Kingfish

1976-03-27 Kingfish

Calderone Concert Hall

On 3/27/76 there were two Kingfish shows at the Calderone; I went to the early show.  This was the first time I saw a member of the Grateful Dead perform, as Bob Weir had been a regular member of Kingfish from its inception.  In another few days I would see the Jerry Garcia Band at the same venue.  Although Bob Weir was only 27 at the time of this show, at that moment the future of the Grateful Dead as a touring band wasn't something anyone could be certain of. The Calderone was a small venue, and I was so excited to see Bobby up close, and to hear them do a version of Minglewood as an encore.

I taped the first Kingfish album when it was played on the radio at the time of its initial release in 1975. From that time - and when I later got another show from the radio (broadcast from My Fathers Place - this band made a huge impression.  The combination of Dave Torbert, a wonderful musician, writer and vocalist, with Weir and with Robby Hodinott and Matthew Kelly made this a very hot band - energetic, upbeat, and fresh sounding.

The 11-18-75 late show of Kingfish at My Father's Place was broadcast on the radio.  That soon became a fav in my tape collection.