Need a triple dose of good-old-fashioned psychedelic hippy music? This DVD, "A Night at the Family Dog," filmed at the Family Dog Ballroom, San Francisco, in 1970 for what looks to be a PBS show, should just fit the bill. Featuring slo-mo pans, strobe FX, a colorful light show and, for the most part, indifferent camera work, the program still excels by dint of the superb music that is showcased. First up: Santana, who kicks things off with a very hot and sweet "Incident at Neshabur," followed by a typically smoking "Soul Sacrifice," the highlight of which might be the sight of Carlos blissfully grooving to Michael Shrieve's drum solo. The Grateful Dead is up next, and gives the boogying audience a rendition of "Hard to Handle" very similar to the one on "Bear's Choice." (Pigpen, I'm happy to say, appears surprisingly healthy here.) A very upbeat and aggressive "China Cat Sunflower" follows, segueing into the now seemingly obligatory--but then still novel--"I Know You Rider." Jefferson Airplane then takes the stage for what may be the highlight of the entire evening: an incredible version of "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" featuring a killer bass break by Jack Casady and some truly explosive guitar work from Jorma Kaukonen. A highly serviceable performance of the relative rarity "Eskimo Blue Day," from the then-current "Volunteers" LP, closes out JA's set. But wait...there's more! A so-called "Super Jam" between the principals of all three bands (call the group Sangrajef, or perhaps SaDe JA); a loose, boisterous, free-form burst of raucous psychedelia guaranteed to warm the sizzled cockles of your 21st century hippy heart. All in all, a short but highly pleasing show!
