The Scene: The crowd at Friday night’s second of three Dark Star Orchestra shows was, well, exactly what one would expect. A Dead crowd – the old and young, the devoted and the curious. For those who don’t know, Dark Star Orchestra is the Grateful Dead’s premiere tribute band, having replicated exact shows from the Dead’s historical catalog for many years now. The band has earned its reputation with good reason – there’s a guy that sounds like Jerry, a young Bob doppelganger, a Pigpen impersonator, a Lesh stand-in…you get the picture.
These dudes (plus the lovely Lisa Mackey) have the Dead act down, and last Saturday night at the Boulder Theater was no exception. Deadheads in all shapes, sizes and auras were present and ready to go back in time with the beloved and much-appreciated Dark Star Orchestra.
Dark Star Orchestra: On this night, we were transported to Philadelphia’s Electric Factory, on Valentine’s Day of the year 1969. During the heat of time when American culture was swiftly changing and society was split vastly into two halves, some of the greatest music of all history was created. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, CSNY, etc. – and the Grateful Dead.
Dark Star Orchestra took us all the way back in time, when the Grateful Dead was just getting started on the road to becoming the kings of musical improvisation. And that’s exactly what we got a taste of – that improvisation that the Dead are known for.
Kicking off the night with a song that later fell out of regular circulation, “Good Morning Little School Girl” was a great start to the first set. Keyboard player Rob Barraco seems to be leading the troops during much of the show, and this was certainly true with this first song of the night. While the set would turn out to be only five songs, each song was seriously jam-heavy and thus quite lengthy. Two particular super jams that the Dead kept on setlists throughout their musical career came in this set, “The Eleven” and the iconic “Dark Star.” The group, as always, is so on point with the music of the Dead, it’s no wonder they’re deemed its first and foremost tribute band.
One certain highlight of the evening was the “St. Stephen” that was transitioned into straight from a solid “Dark Star.” With Jerry look-and-sound-alike Jeff Mattson leading the crew through a beautiful rendition of “St. Stephen,” this was easily the peak of the first set.
Finishing the first half of the evening as strongly as they started it, Rob Eaton’s vocals blasted through his microphone as the band played through yet another killer “Turn On Your Lovelight,” a song I’ve been fortunate to witness a couple of times now.
The second half of the evening was brought to life with “Morning Dew,” a slower, but building, tune featuring Mattson once again on vocals. The group seems to have such a well-balanced chemistry that adds this easy, free feeling to each show, a feat that can be a rare thing to achieve for some musicians.
The second set was equally as jam-heavy as the first, and thus required just as much focus and skill for the group as they had brought to the stage for the first. A big ol’ and comically ironic sandwich came next, with “Cryptical Envelopment->The Other One-> Cryptical Envelopment.” Somewhere between all the improv came the inevitable yet impressive, spacey drum solo. As the last moments of “Cryptical Envelopment” came and went, the remainder of the show began to let off the heavier jams. Next came “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” before the tempo got turned up again with the always groovy “Alligator.”
The second set ended with an obvious ideal choice for the closing of any show, “We Bid You Goodnight.” Including audience participation and a sound that makes you want to sway with your arms over your neighbor’s shoulders, the set couldn’t have come to a better close.
Of course, there’s always times for one or two more, and Dark Star Orchestra took the stage once more for Mattson’s crooning on “It Hurts Me Too.” Lastly came the soul-filled southern-influenced “Easy Wind,” one of the few Dead songs sang in full by Lesh himself, and a very pleasant surprise for the crowd. And with that, Dark Star Orchestra managed to surprise their audience yet again with another classic rendition from the Grateful Dead catalog. This is one group that will not and cannot get old, proving to fans and Deadheads alike that the music really never stops.
Setlist:
Set 1: Good Morning Little School Girl, Dark Star>St. Stephen>The Eleven>Turn On Your Lovelight
Set 2: Morning Dew, Cryptical Envelopment>Drums>The Other One>Cryptical Envelopment>Death Don’t Have No Mercy>Alligator>Caution>We Bid You Goodnight
Encore: It Hurts Me Too>Easy Wind
Energy: A
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: B
Overall: A-
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