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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.