Dark Star Orchestra at River Edge Park in Aurora, IL 7/5/2019The Grateful Dead is such majesty and completeness that when a great version of it comes along, the vibes come along too. Dark Star Orchestra has been recreating Grateful Dead sets for over 20 years now. On 7/5/2019, DSO performed their own tailored setlist to a beautiful evening at River Edge Park Aurora. There was a drop or two of rain but it only served to aid the dancing under a glowing quarter moon rising serenely above the Fox River.
The songs jumped from era to era but with a harmony that would not indicate anything unusual. Set 1: Bertha> Good Lovin’ Ramble on Rose My Brother Esau Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues Believe or Not Lazy Lightning / Supplication Cumberland Blues When I paint My Masterpiece Shakedown Street
When they closed the first set with Shakedown Street, curiosities were piqued. That was a sure sign that this was a rare and unique find of a show. The band took a nice 30 - 40 minute set break and the sun dipped below the horizon. It was a hot time in the city of Aurora but it was alive with music. When they returned to stage, the setlist got even stranger. Whoever heard of a Help on the Way / Slipknot without Franklin’s Tower? We did. The golden road of devotion winded us deeper into the mystery.
Set 2: Corinna> Help on the Way / Slipknot Tangled up in Blue Estimated Prophet> He’s Gone> Drums / Space The Wheel> Throwing Stones> Stella Blue> Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
The air was hazy with humidity and not a breeze to be felt. The show had that state fair feeling to it. Beach balls were bouncing from tie-dye to sunglasses and sundresses. The faint skunk smell floating by slow as the river beside the park, Rob Eaton chatted with the crowd after they left it all on the stage for Tangled Up in Blue. “Glad to see some of y’all come down from the pasture!” -Rob Eaton
There were smiles all around, and as if the band was reacting to the smiles abounding from the crowd, they launched into Estimated Prophet. In a church like sweatin’ somber mode He’s Gone burst forth into exhilaration when the crowd all shouted back at the stage, “NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT SMILE SMILE SMILE!!”
A solid choice to end the show, Goin Down the Road Feeling Bad kept the groove humming along as the crowd gathered their belongings and headed on down the road. Promptly at 10:48 the band waved their goodbyes as Rob Barraco announced to the crowd that indeed they had created this setlist tonight. There was no show that they had recreated but in fact, they feel that the Grateful Dead would have played this set at some point had they still been going. Sounded good to us! They were anything but feeling bad as the band came back out for the encore. With a jovial spirit, they whipped into a solid Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 for an encore and the park cleared out, flushing into the Aurora city streets to carry on with more music all around downtown.
Comments
No comments posted.
Loading...
|