A Tale of Crescendo ~ Chapter 3: The West & The East; Chapter 4: The First Crescendo
- Bill Kurzenberger
Jorma Kaukonen 85th Birthday Celebration in San Francisco – Concert Review
Jorma Kaukonen 85th Birthday Celebration in San Francisco – Concert Review
Jorma Kaukonen 85th Birthday Celebration
12/5/2025 Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco
12/5/2025 Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco
The afterglow from my trip to San Francisco still burns strong. I have seen Jorma quite a lot over the past thirty years, mostly in Ohio, a few times in New York City and once in Atlanta. As my very first time seeing Jorma on the west coast, it was very special to see him and Jack perform in a city that is so important in their musical journey. This was only my second trip ever to the Bay Area, the other time was a trip to Oakland in 1988 to see The Grateful Dead. That trip was cool; however this trip was nothing short of magical, exceeding all my expectations.
Originally, I was not even planning on taking on this excursion. I really wanted to go to the Carnegie Hall show; however, I run a record store and the Carnegie Hall show was on Black Friday weekend, not the best time for me to take off from work. Traveling all the way to California seemed unlikely, however in November out of curiosity I decided to look and see what tickets were available for the San Francisco show. Tickets had already been on sale a few days and as I was not really thinking I would attend, I just was curious what seats might still be available. On Ticketmaster a lot of seats had been sold, however there was a single slightly obstructed front row ticket on the side. Next thing I knew I was buying the ticket. Ensuring the record store was covered for a few days, I booked a flight and made reservations at a hotel close to the venue. Game on.
Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco
I flew to the Bay Area a few days early and stayed an extra day after, and got to see a lot of San Francisco. I went to Baker Beach to see the ocean, Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, 2400 Fulton Street (Jefferson Airplane House), North Beach, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf. The night of the show I had dinner at Nob Hill Cafe with fellow Fur Peace Ranch alumni, then it was time for the main event.
Back in 2010, I was fortunate to attend both of Jorma’s 70th birthday shows at The Beacon Theatre in New York City. With many special guests on the bill those 70th birthday shows were electric and full of awesome jams, basically supersized Hot Tuna shows with guests. Although Jack Casady did play at this 85th birthday show it was billed as Jorma Kaukonen not Hot Tuna, and it felt more like a Jorma show with moments of Hot Tuna. It was a very special unique show, unlike any previous time I had seen Jorma. He crafted a perfect setlist that highlighted his playing, singing and songwriting over his six-decade career.
Jorma's 85th birthday cake by Kyle Siegrist
The Masonic Auditorium concert started with photographer Jay Blakesberg presenting Jorma with a proclamation from the City of San Francisco declaring December 5th 2025, Jorma Kaukonen Day. How cool is that? Jorma kicked off the show solo, playing Song For The North Star. Next he was joined by his brother Peter Kaukonen for two songs (“How Long Blues;” “Fair and Tender Ladies”). I have known Jorma since 1998 and that entire time he and his brother had been estranged. Jorma writes a little about this in his book, Been So Long. I never thought I would see Jorma and Peter play together, but sometime last year they reconnected and that brought Peter to this show. It was great seeing them play together. What a treat.
Next John Hurlbut was brought out to the stage. Hurl and Jorma have been friends a very long time; organically through the Quarantine Concerts they became a performing duo, recording three records and now occasionally touring together which is all very cool. Jorma’s guitar playing with Hurl is fantastic, giving Jorma a chance to just be a lead player. His playing with Hurl reminds me of his playing with Jefferson Airplane. With just two acoustic guitars they can get very psychedelic, as evidenced in the first song they played together for this show, “The Ballad of Easy Rider.” They followed that with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “I Remember You.”
Jack Casady & Jorma Kaukonen 12/5/2025 Masonic by Kyle Siegrist
Over the P.A. speakers, Jorma’s wife Vanessa announced “please welcome to the stage, Justin Guip, Ross Garren and Jack Casady,” as she shared M.C. duties with Hurl throughout the night. Needless to say with the mention of Jack’s name the crowd erupted with thunderous applause. With Jack missing the Carnegie Hall show, obviously people were worried about his health. Fortunately his original diagnosis was false and Jack did not need a stent replaced after all. His doctor cleared him as fit to travel, and Jack was able to make the show.
