Jefferson Airplane - featuring Papa John Creach - San Francisco, 1970

In 1970, Dean and Dudley Evenson moved to San Francisco with their newly purchased Sony Video Portapack. Their very first video with their new camera had been of Jefferson Airplane at the Fillmore East in NYC. Once in the Bay area, they became involved with Jefferson Airplane and set up a meeting at their mansion near Golden Gate Park with their manager, Bill Thompson. They were sufficiently impressed with this media form and gave a few hundred dollars to purchase a 16-foot camera cable so their concerts could be videotaped.

That opportunity came up rather quickly with a big event at Winterland which brought together the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. The concert the night before had been broadcast live on PBS but this night they were allowed to videotape it. There was an intensity surrounding the evening because the day before, Janis Joplin's death had shocked the tight knit San Francisco rock world. Marty Balin had been a close friend of Janis and was not going to perform, but the other band members felt the show must go on.

It was an electrifying concert with everyone in rare form. The Quicksilver Messenger Service and Grateful Dead played first. The "Workingman's Dead" had become very popular over the summer so the crowd was wild with excitement. Then the Airplane came on. An additional twist was the introduction of Papa John Creech, an elderly blues fiddler who added an incredible power improvising on his violin as Grace Slick wailed away in a song dedicated to Janis. Dean was on the stage in all sorts of contortions, getting weird angles at the feet of the performers. No one seemed to mind our presence in the midst of all this energy.

#JeffersonAirplane

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Video by Dean & Dudley Evenson

[bluzmansb]

This is truly a hidden gem.. this was the night after Janis Joplin passed away down in Los Angeles at the Landmark hotel. Marty Balin was too distraught to come out and perform as he was very good friends with Janis. Grace took over the stage and carried the show. She is definitely at her prime here. She is also pregnant with her daughter China. She looks absolutely radiant and her voice is completely mesmerizing in its power. She is loose and improvising in her arrangements. Her killer vibrato is at its finest in these numbers. In these times before auto-tune and all the other enhancements that singers use today Grace got up there and belted it out. She is truly the Grand dame/ queen of '60s rock.

[richgaluppo]

I have been enjoying this video clip for years; and I thank you for bringing it to new Generations

[shorelineboy]

What a fantastic find absolutely brilliant 🌈🌈🌈🐂🐂😎😎😎🌞🌞🌞🍄🍄🍄🍄. Saw JA at the Isle of Wight in the U.K. 1968 . Took this soul and ska and Motown fan somewhere else loved this band ever since 🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈😎🌈🌈😎😎😎😎😎

[JeffJacenty]

My first concert was when Airplane released Surrealistic. Saw them in Asbury Park. Been a lover of them ever

[barrybirkel]

Happy Birthday Grace, Airplane the greatest U.S. Band, none better .!!!! Saw them when so many said they were washed up, they impressed the whole crowd, so great.!! Washed up NOT !

[timtim]

An absolute gem of a video posting. Rare, surreal beauty of a moment in time. For the die hard fan of JA of that era this is a real treat.Merci very much..Its almost too hard to watch...its so rare of a film...it was all downhill from there. Grace was somethin....

[musicalSFCat]

Jefferson Airplane was my very first concert experience as a very young child growing up in San Francisco, at Golden Gate Park - 1969. This truly brings back pleasant flashbacks.

[rca]

Setlist:
0:00 Have You Seen The Saucers
4:46 Mexico
7:05 Good Shephard
15:02 Somebody To Love
18:32 Jam (with Papa John Creach and Carlos Santana)
Carlos is most clearly seen around 19:15. @Peter Rodenberg - I saw Jack grinning at Joey Covington too 17:22! Great moment!

[seanb]

Never seen this amazing footage. Thank-you

[bobgregory]

Got turned on to J.A. In ‘67 and been listening ever since. Love Grace and Paul says follow the muse

[KaptainKopter]

Outstanding! Best band at its best! This is super special! Miss you Marty

[workingmansdead-ughl]

hey this is pretty great, never saw it before, good stuff😎👍

[redcherbonne]

Wow!! An amazing performance by the Jefferson Airplane. I never heard Grace Slick sound like this. She sang with such energy and power.

[Hoosit]

Greatest "garage band" ever...more please!

[keith_kar]

Love the Airplane, great recording, historic. Thankfully someone preserved this!

[donaldgehre]

The greatest band in the world at this tlme You had to be in attendance to grok their energy-and I was lucky enough to be in those circumstances more than once.

[robertspencer]

The airplane had some of the most interesting songs in rock history.

[fegwahi]

I just found this diamond! I wonder if the original is in color. In any case, a great performance with power and gusto. I had the chance to see Paul Kantner perform in NYC and salute him at the end, a year or so before he passed away. It was great to meet one of my heroes. Sadly, many are gone by now, including Balin, Signe, Covington and Spencer. But their legacy lives on!

[garybelenke]

Thank you. There is so little video available of this era's JA. What a find!

[tedheslin]

Stumbling on to this has me ecstatic. Grace, and the whole band, in spectacular form.