Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009
darkstar orchestra at h.o.b.
If it looks like the Dead sounds like the Dead and feels like the Dead, it's the Dead, right?
Not in the case of Dark Star Orchestra, which did its best Grateful Dead impression Sunday night (Feb. 8) at House of Blues. From the musicianship to the vibe, the re-enactment was Dead-on.
Before we go any further, I know what some of you are thinking. Like a lot of music snobs, I've never been a big fan of “tribute bands,” which is a nice way of saying “a cover band with a crush and/or a limited vocabulary.”
But that’s not the case with DSO, which has been touring for more than a decade and has performed more than 1,600 shows, only about 600 fewer than the band it emulates.
What sets DSO apart from Joe Coverband is its Dead-ication to authenticity. The band performs recreations of actual live shows in the Dead’s pantheon, and in this case, June 30, 1984 at the Sports Center in Indianapolis which is about the time I saw my first Grateful Dead show.
Twenty-five years melted away when DSO took the stage and began its four-hour jam. It opened with “Jack Straw” and meandered through a timeline of Grateful Dead classics, such as “Minglewood Blues,” “Far From Me” and “Ramble on Rose.”
In keeping with historical accuracy while allowing for the original band’s love of improv, DSO took a Dead break after performing a super-sized version of “Deal,” then got everyone in the house rocking again with the boogie-down tune “Shakedown Street.”
After performing “Playin’ in the Band” and “Terrapin Station,” DSO delivered a long drum duo (that’s twice as good as the proverbial drum solo), then the band re-emerged to complete the loop of “Playin’ in the Band” that brought back familiar Dead show memories of thinking, “Oh yeah, that’s the song they started playing 30 minutes ago.”
DSO did justice to classics like “Truckin,’” “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” and “One More Saturday Night,” before answering calls for an encore with “Day Job.”
By the end of the night it certainly felt a lot like the real thing, and DSO is as much about the experience as the music, which is air tight and eerily similar to the Grateful Dead.
In fact, five former members of the original, like Bob Weir and Donna Jean Godchaux-McKay, have jammed onstage with Dark Star and noted the similarities. They have given their stamps of approval to DSO, so who are we to call what it does blasphemy?
For old-school Grateful Dead purists who have been there, done that and bought the grilled cheese sandwich, and the new generation of flower children who feel like they were born 50 years too late, DSO has something special for everyone.
For longtime Grateful Dead fans, it’s a stroll down memory-loss lane that takes you back to a place in time long since forgotten until re-experienced. For the uninitiated, it’s the closest you will ever come to the real thing without using a time-travel machine.
The band members play the roles of originals to a frightening tee. Vocalist and guitarist Jerry Kadlecik plays the part of Jerry Garcia and nails the role with his haunting voice; Rob Eaton emulates Weir; Kevin Rown thumps the bass like Phil Lesh; Rob Koritz and Dino English bang the drums like Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart; and so on and so on for the seven-man (and one woman) band.
It would be remiss to omit Lisa Mackey providing the soulful vocals of Godchaux. By the time she closed the show with her gospel-inspired voice, I was ready to hop in someone’s VW microbus and follow the band to Richmond, Va., then Ashville, N.C., then Charlotte, N.C.
In keeping with the Grateful Dead’s hectic tour schedule, DSO also maintains a frantic pace, playing 22 cities in this 28-day month of February alone. The result is a tightness similar to the band it pays tribute to.
If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, the original band and its fans should be honored that DSO is keeping the vibe alive and raising the Dead for future generations.