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The Anthem is one of the coolest venues I’ve ever been to. Literally no expense was spared. Right down on the harbor, It’s part of a complex of bars, restaurants, shops, and theatres – both inside and out. Tons of families strolling by – it was s a village onto itself. Many millions of dollars went into this project so if you go to DC for any reason, go check it out – it’s a blast. The Anthem had awesome acoustics, smooth floors, bars everywhere, kind staff, water bottle filling stations, and a veritable Dancers paradise! Other than it being too big to find people I was with and the venues staffs futile attempt to try and keep the smokers in a small section upstairs, it was perfect. Thankfully, security got wise and allowed people to leave at setbreak as long as they went back through security. Leaving out the front had the additional benefit of me getting to meet BillK522! Praise DSO indeed brother! It was really nice to shoot the breeze for a spell. It is also quite clear that we had very similar paths when it came to following the Grateful Dead. I’m sure we could have continued for hours on end… As for the show – it was pretty unbelievable for a 1991 recreation. I’ll admit I was a little bummed that DSO pre-announced this show. Part of what I love is about the experience is trying to figure out the show for myself or realizing that it is hand-crafted for one nite only. I thought knowing the show in advance would detract from my experience of it. Not this time. I’ll start this by saying: I’ve never had so much room in an indoor DSO show ever and it had the sound quality of being near the rail. It was well-attended but this place was massive folks. Plus, I was dancing with a strength and an energy that kept people from getting too close. I was turned up to 11 – lol! Cold Rain and Snow was a solid start and when they began to bring it home, I knew they had things dialed-in. Eaton treated us to a bluesy/funky Wang Dang. In my previous lifetime, it would have been time to find the bathroom. I’m really glad I didn’t – while it’s not usually my cup of Tea, it seemed to be an important piece of the puzzle. Jack-a-Roe was another gear and the crowd responded in-kind. Everybody in the band got a turn with this one and it really flowed together nicely! The Big River > Maggies Farm was one of the 1st set highlights! The River flowed at a breakneck pace, nice-n-tight. A couple extra loops just to be sure! The Maggies is where I think Barraco really took charge. His vocals were just soooo spirited! Filling spaces with the Welnick sound was a much more welcome surprise than people thought. As soon as he yielded to the next stanza, the place went nuts! For me, everything past this point was as good as it gets. A very sweet and extended Row Jimmy with a decidedly melodic then reggae flavor was excellent! Black Throated Wind continued the fun even though I was worried Eaton was gonna blow a vocal chord. Really strong stuff there. Another song that I used to leave more than I took was Tennessee Jed. I was up for it and it delivered in spades! Holy Crap! That thing snaked it’s away around and then just got ludicrous. When they had their fill crashing this into the shore a few times, I remember belting out a Yeah-Hoo about as loud as I could. It was that good. The Music was dressed in the same clothes as the Tennessee Jed except they somehow reached a peak that left me speechless (shocker) and breathless. It was perfect save for the additional mic not getting run out on stage for Lisa. The Help > Slip > Franklins. I loved the rythymic strumming before they let it out of the gate – timed perfectly with the lights! So bouncy and bright and so very tight! The crowd went bananas for the Franklins and for good reason. Again, loop after loop – totally relentless. What can I say about the Estimated > Dark Star. The estimated simply sparkled and shined with a little extra time spent bringing it back around. Once that part had run its course, things got a little sinister. It was funny to see how the darker spaced-out themes brought some people from the front towards the back. The Dark Star was a little more than some could handle and they thought it was a better idea to walk to the back instead of getting in the fetal position where they were – lol! I almost always break for Drums > Space. Not tonight – I just let it all run right through me. The light show made for some very interesting sights that seemed impossible. Unreal stuff. Those that have seen Jeff do Stella over the last couple years know how this went. A sweet combination of despair and hope – I was really lucky that there were no talkers near me. If there were, I shut them all out anyway. Very powerful with the perfect twinge of sweetness! Jeff has really come into his own vocally – I gather he has worked very hard on it and it clearly shows. Oh yeah – Lovelight! Back-to-back nites! Supercharged everything. Just like the twisted Viola Lee from the night before, I tried to keep up but it still flattened me good. We get the huge finish – then it was a false finish! Back around we go to blast it off one more time. So good! A sweet, sweet baby blue followed by rainy day women. The crowd went berserk for that finish. It’s message was clear and there was 100% buy-in. When DSO comes back to this venue, I will be there. It is that good folks! Congratulations to DSO and Crew for their performances. A World-Class band, playing a world-class show, at a world-class venue. As good as it gets! Sorry for the blog

