In case of music history, some terms are just synonymous. If someone were to say “punk,” and people instantly think of The Ramones or Sex Pistols first. If someone were to say “pop,” one of the first names that will come up is Michael Jackson – after all, he was the king of it. That same set of word association happens with the phrases “Jefferon Airplane” and “Fillmore.” In the Sixties, as hippies began to congregate in San Francisco, Jefferson Airplane came to prominence the burgeoning counterculture and the band's acid-touched shows at the Fillmore Theaters (the Auditorium and “West” in San Francisco, and the Fillmore East in New York) became legendary. For whatever reason, Jefferson Airplane just did some of their best work at the Fillmore; the band was comfortable there, they did their best work there and, not so surprisingly, two-thirds of Setlist: The Very Best Of Jefferson Airplane Live was recorded in one of the three Fillmore rooms between 1966 and 1969. Here, listeners are offered the hits at their best from the Fillmore; “Somebody To Love,” and “White Rabbit” were both culled from a show in 1966 and '68 respectively (“Somebody To Love” came from Fillmore West in '68 and “White Rabbit” from the Fillmore Auditorium in 1966 – it has gone unreleased until now), and both are quintessential performances of the songs. In the same vein, both “Good Shepard” and “Volunteers” – which both sprawl beautifully from the same show at the Fillmore East in 1969 – beautifully encapsulate where the band was as the acid wave was peaking.
In retrospect, it's nothing short of incredible how much of the Jefferson Airplane's history and mythos were made at the Fillmore venues and, in turn, helped to shape a generation but, because of that, that Setlist has focused so closely on the band's working relationship with the venues is pretty validating. Of course, there are other such pairings present on Setlist and they are fantastic takes as well (“Feels Good” and “Have You Seen The Saucers” both came from the Winterland in September, 1972) – but, pound-for-pound, most of what's happening here happened with two names attached: there has to be something to that.
Artist:
www.jeffersonairplane.com/
Album:
Setlist: The Very Best Of Jefferson Airplane Live is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
