First published in  Lonely Goat Print Magazine Volume III - #1

Dark Star Orchestra @ Cat's Cradle
By Dennis Humphries (January, 2000)

The Grateful Dead are gone. A vital part of the lives of most of you reading this is now history. The tapes remain, the kind people remain, and the remnants of the band continue to perform singly and together (in some cases arguably creating some of the best music of their careers). But THE DEAD - the indescribable transcendent experience of the Grateful Dead concert itself - has, however sadly, followed the path of the passenger pigeon.

There are, however, a number of musical entities out there trying, each in its own way, to recreate the experience of a Dead concert. Among the most deadicated to the cause is a band called Dark Star Orchestra. These guys have an easy to state but difficult to execute mission: To perform recreations of entire Grateful Dead shows from various eras of the band. You may have already encountered them; my first exposure was at Cat's Cradle on November 14.

I arrived at the Cradle fairly early, too early to get in. I had thought it was a 9:00 show, so I strolled up around 8:30. The doors still closed, the band inside was performing a sound check, and the eerily Dead-like strains of their version of "The Weight" made it out to the sidewalk. I was already astonished at how much this band actually sounded like the Dead! As I stood outside waiting for the doors to open, a number of Heads began to congregate at the doors with me. It turned out that for most people I talked to, not only was this NOT the first time they had seen Dark Star Orchestra , the band had played at Ziggy's the night before, and many would have seen that show; but I was amazed at how many of them had been on tour, following the group around for the last several shows. Hey, cool. Wish I could go.

I don't suppose I should have been surprised. I got on the bus late, after I was already too tied down with life's baggage to tour. But for many, I imagine what is most missed about the Dead is the touring scene itself, the excuse to get together with other Heads. So now, any excuse is a good excuse, and it may not BE the Dead, but it works.

Anyway, I digress. The doors eventually opened, and the crowd poured inside. I'd been hearing some buzz about the last shows (from '73, with one drummer and a 'Donna'singer), and people seemed to be anticipating an '80s show this time. The band came on, casually, and after some noodling and fine-tuning, launched into "Bertha." YES! I close my eyes and I'm THERE! The house rocks as the kids they dance and shake their bones and I could swear that was Jerry up there, until I look.

See, these guys are out to recreate the sound and feel of the original show. They are NOT in any way Dead impersonators, like the 2 million Elvis impersonators. The band members themselves look nothing like the Dead, physically,maybe Bob just a little bit (I'm sorry, I don't know these fellows names so I'm going to refer to them by their Dead counterparts), and Phil looks more like Jerry from 1971 than Phil. But when they play, they play Dead. "Bertha" leads to an energetic "Greatest Story", with Bob getting all the nuances, all the details right. Next, the first sign that no, this is not an '80s show but a '90s show: "Lazy River Road". I have come to really like some of those last songs, and that song places them squarely in the last days. Another later song, "Eternity", follows. Somewhere in the '93 to '95 era, must be. "Ramble On Rose". "Queen Jane" (nice 'Queen Jane'). Then a couple of '70s tunes, "Row Jimmy" and "Promised Land," then off. End of Set I.

Intermission talk seemed to be mostly speculation on the date of the original show. RFK '94? Charlotte '95? Hell, I dunno, I didn't even see that many shows to get that specific, still there's something familiar about the vibe on a much smaller scale than before, to be sure, but still...

Set II began with two later songs, "Liberty" and "Corrina." Nice, serviceable but not particularly high-energy versions of each. I wonder if it is the band dragging slightly, or did the Dead play it this way? They had their moments and you know it doesn't matter. It's part of the effect. Even if the Dead didn't play that particular show that way, they HAVE done that before, the illusion holds. "Crazy Fingers" is nice; what a friendly song. Then "Estimated." That 'Bob' is GOOD, let me say. The girl next to me was speculating whether 'Bob' would do Bob's howl late in the song. Sure enough, there he goes, right on cue. "I hate it when he does that," the girl laughed.

I was expecting "Drums" to come out of "Estimated" as I'd seen the Dead do before, but the drumming at the end of the song led instead to "Samson and Delilah" which then led to "Drums," giving a completely different feel to the drumming set. Now, of course, the essence of this part of the show, more so even than any other, is improvisation. To re-create each exact detail would not only be impossible, but would kill the experimental feel of the section. So I believe it is the sound and the feel of the "Drums/Space"part of the show that is being re-created here. And quite successfully, I might add. The drummers are right on the money, especially 'Mickey'. The whole improvisational section was handled true to life, including the fact that it went on a bit too long, leaving people talking over the music toward the end of "Space." When it finally converged again back into "The Wheel," it was bone-shakin' time again. I could go on about how good and real it sounded, how "Miracle," the majestic "Morning Dew," and the encore of "U.S. Blues" fit just right, but I think you get the point by now. After "U.S. Blues," they announced the show, which the audience had been anticipating and guessing at all night: Oakland, 2/21/93. There was a little time left, so they gave us an extra treat of "Terrapin Station > Playing reprise”"to close out the evening.

What really makes this work is the attention to detail. This is not your neighborhood Dead cover band. They do the Dead, all the way. From the Phil bass lines to the crack in Jerry's voice, to the strains of Bob reaching for a note that's just a hair too high for him, to the interplay of the drummers, every element is in place, and it's all put together, too.

Which leaves one nagging, though I suppose irrelevant, question: Yes, but is it Art? I go back and forth as to whether this is a valid question. I never asked that question of the Dead. But that was the Dead doing what they did. Dark Star Orchestra is an incredible simulation...but....but what? It’s kind of like going to a museum to see an expert copy of a DaVinci painting. I mean, they GET IT RIGHT, so what’s eating me? I can't precisely put my finger on it. Of course nobody in the room actually thinks it's the Dead. And the tunes, and the people, and the feel, are all brought together to party, dance, and remember the old days. I suppose I'm being over-analytical here. Isn't that enough? Yes, actually, it is. I know that I can't go on tour with them, and I'm not sure if I would anyway, but I know when they come back to the neighborhood, I'll be there again.

One final observation: I noticed a couple of people taping the show, including a friend of mine. When it was over, I thought about it. Every Grateful Dead show has been taped by somebody. I haven't seen a tape of this show, but I know it's out there somewhere. So, why make a tape of a meticulous re-creation of a show that is almost certainly in circulation in the original version? Kind of seems like taping "Beatlemania" somehow.