Customer Reviews

Substage Germany 2005

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A wonderful live set from on of the best psychedelic bands around. Led by the spirited and talented Paul Kantner the Starship keeps soaring towards inner and outher space. In diferent incarnations, here with original Quicksilver bassist David Freiberg, a longtime collaborator way back from the Airplane days (Where he replaced Marty Balin), Diana Mangano, the criminally unerrated Slick Aquilar on some stellar guitar and the powerhouse drummer Prairie Prince, who like John Bonham knows how to combine the heavy and the subtle.

On board is also Tom Constanten, immortalized by his contributions to Grateful Dead's "Live/Dead", and in fact T.C. opens the proceedings with a solo-set, mixing Dead classics with Beatles, Doors and Steppenwolf. A fine pianoplayer and a not so fine vocalist. Half way joined by most of the band for some rousing Dead songs.

But the fun really starts when Kantner enters and we head for hyperspace, Diana gives some fine and personal versions of Grace Slick's wonderful music, Paul breaks out a couple of oddities like "Epic#38" and "War Movies", and David, who sings better than ever, belts out "Get Together" the great Quicksilver song "Pride Of Man" and his radio-hit "Jane".

It all ends with some jamfull versions of "Pooneil", "Who Do You Love>Dark Star>Who..." with T.C. joining in and "The Other Side", the latter drifting, somehow surprisingly, in to fusion-territory, with snippets of "Birdland" and "Cause We Ended As Lovers", showing the immense scope and capacity of this legendary band.

I can't imagine anyone leaving the Substage without a broad smile on their face.