live @ the State Theatre 4.23.2000
Saturday night’s Dark Star Orchestra concert at the State Theatre presented an interesting musical question: how far can one band go in paying tribute to another before it starts to feel creepy? The DSO is currently the hottest Grateful Dead act going largely because they recreate entire Dead sets exactly as they happened, arrangements and tempos preserved as faithfully as possible, thereby becoming, as they describe themselves, “a cover band for people who don’t like cover bands”.
While guitarists John Kadlecik (a ponytailed Jerry Garcia) and Rob Eaton (Bob Weir) captured the Dead’s frontmen precisely (Eaton’s evocation of Weir was especially striking) the group managed to avoid the creepy and lifeless facsimiles other Dead tribute acts are by infusing their exaltation with genuine affection. A gyrating and occasionally odoriffically accurate full house of Dead lovers furthered the warm-hearted vibe.
Playing what one knowledgeable Dead enthusiast in attendance pegged as a vintage 1978 set, (later research confirmed DSO was playing the Milwaukee Auditorium show from February 4, 1978) the group essayed Dead nuggets like “Tennessee Jed”, “Playing in the Band” and Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away”. Lisa Mackey provided visual focus as she danced with considerable percolation as backup singer Donna Godchaux, and despite the inevitable drum solo (some things shouldn’t be re-lived) Dino English and Rob Koritz evoked the Mickey Hart/Bill Kreutzmann drum tandem effectively.
The most telling indication of Dark Star Orchestra’s hit upon the aesthetic bullseye may be that upon exiting the show, the concertgoer is occupied with memories of their own Dead experiences, and that is a far more fitting tribute than any number of “jam” band’s endless and mediocre original compositions have ever mustered.
Washington Post, April 2000
