Greg from Chestertown

If Dark Star Orchestra was a comedy act, wouldn’t they be hecklers?

Actually, what I meant to say was, sometimes we live no particular way but our own.

The times, they are a ‘changin.... I think this ‘conversation’ has a bigger picture to it. Bigger than the Grateful Dead world. I think it’s about, society, culture, civilization as a whole. In the sixties, it was the generation gap. Our parents were wrong and when we grow up, we’re gonna take charge and fix it. Make the world a better place. It’s been going on since the beginning of humans. This is sociology 101. We create the world we want to live in and surround ourselves with those things. Tangible or intangible. Anything different is a threat or an attack. If we can’t change of fix it, we go back to our little world and live in quiet peace. Hopefully. Human nature. I might be swimming too deep for my own good. Just how I see it.

Yea, I’m pulling the trigger on that show too. Feeling obligated to make the trip and show my support after reading about Penn’s Peak. I’m hoping for 7/12/90. They played Dark Star for a month that night. The weight encore. .... you know she’s the only one...

Yea, that opener is show stopper stuff right there. Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile for the rest of the show.

I really like that set list. Musta been s special show in ‘86 with boxarain /visions opener. Broke down encore always worked.

So many thoughts. I was at the show the day touch of grey was released. I was at the two shows the two days before. My buddy and I just kept commenting about how the crowd was all kids. Kinda funny, we were 25 at the time. Three shows in three days and it was like a light switch had been flipped. A couple thoughts; Grateful Dead mail order tickets. Were they able to control that? I know our mail order tickets got us in the same general area surrounded by the same people three nights in a row. The other point someone made to me a few years later, they put tickets on sale on a day when only college students can get to the place selling the tickets. If you have a job, you couldn’t get there to buy tickets. This was before the internet when people worked forty hours. Before touch of grey, for example, I had a girl tell me at a show that she got fired from her job so she could go to the show. At set break, Radio City, a girl had her back pack full of books, saying she had a mid term the next day. Deadication? Unconditional love? Ultimate priority? Passion? When touch of grey was a hit, for about a year, you would see people at shows that looked misplaced, like they had been plucked out of a Genesis concert or something. Almost like they were there to hear touch of grey. Clueless to the Grateful Dead culture. Naive? I remember being at a show and three probably eighteen year olds walking by single file. The last one holding on to the shirt of the guy in front of him, commenting about how he can’t see. Clearly dosed for the first time, unchaparoned, without an escort experienced in acid. My memory has all of this going away after about a year and back to a show full of deadheads, but the vibe was diluted, watered down. Some people at shows lacked common respect for their fellow man. Things were never the same after touch of grey. I think that’s more about popularity, demand for tickets. No disrespect to touch heads. I think we all were touch heads at first. Before that, if you liked the Grateful Dead, you were on the fringe, admitting to eating acid. With touch of grey, the Grateful Dead went mainstream. Decadence? Decline of the civilization? It always happens. Everything has a life span. Dark Star Orchestra is precious to me. I want this thing to thrive. ....rock your baby to and ‘fro. Not too fast and not too slow....

It’s inner peace and clarity that gets me off anymore, service to others. ...comes a time....

I couldn’t agree more! This is so sad to read. I have expressed myself recently on another thread about the ending of the Grateful Dead and gate crashers, etc. I’m sure Dark Star Orchestra will react to this. They have no choice. The older, more mature heads need to react to this negative element as well. Zero tolerance. I worked in the recreational boating industry for twenty years. I was told by an old timer that they teach you in survival school that when the ship is in distress, someone rises up to be the ‘captain’ and take charge of the situation. It isn’t necessarily the captain that does it, but a certain personality. We know who we are. It looks like we’ll be doing a little bit of work also, while we are enjoying ourselves at future shows. The band has enough to do. Let’s rise to the occasion. ..... I could not caution all, but I still might warn a few. Don’t lend your hand to raise no flag, atop no ship of fools.

Dark Star Orchestra never ceases to amaze me. They’re covering all the bases, speaking of bases. Songs, set lists, eras.

That Shakedown was HOT !!! It went perfectly with my first cup of coffee. Now, I don’t care what happens today. Happy Anniversary DSO

Killer set list. Musta been awesome right on through from beginning to end. I’m happy for everyone involved.

Ah, man. That was nice. As soon as I got turned on to Little Feat, Lowell George died. We definitely missed out with his life being cut short. I saw James Taylor in 1981? At the University of Delaware field house. Sat in the front row, center. Billy Paine was the keyboardist that night.

That’s a great story.

...summer time done come and gone, my, oh, my...

HaHa! Life is all about making memories. I couldn’t agree with you more on the winter solstice. I call the day after the solstice the first day of spring. The tricks we play on our own minds to get through the cold, dark desolation of winter.

The days between?

Nice! Brokedown Palace is my choice. I am always thinking about those killer sound bite lyrics in the Grateful Dead catalog and stringing them together as a memorial ‘speech’. I have always felt that GD lyrics are words to live by. I enjoy shows because,through dancing, I shake out the negativity that has managed to make its way into my being. I let that space be filled with these lyrics of positivity. Words to live by, advice and insight about life. (Gotta get back to where you belong) Grateful Dead shows were, and Dark Star Orchestra shows are, transformative for me. They bring me back in line, a refresher course, if you will. The ‘I need a show’ factor is real for me. A handful of times per year and life is good.

I ran into my cousin last night at our uncle’s viewing. He was at the Jrad show last Saturday night n DC. He said it was phenomenal. He described it as Led Zeppelin meets the Grateful Dead. High energy. His eyes were popping out of his head while he talked about it. He was pretty excited.

Yea, reckoning is my favorite too. You can put it on and forget about it, just listen right on through. It’s my ‘go to’ for non Dead heads. 9 of the 16 songs were played the night I was there. ‘Monkey and the engineer’ was actually from that night. My shroom mates buddy was at the show in San Fran where ‘Ripple’ was played. When they say ‘that’s Otis’ , that was , I think, Bobby’s dog running across the stage. Jerry does some of the gentlest picking on ‘to lay me down’. I gave my copy to a 62 year old guy I worked with who was into bluegrass. He taught himself ‘ripple’ on the guitar. He’s now pushing 80 and does open mic nights in the area. I love it.

I enjoy this thread. I love it when someone says ‘here, listen to this.’ Dark Star is incredible. They make you listen intently to every note.

I heard the term in my travels and it got me thinking, so, I looked it up. Touch of grey was in the top forty so, technically, they’re a one hit wonder. They’re in some good company. Hendrix with watchtower. It was an interesting list but I am drawing a blank on the other big names. You know how it is. If it’s not about the Grateful Dead, it’s like listening to Charlie Browns’ teacher.

Here’s a thought that should stimulate conversation. The Grateful Dead is a one hit wonder.

This is exactly why God invented Vanilla AND Chocolate ice cream. We all have different tastes. I believe they all bow their heads to Dylan, though.

Right!? Talk about dropping in on a friend.