To a Tee: Dark Star Orchestra Defines Tribute Bands, Leaves Others in the Dust

The evening of February 17^th, 1973 in St. Paul, Minnesota was a cold one. One could argue that the Grateful Dead warmed things up a bit, though, as the temperature jumped almost 30 degrees while they were there, and went up 10 more the day they left town (see climate link below). The Dead were touring the Midwest that winter, hitting St. Paul between stops in Madison and Chicago, before they headed out East for the month of March.

That magical night 34 years ago was recently recreated in the other of Minnesota's Twin Cities- Minneapolis. Thanks to the jet stream, seasonal climatic conditions, and the music of the Dark Star Orchestra, a similar winter heat wave blew through town again.

The Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) is not just another tribute band that plays the music of their favorite band. They recreate actual historic Grateful Dead set lists in the style of the band from that particular era. If the Dead had two drummers during a gig, then DSO will come with two drummers. This is very different than the genre many bands fall under- the cover band. Cover bands play the songs of popular bands and keep crowds happy by playing favorites, often upon request. Cover bands have been around for as long as there has been music worth repeating. Tribute bands are another story- it is another level of devotion, if you ask me.

Lisa Mackey, DSO's female vocalist, turned in a masterful performance as the Grateful Dead icon, Donna Godchaux. After listening to the original Dead show from that night in 1973 (link below), I would have to say that Lisa actually outperformed her counterpart! The band consists of a corps of musicians, with special guests filling in specific niches to complete the re-creation. Just like the Grateful Dead was, DSO is a fluid machine that takes on new and returning members to create a family of devoted and talented musicians.

The beautiful thing about the DSO is how much you don't know going into the gig. The band never lets on to what show they are playing, if they are indeed playing a gig. They are known to choose their own set lists from time to time- I suppose to keep their keen fans on their toes. While I surely recognized all of the songs I heard that night, it was more of a fond recollection, not a honed diagnosis. I had no idea whether it was the sixties, seventies, eighties or nineties. I really didn't care- the music was tight, perhaps more technically acute than the Grateful Dead themselves on that particular night. It seemed that Bob Weir was a little off his game, but Rob Eaton, DSO's rhythm guitarist and vocalist, didn't miss a beat all night.

I was blown away by the second set, in particular, with the classic fallow swoop of Here Comes Sunshine > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Around And Around, Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Not Fade Away. They even played the same encore from that night so long ago, a one song extended jam, Casey Jones.

It was about one-half way through the first set when the fans around me began speculating about the vintage of the show we were listening to.

"I think it's a Dark Star original," stated one fan, "I can't remember them [The Grateful Dead] ever playing Mexicali and Looks Like Rain together."

As if anyone can really keep the catalog of the Grateful Dead's thousands of set lists straight, this young buck sure thought he was on to something. Another, slightly older and seemingly more knowledgeable fan pointed out that he thought it was a gig from the early 70's,

"'72 or '73 . . . that's when they started playing around with Loose Lucy."

I had to take the guy's word for it, to be honest with you, and I trusted that he was probably telling the truth. Who would make such a claim if they really didn't know what they were talking about, right? It was at this point when I realized that someone actually can keep that catalog straight. At once I understood so much more about the music of the Grateful Dead. I recognized that the fans of one of America's greatest musical blessings are smart and serious about their music-quite contrary to the hippie stereotype so many have tagged to the fans of the Grateful Dead.

Research for this review led me to a web page called tributecity.com, the self-proclaimed authority of tribute bands. I was blown away to see the hundreds of bands from the past that have a tribute band now playing their music. Grateful Dead was listed as having a 22 tribute bands dedicated to recreating that special experience. Without a doubt, no one can recreate the Dead like the dedicated folks at Dark Star. From start to finish, their knowledge of the music is a testament to the power and meaning those songs held 34 years ago.

Their spring tour returns from Europe at the end of March, runs down the West Coast into Colorado and jumps across the country to finish up 15 gigs in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania by the end of May.