Sunday August 24th was a great night of music at the Theatre at MGM National Harbor. Three bands; Jefferson Starship, 38 Special, Kansas performed over three hours of music. While Jefferson Starship got their start as Jefferson Airplane over sixty years ago, both .38 Special and Kansas are both celebrating 50 years together as bands.
Starting the evening was Jefferson Starship, who I had the honor of seeing live on their tour in 2018. This was a special night for Jefferson Starship as it was David Freiberg’s 87th birthday. Seeing him on stage and putting on a show as Jefferson Starship gave the fans was amazing. They played hit songs, including Find Your Way Back, White Rabbit, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, and Somebody to Love.
Next on stage was 38 Special. This was my second or third time seeing 38 Special Live. First time as at the iconic local rock and roll venue in Springfield, Jaxx, which is unfortunately no longer there. I was looking forward to seeing them live again, and they did not disappoint. They are touring to support their first new album in over 20 years. The new album is called Milestone, which is set to be released on September 19th. They started off with such an appropriate song, “Rockin’ Into the Night” which got the audience’s attention. 38 Special put on a fantastic show, which included “All I Haven’t Said” which is a great song release as their first single. They performed many of their hit songs, including “Wild-Eyed Southern Boys”, “Back to Paradise”, “The Sound of Your Voice” and “Back Where You Belong”. Looking online at the setlist of songs they have been performing, there were a few songs I was hoping to hear which they had not performed on a regular basis on this tour. The biggest of which, was their song, which has always been one of my favorites and was hoping to hear, “Fantasy Girl”. Luck was on my side tonight as towards the end of their set, I was thrilled to hear “Fantasy Girl”. Another favorite of mine I was hoping to hear was “Caught Up in You” which I was thrilled to hear. They ended the night with another 38 Special iconic song, “Hold on Loosely”
To end the evening Kansas came on stage. Kansas was another band whom I loved growing up, had always wanted to see them live but had not had the privilege to. In 2014, their long-time lead singer, Steve Walsh, retired from the band. To take over lead vocalist are Ronnie Platt, and Tom Brislin, which their vocal ranges nailed the vocals for the songs, and both really impressed me. Founding member Phil Ehart is currently not touring and filling in for him on tour is his drum tech and one hell of a drummer, Eric Holmquist.
Kansas is amazing to see in concert. From their layered vocals to their complex and incredible guitar work. Kansas started the evening with their song “Point of No Return”. The live performance tonight was a treat to the ears. Kansas put on one hell of a show that really took me back. Other songs they blessed the audience with was “Play The Game Tonight”, “as well as “Fight Fire With Fire”. Kansas then talked about their next song they were looking forward to playing, a song which is complex to play live, which they absolutely nailed ‘Song For America”. Other great Kansas songs they performed this evening included “Dust In The Wind”, “Whats On My Mind” and finished the evening with “Carry On Wayward Son” which was a perfect end to an incredible night of music.
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