Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at Fox Pointe (8/9/2024)

Last Friday, the only show that seemed to be on any Chicagoan’s mind was that of a certain one-time Bay Area thrash band who was playing their first of two sold out nights at the famed Soldier Field. Meanwhile, yours truly found himself 25 miles south in the much cozier confines (miss me with that “80,000 people trying to leave a stadium at the same time” nonsense) of Fox Pointe: An outdoor amphitheater in Lansing, Illinois. Literally walking distance from the Illinois/Indiana border (if I stumbled the wrong way, I’d find myself in Munster), it isn’t an area I frequent often, but was doing so for good reason: Starship had touched down.

For years I’ve wanted to catch this iconic offshoot of Jefferson Starship, who themselves were an offshoot of counterculture legends, Jefferson Airplane (more on that in a bit), if only to catch the man, the myth, the legend himself, Mickey Thomas. For roughly the last decade, videos of Thomas performing live have gone viral amongst the classic rock community, and for all the right reasons. Unlike many of his peers who go viral for the occasional (or in some cases frequent) off night, or getting busted pulling a Milli Vanilli, Thomas’s performances have found their way onto my YouTube algorithm because the now 74 (!!!) year old singer sounds the EXACT same as he did on record in the ’70s and ’80s.

It’s a phenomenon that I had to witness for myself, and did, albeit after an hour plus delay. Initially slated to come on at 7:30, due to issues with the venue’s sound system, the band was not able to start until roughly 9:15. Having experienced my fair share of “punk time” shows, this was fine by me, although the majority of the suburbanite crowd definitely wanted to be in bed by this time as opposed to sitting in a field. Come a little after 9 when the crew decided to turn the onstage monitors towards the crowd and run the sound through there, it became apparent that this was well worth the wait.

The evening began with the ’80s MTV classic, “Layin’ It on the Line”, and what followed was a 75 minute hit parade that reminded us just how prolific Thomas is to the history of rock music (pun fully intended). Whether it was #1 smash ballads like “Jane” or “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, or FM rock radio anthems like “Jane” and “Stranger” (the latter being my favorite Jefferson Starship song of all time), Thomas and his band executed these classics with the justice they deserve, nailing every last lick and nuance with the same fiery precision as the studio renditions.

There was even a nod to Thomas’ pass with a rendition of Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”, as well as the Starship’s humble and hazy roots with a one-two punch of “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love”, on which lead vocals were handled by newcomer Cian Coey. While there will never be another Grace Slick, Coey holds her own alongside Thomas, as does the rest of the band for that matter. Winger/former Medieval Steel guitarist John Roth laid down some face-melting fretwork all night, especially on “Stranger”, and as for Thomas, what can be said that hasn’t been said already? Alongside Glenn Hughes, this man very well might boast the finest voice of his era still going at it today. Virtually untouched by time, Thomas hit every last high note with ease, reminding me why when I hear his voice in the car, I can’t crank the volume dial up any louder.

As the band returned onstage for an explosive encore of the 1981 classic, “Find Your Way Back”, my father (a lifelong Thomas fan) and I stood in sheer awe of the display of musical excellence we witnessed that night. This is a group of musicians determined to play these timeless anthems the exact way you remember them, in all their arena rock glory. At no point did the words “sad”, “disappointing”, or “underwhelming” ever cross my mind, which is more than I can say for most bands of this era. When it comes to Starship’s performance last weekend, and the equally impressive amenities of Fox Pointe (my first, but not last time there), I give an A+ and two Ronnie James Dio horns in the air. And to the haters at Rolling Stone, Blender, and every other too cool for school “rock” outlet, as the old song goes: “F you! We do what we want!”

Setlist