Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) rolled into Lake Tahoe, NV (Harrah’s) Sunday night (2/18) in the midst of a solid West Coast tour that ends later this week in San Diego, CA. No matter what DSO chooses to play on any given evening you are guaranteed to hear crispy musicianship, and energetic interpretations on the vast songbook of the Grateful Dead. They’ve been doing it for over 20 years and each time I get to see them they seem to get better and better. Sunday’s show took place at Harrah’s Casino dipping into a run of Madison Squaw Garden shows the Dead played back in 1988. The setlist was not one that most Deadheads would claim as cherished. That said, a show like Sunday’s in Tahoe represents just how masterful this band is at their craft of recreating the magic of a Grateful Dead show.
The first set felt as though it had a bit of an early 80’s feel to it. A mellow “Let the Good Times Roll” opener gave way to a fiery “Alabama Getaway” that got the sold out crowd shaking their bones early. A highpoint in the set was the gritty jam out of “Walkin’ Blues”. Apparently bassist Skip Vangelas had a new instrument to play with on this evening as his “Phil bombs” were impossible to miss as he intricately built upon most every jam the band explored on this night. “Ramble on Rose” brought the capacity crowd into a full singalong with a heartfelt version lead by guitarists Jeff Mattson and Rob Eaton, before the true highlight of the set (possibly the show) was played in “Let it Grow”. A masterful version of the great John Barlow tune, who keyboardist Rob Barraco dedicated the show to at the start of the night, the feeling throughout the Harrah’s showroom was palpable. Filled with soaring guitar work and blistering energy, this one musical adventure was worth the price of admission on its own.
Set two kicked off with an atypical opener in “Box of Rain”. Once “Victim or the Crime” dropped and went into “Foolish Heart” it seemed the late 80’s/early 90’s call for the setlist guessers was a lock. Up next was “Looks Like Rain”, another tune where it felt like boosting the energy rather than keeping is more mellow would have aided in the overall set, but that’s where the DSO spirit stepped in and shined once again. The jam out of the structured portion of the song is what makes this band so great, taking a slower song with arguably poor placement deep in the second set, where concertgoers could use a jolt of something lively, and delivering with engaging playing turning the tune into something of higher interest. After Dino English and Rob Koritz were done with a tribal “Drums” segment, and Jeff Matson and Rob Barraco were finished exploring in “Space”, the show peaked one more time with a short “I Need a Miracle” and “Gimme Some Lovin’” pairing before an absolutely monster “Morning Dew”.
All said and done, it was as if each set slowly built, peaking at the end with both “Let it Grow” and “Morning Dew”. The original show was played 9/14/88 at Madison Squaw Garden in New York City, and while once again the song selection was not the top tier according to many Deadheads, this show clearly positions DSO once again in their full role as a band that not only authentically respects the music of the Grateful Dead, they truly keep the spirit alive in away that no other tribute band is able to touch.
The Grateful Dead, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (9/14/88)
Set 1
Let the Good Times Roll
Alabama Getaway
Greatest Story Ever Told
Stagger Lee
Walkin’ Blues
It Must Have Been the Roses
Queen Jane Approximately
Ramble on Rose
Let it Grow
Set II
Box of Rain
Victim or the Crime
Foolish Heart
Looks Like Rain
He’s Gone
drums
I Need a Miracle
Gimme Some Lovin’
Morning Dew
Encore
Black Muddy River
2/18/18 DSO Filler: The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)