The next song on the setlist was “Flying Clouds” but Jorma jumped ahead and started “Sea Child,” causing Sam Grisman to run out on stage, pick up his upright bass and join in mid-song — yikes! This was the first time I had seen Ross Garren play. I thought his harmonica playing was great; Ross never overplayed, just added color in the right spots. After “Sea Child,” Susan Tedeschi came out for a smoking version of “Uncle Sam Blues.” Susan is not only a fantastic singer, she is also a great player. I thought it was a cool choice for her to do one song without Derek Trucks, as I think her playing often gets overshadowed by her partner Derek’s playing. They are both monster players. Sam and Susan then left the stage and Jack, Justin, Ross and Jorma played “Flying Clouds” which they skipped earlier.
Jorma 85 Birthday Celebration 12/5/2025 Masonic San Francisco setlist
Jack and Justin then left the stage and Sam came back out for two songs with Jorma and Ross; Jimmy Brown’s “The Newsboy” and “Poor Little Ellen.” Bruce Cockburn was next out, joining Jorma and Ross for two songs, “Pacing The Cage” and “Oh Sun By Day Oh Moon By Night.” Bruce’s voice was in fine shape, and his two songs were a nice mellow break before the big jam that was coming up next.
As Bruce left the stage, Jack, Justin and Susan came back this time accompanied by Derek Trucks. They joined Jorma and Ross for three songs full of great picking and trading of solos: “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning,” “Trouble In Mind” and “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright.” Everyone had a chance to shine during this trio of tunes, particularly Susan’s singing on the last two songs. Derek played a National steel guitar that was not plugged in, just amplified old-school by microphone in front. After all that goodness you would think that would be the end of the show but it wasn’t, as Bruce came back and joined everyone else for an amazing version of “Good Shepard.”
After “Good Shepard” all the players stood while the audience gave them a standing ovation. As everyone left the stage except the dynamic duo Jack and Jorma, they closed the show with a transcendent version of “Water Song.” A perfect way to end an amazing show.
Wavy Gravy & Jorma Kaukonen by Kyle Siegrist
After the show I was invited backstage, and it was nice to catch up with several other Ohio friends who made the trip out west. I got to meet Susan and Derek for the first time and re-connect with Bruce Cockburn who I had previously met at a show at Fur Peace Ranch. An unexpected surprise of the night was getting to meet Wavy Gravy and his wife backstage. Wavy was as goofy and funny as you would expect. I was wearing a Quah t-shirt, he pointed at my shirt and asked if that was a picture of me. I was able to catch up with Vanessa and Jorma, who were obviously having a busy and exciting week. The only person I did not get to connect with backstage was Jack. He was only there for a little while and he split early. However my adventure was not over.
The next day I had plans to explore Chinatown and North Beach with my friends including Hurling Habaneros’ percussionist Louis Schocken and spouse Amy. We arrived at Caffe Trieste first with plans to meet up with Hurl and his friend. While waiting for Hurl, who happened to stop by the coffee shop during his seven mile power walk… Jack Casady! I did not get to talk to him the night before, but still had an opportunity to let him know how much I enjoyed the show and that I was grateful his health is good as ever. Jack even bought me a cup of coffee. It doesn’t get much better than that.
All of these Jorma 85th birthday shows have been very special, and I feel very lucky to have been able to attend one of these shows.
Jorma Kaukonen by Robin Twomey
Kyle Siegrist has been an aficionado of the music industry and a proponent of vinyl since the 1980s. Following early internships at RCA and CBS Records he worked with numerous acts on the Columbia and Epic labels including Pearl Jam, Living Color, Poi Dog Pondering and Bob Dylan.
A long-time student at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch guitar workshop, Siegrist currently performs with the band Second State Butchers. Since 2003 Kyle has owned and operated Lost Weekend Records in Columbus Ohio, where he has hosted live Hootenanny concerts and events over the years with performances by Rob McNurlin & Beatnick Cowboys, the Skilletlickers, Sonic Roach Destruction Unit, as well as by Kaukonen himself.
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