REVIEW: Starship rocks the Downey Theatre

DOWNEY – On Friday evening the classic rock group Starship performed live at the Downey Theater. The group is an offshoot of the 60s group, Jefferson Airplane. In the mid 70s, some members left Airplane to form, “Jefferson Starship.” In 1984, original Jefferson Airplane member Paul Kantner formed, Starship along with lead vocalist, Grace Slick. Singer, Mickey Thomas joined the group in the mid 80s. Thomas who previously had a hit with, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” singing for the Elvin Bishop Band had a voice in several of Starship’s biggest hits.

Songs and music videos like, “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” made Starship popular with the MTV Generation.

Today the band tours as “Starship, Starring Mickey Thomas.” This was the band that I saw at the Downey Theater on Friday evening. I am shocked at the quality of talent the Downey Theater is able to bring into town. This was an amazing concert! The show was great, the sound was great and the band was fantastic. A concert of this caliber right in the heart of Downey. Pretty cool.

The Downey Theater (Downey Civic Center), is such a great place to see a show. Ticket prices are always reasonable. The staff always friendly and helpful and the theater itself is beautiful. The theaters crew are all talented professionals. The sound and lighting for the Starship show were on par with any other concert experience I have had.

And the band, wow! Starship is an amazing live experience. The voice of Mickey Thomas simply has to be heard. His voice cut through that theater like a knife. Mickey is joined by female vocalist, Stephanie Calvert. Calvert could easily handle the Grace Slick vocal parts and brought a fresh and dynamic energy to the show. The band, John Roth - Lead Guitar, Phil Bennett - Keyboards, Darrell Verdasco - Drums and Jeff Adams - Bass, were a powerful and energetic force on that stage. The mix of their sound in that theater was perfect. The crowd had a great time. People signing along and dancing in the isles through the entire show.

To have a concert experience like this offered right in the heart of Downey is amazing to me. I don’t know why more residents don’t take advantage of these shows. I for one, will be there for these shows whenever I am able.

To keep up with the theaters schedule you can check out their website at

downeytheatre.com or like them on Facebook. Comedians, Louie Anderson and Rita Rudner will be at the Theater at the end of the month.

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Published: May 14, 2015 - Volume 14 - Issue 05