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I describe Dark Star Orchestra to the unknowing as such, “ if you were blind, you would think that you’re at a Grateful Dead concert”.

What a wonderful sharing about a true brother. Thank you for this.

I said goodbye to someone this week who meant a whole lot to me. He was a father, husband, uncle, grandfather, an animal lover and to me he was a mentor, a father figure, a brother, a deadhead that went back to the 70’s but mostly Frank was my close friend. I met Frank in 2007 as I entered the fire department and he was my original Captain of the house. On our lockers we all have stickers and stupid stuff but on the front of his locker was a JGB sticker. I said wow my captain is a deadhead with such delight. In 2010 I organized a bunch of us including Captain Frank to go see DSO. He already seen them and so had I. Some of the guys not into the dead the least bit, some knew a few songs but me Frank and 2 other guys were there for the music. Everyone had a blast. Some of you out there know me and have met Frank a few times. We went to many many DsO shows throughout the years together. He alway wanted to make JITS but never found the way to get there after retiring at 65 and having health issues, but he still made DSO shows in NJ and NY as best he could. He was a true warrior. he played the saxophone in a local band called American beauty , I used to go to the jam sessions and sit in the tiny room and listen to them rock out for the 3 hours they had the space rented. He played in the Capitol Theatre in the 70s with one of his bands and was so proud of that. He used to say to me some nights, listen man some people complain about the dead being dead after Jerry. When I close my eyes I listen to DSO it’s there and it’s as close as anyone will ever get man. This band is the real deal. I loved hearing him reminisce about his old days. He was a treasure and special. One night we went to DSO with friends of his. They drove. One woman got sick and had to leave. Her husband wanted to drive the woman home at set break. So I said Frank im gonna stay I’ll get home you can get a ride with them. He said no way brother im staying with you. This is a 74 year old man, 35 year FDNY veteran, hobbled and recovering from multiple illness…..stood right by with me. Love you bro Captain Frank was a sweet loving gentlemen from an era of love. He showed it at work to all of us everyday at the firehouse. He showed it at shows when he spoke to people and he showed it when he played his beloved sax. Frank passed away on Jerry birthday. I think that’s fitting. I listen to Sirius XM channel 23 pretty much everyday I’m in the car. The days between show had started that morning and we usually talk. weirdly i hadn’t heard from him I said let me call him and see how he’s doing (he had multiple health things going on). An hour later I got the news. The next week I found some solace in mostly JGB band on channel 23 in the car. Im gonna miss him more than words can tell. He did give me a huge amount to live off of. At the firehouse, at shows, and just being a good human being. i Love you brother, im gonna miss you tremendously. Your hugs, smile, telling me you loved DSO after the show. I hope you’re playing the sax up there talking to Jerry looking down on all of us. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this , Frank was one of us.

If you're not camping at Jakes, AC Hotel is only thirteen minutes from Harrison, with some new artwork up (mostly Jerry), some VHS bootlegs, plenty of couches 8-1-94 1st gen Super VHS *DD* DStone knows what I'm talking about (I wrangled him in to receiving a care package) PM me for the address

Was. Believe It Or Not , only a 5 hr drive from cincy and OMSN LAKE HURON is massive Had to go Shine

I do many Hyryder shows myself…Bluebird always a good one.

Hyryder! I moved to Bloomington and catch as many Hyryder shows as possible. iykyk

YUM❤️

Great night last night. Been seeing Northwest DSO tours for the last 20 years or so and just gotta say Forest Grove Grand Lodge was perhaps the best place I've seen them. It helps that the band is playing out of their minds right now. Just absolutely on fire. I was a little worried that the smoke would affect the band's voices but y'all sounded incredible. The crowd was great- ready to rock with minimal chompers and then after the show it was great to just slide back to an outdoor bar, a spontaneous sing a long and then a nice comfy hotel room. Lots of highlights from the show- double dylan in the first set and then an incendiary 2nd that just smoked with St. Stephen/DarkStar and closing with Watchtower China/Rider... As a Portland resident I am embarrassed to have the Roseland be the main option for an indoor show. Just a crappy black box that they overstuff thats packed to the gills. Two new venues are popping up in 2027 that can hold a few thousand if y'all need an indoor venue but I am loving the summer outdoor shows at Cuthbert and now Forest Grove. Long may you run!

You’re in Sarnia?!?

Wow! A Jack Straw kickoff, a killer Dylan 1-2-punch, and Lazy/Supp is harbinger of a good time. 2nd set looks like the goods to boot!

(i wasnt there but it looks great like a last show closeout everything must go sale.) Jack, Big RR Blues, Hell, Visions, Maggies, We Can Run, Lazy Lightning/Supp, Walkin the Dog, Dire Wolf, Women Smarter, Alabama. Dancin/Foolish/Stephen/Dark Star/Drums/Imagine/CFMWH/Watchtower/China Cat/Rider. Love One Youre With, Woodstock.

Daniel Lanois at The Imperial Theater here in Sarnia, Ontario. He was in really good spirits and delivered a 2 hour performance with his two band mates: Jermaine on drums and vocals and Jim Wilson on bass and vocals. Tonight opened with Lotta Love to Give ~15 minutes of his ethereal space jam played on a DJ style box with control knobs and theramin like feedback, subtle but rocking, then we got Brother LA, Fire, Falling At Your Feet, I love you, Shine, the maker , JJ Leaves LA (pedal steel), Under a Stormy Sky, Silver Riding Silverado, Rubble Line, Moondog, Still Water, Messenger, Ring The Alarm, Opera, Sonho(Pedal song to close) Non stop 7:30-930,. Probably won't get to see him for awhile now.

