Concert Review: Starship W Bobby Kimball & Special Guest, Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville, TN 5/22/2009

Starship touched down in Nashville tonight with captain Mickey Thomas and co-captains Bobby Kimball (of Toto fame) and Tommy Tutone on deck. As they proceeded to commandeer the stage at the Wildhorse they beamed us back in time to the 80s with a nice list of memorable hits. The result was a fun-filled and mostly rocking trip down memory lane.

Not being sure how this show was structured, I was a bit surprised (but not totally) when the opening act was a band that won a contest to perform at the Wildhorse, not Bobby Kimball. The surprises continued as line dancing lessons were given on the dance floor between acts (first time I've seen that at a rock show). Quite a few people got up for this (the floor was three quarters full) so it was apparent that this was not your typical rock and roll crowd. And then it dawned on me - this was the Starship third of the Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship franchise, and certainly the ensemble that is the softer of the three. So this unusual pre-show seemed to work just fine, as did the open-floor setup for the concert.

The next surprise was that first up on the stage were our headliners, Starship. Not wasting any time, the band got right to work on several fine Mickey Thomas classics: "Find Your Way Back", "No Way Out", "Jane", "Sara", and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". Thomas was in excellent form both vocally and physically, and the band was tight and performed these hits very true to the original recordings. Next, gears were shifted, as well as the spotlight, to Stephanie Calvert, as the Airplane era was revisited with "White Rabbit". Ms. Calvert is a very good singer but was in the unenviable position of performing a solo where Grace Slick's inimitable vocals are so etched into the memory banks of so many people's minds. So while she didn't make me forget Ms. Slick, I enjoyed her performance nonetheless. Next up were the hits "Miracles" and "Count On Me", which are more of a joint vocal effort between Thomas and Calvert, and then it was back to psychedelia with the super classic "Somebody To Love" (just apply the same comments above regarding "White Rabbit" to this performance).

So everything was cruising along quite nicely at this point when Mr. Kimball came out. So I'm thinking great, he'll do a couple of Toto tunes, and we'll get back to more Starship. Well that wasn't to be. Kimball opened with a rocking "Love Isn't Always on Time", and then slowed it down with "Africa". The vocals and musicianship were great, with Kimball on keys and the Starship band backing him up tightly. Next up was "I'll Supply the Love". Kimball was solid, but the next change was coming so I figured he was done.

Mystery guest (we didn't know who until now) Tommy Tutone proceeded to take the stage and did his one hit wonder"867-5309". This one got the crowd moving and buzzing and was great to hear. He continued with a rocking version of Van Morrison's "Wild Nights" that was even better than his own hit. It was a great in-and-out performance that left me wanting more. This set packed the most fun of the evening.

So now I'm all set for more Starship, but it just wasn't in the cards. Kimball returned to do several more tunes, including "I'll Be Over You" and the very recognizable "Roseanna". This was the final song of the main show, so my unfulfilled desire for more Starship had me quite disappointed. Don't get me wrong, Kimball was great and in very strong voice. It was just the way this show was laid out that felt all wrong.

After this, everyone came out for the encore of "We Built This City". It started out fantastic but disintegrated into re-introductions of everyone on stage, so the encore left much to be desired also. All in all, a very weak ending to a show that was so promising at the start. Although the concert was, in all, about 90 minutes in length (which is normal), it seemed so much shorter because I was waiting so long for Starship to do more. The net result was the same as seeing a show that actually is short (75 minutes or less); it left me begging for more. And especially in this economy, that's not a good feeling.