Live in San Francisco

Live in San Francisco is a live album by guitarists John McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring. It was recorded at The Warfield in San Francisco, California, on December 8th, 2017, and was released in 2018 by Abstract Logix. The musicians are joined by an ensemble that combines McLaughlin's band the 4th Dimension with Herring's band the Invisible Whip. The album was recorded during the 25-date "Meeting of the Spirits" tour, concerts of which consisted of Herring and his band as an opener, followed by McLaughlin and his band, after which all the musicians joined together for a third set during which they performed music previously recorded by the Mahavishnu Orchestra on the albums The Inner Mounting Flame (1971), Birds of Fire (1973), Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973), and Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975). Prior to the tour, McLaughlin reflected: "I'm not the same person I was when I wrote [those Mahavishnu compositions], but they're still a huge part of my musical and personal history, and the idea of bringing them up to date is very attractive to me." At the time, McLaughlin stated that the tour would be his last due to the effects of arthritis in his hands and wrist. He commented: "Short of a miracle, I think that'll probably be it, at least in terms of touring." However, thanks to ongoing treatments, he was able to begin touring again, beginning with a European trip in late 2019. Prior to the concert, McLaughlin had not performed at The Warfield for over 35 years. The live album Friday Night in San Francisco, with Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía, was recorded there in 1980.