In my opinion: As a recent fan of the Grateful Dead (I know I'm 50 years late), I'm confident the Dead's music is alive and well in the hands of Dark Star Orchestra. This band’s psychedelic and creative energy shines bright playing any of the Dead's 2,500 live shows, and they leave their loyal followers wanting more every time.
SET LIST - December 30, 2015
Set 1: Bertha, Good Lovin', Dire Wolf, El Paso, It Must Have Been The Roses > New Minglewood Blues > Ramble on Rose, The Promised Land > Deal
Set 2: Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet, The Other One, Eyes of the World, Drums > Space > Wharf Rat, Franklin's Tower > Sugar Magnolia
Encore: Terrapin Station, One More Saturday Night, Werewolves of London
The Band: Dark Star Orchestra
Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) is the most high-profile Grateful Dead tribute band in the United States, performing thousands of shows since 1997 and hosting a music and arts festival dubbed Dark Star Jubilee.
With 7 musicians on stage, including 2 drummers and percussionists, a keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, and several vocalists, DSO has a solid understanding of what it takes to recreate the groovy, transcendental improvisation music of the Dead.
On the night I caught them in Philly, we heard the July 8, 1978 set from Red Rocks in Colorado. The party started right away with a lively “Bertha,” one of my all time favorite Dead tunes. We also heard a beautiful jam of “It Must Have Been The Roses” into "New Minglewood Blues" into “Ramble on Rose” that warmed our souls for an incredibly groovy and soulful second set. In fact, the entire second set was an incredible jam into jam into jam, that I can't pick a favorite:
- Samson & Delilah > Ship of Fools > Estimated Prophet > The Other One > Eyes of the World > Drums > Space > Wharf Rat > Franklin's Tower > Sugar Magnolia
They ended the first night of their NYE run with a venue filled of grateful Deadheads howling to “Werewolves of London" after a rare, but always satisfying, "Terrapin Station" and "One More Saturday Night." I shamelessly continued howling into the night with a free spirit and rejuvenated heart after an amazing 3+ hours of Dark Star gracing my ears.
The Venue: Electric Factory (Philadelphia, PA)
The Electric Factory is another staple venue in Philly with concerts spanning an array of genres, from rock and electronic to the alternative bands of the early 00's. This was my second time at the Electric Factory and I had another extremely positive experience. Compared to the Fillmore, this venue is much more narrow, but it has two floors with easily accessible bars open to all concertgoers.
No matter where you stand you’ll have a great view of the stage and can usually find plenty of room for dancing. The coat check was $5 but so worth it in the freezing winter (and there was no crazy long line at the end of the show). Security is relatively tight walking in, but once you’re in the venue and the show has started you’ll rarely see security walking through the crowd. It’s a great place to see any concert and definitely worth checking out in the near future.
The Crowd: Simply The Best
At any Grateful Dead tribute show, everyone in the crowd is incredibly friendly, welcoming, and happy to be in good company with fellow Deadheads. This is the most loyal of loyal fan followings and they bear no shame in wearing all kinds of Dead shirts to the show, from an array of tie-dyed and hypnotic designs within the dancing bears, to Bertha and her roses, to the iconic lightning bolt skull logo.
While DSO will always end the show by sharing what Dead set they played, the crowd is so excited to make their best guesses throughout which song will be next based on what decade they think the set is from. It’s pretty incredible that people can guess the exact YEAR they're hearing. Once you go to one Dark Star show or another Dead tribute band, you’ll likely run into the same folks at future shows, making the musical reunion and Dead experience all the more sweet.