The Globe Theatre in Norwalk, CT was a classic. I only saw this one show there, but I loved the room: great sight-lines, great sound, and if my hazy memory serves me well, a short distance to the bar.
This last point mattered a lot at the time. The music of Jorma and Hot Tuna always represented as good a reason as any - even an especially good reason - to fill the hollow leg (though truth be told, does a dog ever really need an excuse to bark?). I do recall a grand old time being had this night - Sunday night be damned.
The recording of this show even captured one of my many "Where's Jack" heckles, which Jorma always responded to from the stage and which he and I discussed when he visited the podcast. In retrospect, it all reminds me of a limerick that used to be inscribed on old flasks and vintage glasses in the early twentieth century: "One Drink Two Drinks Half Full Damn Fool!"
Damn Fool. Foolish Tom Foolery. Foreshadowed (but unheeded for another 21 years) by the opening song, "Fool's Blues".
After having his music as a companion for nearly 40 years, and associating Jorma with the Drinking Life for so much of that time, the relationship has not remained static. He has become someone I look to for lessons about how to live a public life of honesty and vulnerability, understanding that spiritual connection arises when you're not even sure you're looking, and not least, the role of recovery in both of those topics.
Listening to this show 25 years on, while one more Summer starts to give way to one more Autumn, I am reminded of the truth behind the Keith Richards quip (which I've also seen attributed to Larry Hagman and the British comedian, the "Cheeky Chappie" Max Miller): "It's good to be here. It's good to be anywhere."
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Keep on Truckin':
Listen to Spotlight On with Jorma Kaukonen
Pete Hamill on A Drinking Life
Reading these two links might shed some light on where Keith Richards, Max Miller and Larry Hagman sit on the Venn Diagram of Life
