorus, it was clear that Little Feat was about to perform Willin’. The whole crowd joined the band in delivering the tune, and the communal atmosphere continued during the subsequent tune Don’t Bogart that Joint. Percussionist Sam Clayton was given an opportunity to stand in the spotlight as Little Feat united Spanish Moon and Skin It Back. Ninety minutes after taking the stage, Little Feat left the enthusiastic crowd bellowing for more. Everyone was delighted when the outfit returned to the stage to finish the show with one of its standards: Feats Don’t Fail Me Now. Without a doubt, the entire audience had enjoyed dancing to music under the stars on a spring night in Florida. George Weiss also assembled a photo journal
Of Further Interest... Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 1: Fall '79 The Subdudes - Street Symphony
The Best of Little Feat is available from Amazon.com. For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
Keep on Truckin': The Very Best of Hot Tuna is available from Amazon.com. For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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Delivering familiar staples from its repertoire, such as I See the Light,
Rock Me Baby, and Living Just for You, Hot Tuna had the audience
energized and dancing before bringing them back to Earth with the instrumental
Sea Child. The group then tackled a pair of old standards: Billy Boy
Arnold’s I Wish You Would and Chuck Berry’s Talkin’ ’Bout You. In
a touching moment, Kaukonen dedicated Rev. Gary Davis’ spiritual I Am the
Light of this World to his friend’s father who had died the day before at
almost 90 years of age. Corners without Exits was delivered in a very
casual, jazz-like manner, and when the band was introduced, Kaukonen made note
of the fact that he has been performing with John William Casady III for half of
a century. Hot Tuna’s portion of the show concluded with heavily rockin’
renditions of 
After a brief set change, Little Feat hit the stage running with Cajun
Rage, which featured some smokin’ slide guitar playing from lead man Paul
Barrere. Shaun Murphy’s vocals were highlighted during Romance Without
Finance, and several tunes later, Little Feat dug in its heels and carried
everyone to "the bright lights of Memphis." After launching into its classic cut
Dixie Chicken, Fred Tackett had a chance to shine on trumpet.