Fantastic show review, Tea. Felt like I lived it all over again. Let's hope for a run of shows at that room. Praise DSO

What a mind*uck that show was! Holy Crap! A few weeks earlier I read a Jambase interview with Barraco and there was some strong indication that a 1968 show was in the works. https://www.jambase.com/article/bringing-dead-life-rob-barraco-dark-star-orchestra-california-kind Boy was I lucky that they chose the Norva as their launchpad. The Norva did allow for enough room for big dance for the 1st set – I was pleasantly surprised. When Schoolgirl opened, I was pretty sure it was going to be old-school if nothing else. The crowd around us wasn’t quite as pumped as we were but it would’ve been hard for most anyone to be. Nice-n-Raunchy. The Rag really got things movin – one of my favorites. The changes in tempo from a frolicking ditty to an accelerating jam-vehicle was just the contrast I needed! It was on people! Big Boy Pete was the clincher that it could indeed be a ’68 show and Eaton seemed to have a ball with it! It was really good fun even if it wasn’t as long as I was hoping for. Duprees with the acoustic is always great! Jeff’s vocals just keep getting better and better! Mountains was next and was one of the highlights of the set. It had an almost harpsichord sound to it and maybe slowed down just a touch. That tempo helped allow Jeff to enunciate every single word! It really was captivating and just dripping with psychedelia! Yum. The St. Stephen > Eleven > Viola Lee was….was…..was….just twisted I guess. Very, Very rich and just so tight it was ridiculous. As the eleven got rolling, I started dancing maybe a bit too fast – I think because it was matching my rolling laughter that just kept going and going. That turned out to be the perfect pace for Viola Lee. This tune had it all! A funky brightness, then a groovy gallop, and then it just turned flat out serious. I tried to keep up – I really did. That mother just mowed me over and kept right on going. Just Wow. The floor was filling up for the 2nd set so we retreated to the 2nd floor so we could keep big chunks of real estate. There’s no way for me to detail the 2nd set song-by-song. Other than a bluesy respite and great harp from Lisa on Hurts Me Too, that 2nd set felt like a single song just weaving in and out of itself. Was it Alligator, Lovelight again, wait – Other One? I was blissfully lost through the whole thing. That Alligator had to be 30 minutes plus – maybe more. While the vibe at Jubilee for the ’69 show was clearly better, this was the best old school DSO I have ever heard! The Hard to Handle to round things out was raunchy, groovy, dizzy, slippery, shiny, and crazy! What a finish! The cherry on this mystical sundae was the outstanding people I got to share this with! There were some missing folks that simply couldn’t be replaced but I continue to hope that the planets align for another spin. Rude, Gr8fulpair, GBTW, Dr. Barry – you make it what it is for me. Love You.

We got B2B lovelights this weekend. Pig then bobby style and both were amazing. You guys just smoked us this weekend. So glad I came. Those were some special shows. Has to be the weekend of the year for seeing Dso shows. I mean was that not the best b2b shows maybe they’ve ever done. 68 then a monster in the best indoor music venue in the country. That place was the music equivalent of a new billion dollar football stadium. If you got closer than 40-50ft from the stage your eardrums could hardly take it. It fucking boomed!!