Country Joe & The Fish
concert reviews and tour history

It was the first time I saw Country Joe and the Fish, one of my favorite bands of the era. At the time I didn't know that bassist Bruce Barthol had left the band and that the fabulous bass player who sat in with them that night was the Airplane's Jack Casady. I loved the set because I loved the band's music, although it became obvious at one point that keyboardist David Cohen was pretty ripped because Joe had to go over and show him the correct fingering on the keyboard for the opening chord of their next song. They were the last band of the night to play on the racetrack stage, and we ran into David in the parking lot afterward holding a car key straight out trying it on different car doors in an effort to locate his rental. I spoke to him briefly as he explained what he was doing. Hearing them for the first time was something of a revelation for me, although a friend who was with me said he had heard them before and thought they were a little off at the festival. I caught them at Fillmore West a few weeks later (on the same show with Led Zeppelin) as they were breaking up before re-forming later that summer with Country Joe and lead guitarist Barry Melton from the original band along with three new members who played Woodstock.