Post by psychobolia on Sept 18, 2022 9:36:16 GMT 1
Can't believe I'm reviewing a cover band's show...
This show is a so-called celebration of the Grateful Dead's 1972 European tour (50th anniversary it is), and the Dead performed 2 nights in this very same venue on May 3/4, 1972.
Got to the venue 20 minutes before showtime with no ticket...box office said that they still had tickets but there's no standing floor tickets...I can't imagine grooving to Dead tunes in an assigned seat so I decide to go back outside and see if I can score a cheap ticket...there's a balanced mix of 3 generations outside just hanging out, drinking, smoking, talking, and also a dozen or so genuine hippies (a few of them barefoot!) with their finger in the air (looking for a free "miracle" ticket) and others selling various stickers, patches, etc. like they did in the parking lots at Dead shows... I'm pretty sure most if not all of the free-ticket seekers got in, good for them!
I end up buying a ticket from an American dude, and I go in and stroll up to the fourth floor, pretty sure no one is in their assigned spot including me, people are packing the aisles, etc... The show starts with Bertha, a great opener... Taking stock of the band: faux-Jerry doesn't sound quite like Jerry but he's close enough, and his playing is close enough as well; faux-Bob: he's great, sounds a lot like Weir and his playing is great, and he kinda looks like him as well; faux-Phil Lesh: a great player, playing these bass lines is no easy feat and the bass is a huge part of the Dead's sound; faux-Keith Godchaux/Pigpen: killer piano playing/his voice is nothing like Pigpen's, no biggy. Only one drummer, I expected two drummers, you know, like the Dead used to have, he sounded ok, nothing special about his playing; faux-Donna: she was ok as well, a bit low in the mix...
Musical highlights: Me and My Uncle, China Cat Sunflower, Beat it on Down the Line, Playing in the Band, Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, Truckin', show closer One More Saturday Night.
During the intermission I ran into Don, an American I ran into earlier in the afternoon. A self-professed Dead geek, he told me some interesting stuff:
- faux-Jerry's "Alligator" Fender Stratocaster is the actual guitar that Jerry used on that 1972 European tour! (I checked the interwebs*, it's true!)
- the setlist is identical to the show the Dead played in this room 50 years ago (turns out it was from the May 3rd 1972 show)
- there's only one drummer on stage because the Dead's 1972 tour didn't have Mickey Hart at the time. DSO indeed has 2 drummers, both of whom are on this tour, but they're rotating drummers with each show, to truly replicate the 1972 shows which only had Bill Kreutzman.
I give this show a solid 9 out of 10 Jerry bears.
*Adding to the band’s authentic sound ... is the presence and participation of Jerry Garcia’s ‘Alligator’ guitar; a 1955 Fender Stratocaster originally used by Jerry on the Europe 1972 tour, shared with DSO’s lead guitarist Jeff Mattson to handle and elevate the specific tones from this legendary instrument. This historic Jerry Garcia instrument is provided for use with a special thanks to Grateful Guitars Foundation’s Andy Logan. Logan states "Grateful Guitars is thrilled that Dark Star Orchestra is celebrating the Grateful Dead’s legendary Europe ’72 tour’s 50th anniversary."
This show is a so-called celebration of the Grateful Dead's 1972 European tour (50th anniversary it is), and the Dead performed 2 nights in this very same venue on May 3/4, 1972.
Got to the venue 20 minutes before showtime with no ticket...box office said that they still had tickets but there's no standing floor tickets...I can't imagine grooving to Dead tunes in an assigned seat so I decide to go back outside and see if I can score a cheap ticket...there's a balanced mix of 3 generations outside just hanging out, drinking, smoking, talking, and also a dozen or so genuine hippies (a few of them barefoot!) with their finger in the air (looking for a free "miracle" ticket) and others selling various stickers, patches, etc. like they did in the parking lots at Dead shows... I'm pretty sure most if not all of the free-ticket seekers got in, good for them!
I end up buying a ticket from an American dude, and I go in and stroll up to the fourth floor, pretty sure no one is in their assigned spot including me, people are packing the aisles, etc... The show starts with Bertha, a great opener... Taking stock of the band: faux-Jerry doesn't sound quite like Jerry but he's close enough, and his playing is close enough as well; faux-Bob: he's great, sounds a lot like Weir and his playing is great, and he kinda looks like him as well; faux-Phil Lesh: a great player, playing these bass lines is no easy feat and the bass is a huge part of the Dead's sound; faux-Keith Godchaux/Pigpen: killer piano playing/his voice is nothing like Pigpen's, no biggy. Only one drummer, I expected two drummers, you know, like the Dead used to have, he sounded ok, nothing special about his playing; faux-Donna: she was ok as well, a bit low in the mix...
Musical highlights: Me and My Uncle, China Cat Sunflower, Beat it on Down the Line, Playing in the Band, Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, Truckin', show closer One More Saturday Night.
During the intermission I ran into Don, an American I ran into earlier in the afternoon. A self-professed Dead geek, he told me some interesting stuff:
- faux-Jerry's "Alligator" Fender Stratocaster is the actual guitar that Jerry used on that 1972 European tour! (I checked the interwebs*, it's true!)
- the setlist is identical to the show the Dead played in this room 50 years ago (turns out it was from the May 3rd 1972 show)
- there's only one drummer on stage because the Dead's 1972 tour didn't have Mickey Hart at the time. DSO indeed has 2 drummers, both of whom are on this tour, but they're rotating drummers with each show, to truly replicate the 1972 shows which only had Bill Kreutzman.
I give this show a solid 9 out of 10 Jerry bears.
*Adding to the band’s authentic sound ... is the presence and participation of Jerry Garcia’s ‘Alligator’ guitar; a 1955 Fender Stratocaster originally used by Jerry on the Europe 1972 tour, shared with DSO’s lead guitarist Jeff Mattson to handle and elevate the specific tones from this legendary instrument. This historic Jerry Garcia instrument is provided for use with a special thanks to Grateful Guitars Foundation’s Andy Logan. Logan states "Grateful Guitars is thrilled that Dark Star Orchestra is celebrating the Grateful Dead’s legendary Europe ’72 tour’s 50th anniversary."
