Review: Dark Star Orchestra @ Nokia
In what’s become an annual tradition, quintessential Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra returned to the Nokia Theater in New York City on the Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving Weekend. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to help burn off the Thanksgiving Turkey doldrums than with a recreation of the epic Red Rocks ’78 two-night stand. The group was joined by former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay for a number of tunes each evening adding to the fun.
[All Photos by Adam Kaufman]
I hit the second night of the run where the band made one of my favorite Dead tapes of all-time come to life: July 8, 1978. After hearing that DSO had covered 7/7/1978 on Friday night we were all pretty sure we were in for 7/8/1978 which was confirmed when they started Bertha. The lovely Godchaux MacKay added some nice harmonies before leaving the stage at the end of the song. I expected Donna to sing with the band the whole night, but she sang on less than half of the songs. The majority featured Lisa Mackey, who normally sings Donna’s parts with DSO. It was pretty weird to see both real and recreated Donna tag in and out all evening, but it seemed to work for the band.
READ ON for more of Scotty’s review and Adam’s photos from the Nokia…