Thanks for the welcome, John and Bill! And yes, you will see me out there if you are 2 or 3 back from the rail in front of Rob Eaton. It certainly takes every band member to create this awesome sound of the GD, but Rob, IMO, is the engine that runs the machine of DSO. God Bless ALL OF THEM!!! My last 2 shows were at the Tree House Brewing Company, June 15th and 16th and both were magical nights but my greatest moment of those shows was during the second show where the transition from Scarlet to Fire was absolutely PHENOMENAL!!!!!! OMG!!! I would pay $1000 to witness that shit again!!!! Every single show they fricking blow me away multiple times!!!! GOD BLESS THEM! ~ Hope everyone has had a great 'Days Between' and Jerry'd-it-UP as best you can! Tomorrow is a sad day but we still have his music, memories, and his loving soul to help us thru. (and DSO!) 🥰 God bless you, Jerry. Mark

DSO at the Greek, wish I could have been there. So amazed that DSO continues this long, strange, wonderful trip. Been on their bus since 2000, hoping to catch more shows this Fall.

Just to get it on the record… Took the flying aluminum tube to Oakland to see my first DSO in California. The weekend was spectacular…great music, people, weather Two quite different shows but equally enjoyable in their own unique way. 7/31 tribute to Bobby with JGB opening (kinda weird since 8/1 is well 8/1 but I am sure scheduling conflicts in play) Melvin was ridiculously good… Many guests some of which I saw 2 weeks ago in Indianapolis seeing Barraco and Skeleton Crewe were a part of DSO sets. I still see in my mind 6 percussionists banging on Rob/Dino drum kits 8/1 Jerry birthday…suffice to say the DarkStar->El Paso->Eyes->Dew->Sugar Mag is why I’ve seen this band for 27 years. DSO still surprises me just how good they are. Of course saw many friends even though my first time dancing to DSO in the golden state. Not sure where next adventure will be but isn’t that the point.

I had what I'd go as far as to call a profound experience Friday night, on account of music / location / psychedelic enhancement. (I guess that trifecta reads like, well, duh!.") I'm going to write it up while still fresh, and to help some life to this place I'll definitely post it. 😬 😜 Teaser alert: I saw Easy Wind, for my show at Belly Up in Solana Beach. (Which is pathetic; I've lived here in North County SD for over 6 months and Solana Beach is one town down.) I was totally solo, Ubering in case I wanted to imbibe with impunity. I didn't spend a cent in the venue, because the wildcard was the shrooms. I've partaken a fair amount over the past few decades various psilocybin forms, including the premium harvested stuff. I've also done small to medium LSD doses a couple times since the 90s. So how could carefully portioning off a third of the 4g laboratory mushrooms my wife bought home from a source in NYC go wrong? I'm eating about 1 1/3 grams. By showtime and hour later I was (a) dumfounded at the potency of these things, (b) wondering and/or fearing how much higher I was going to get, and (c) realizing that if when the music started this band wasn't bringing it I for me I might be in trouble! It's about 8 miles home if I walked on, or closely when not possible, the coast line. What a great way to experience this unexpectedly insane high if necessary! This is the kinda shit now hitting me. Looking at my phone to text my wife about these Frankenshrooms was a chore as it swirled and pulsated. While I'm a lightweight in these circles, I know what a full scale phchedelic high is, this stuff was turbo charged. I don't think I've been this high since the late 80s. So all that said, maybe folks can chime in with Easy Wind experiences. My story soon...

A jam-packed set in Sactown!

Welcome Mark. See you out there. Enjoy. Praise DSO.

Bro, there's no "leagues". Just the love, passion, and connection with the music. Now having scolded you, welcome! 😁 And your passion seems palpable. If you want GD in its purest mold, you've come to the right place...

.......that I'm happy that I've found a place that LOVES DSO as much as I do!!!!! Pleased to meet you! Mark here. First post, yada yada. I'll give y'all the crib notes. I got on the GD bus in 2006 and have never looked back! Have many reasons why it took me so long but that's for another day. In retrospect, quite bummed about that fact but the only thing that matters is that I am NOW ON BOARD!!!! (And have been religiously for the past 20 years) Had an awesome friend who continuously sent me live Dead shows (on my request) over a long period of time. Got about 150 shows, mostly SB or high quality audience. Anywho, I got on the DSO bus LATE as well..... 10-15-2023, The Signal, Chattanooga, and was so blown away that I've seen the boys (and girl) 15 more times over the past 2 1/2 years. 90% of which I had to board a plane to get to them. To me, they are the greatest band on the planet and I've seen shitloads of bands all over the world. Trust me, I KNOW that I am NOWHERE near the league that most of you are in, seeing the Dead and DSO 100's and even 1000's of times, but know this: I LOVE THIS BAND, almost more than anything in this world and I will continue to do everything in my power to see them as many times as I can until the day I die. To me, they are a gift from God. Mark We'll be back in just a little bit.........................

Original Setlist China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Beat It on Down the Line, Friend of the Devil, Easy Wind, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, St. Stephen > Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, China Doll > Good Lovin' E: Woodstock

Sorry I’ve been ghosting - my employer decided to block my access to the forums. Oh well….

3/29/91 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY Feel Like A Stranger, Sugaree, Walkin' Blues, Dire Wolf, Me & My Uncle-> Mexicali Blues, Althea, When I Paint My Masterpiece Iko Iko, Saint Of Circumstance, New Speedway Boogie-> Truckin'-> Drums-> Jam-> The Other One-> Wharf Rat-> Throwing Stones-> Touch Of Gray E: Brokedown Palace Filler: Box of Rain (with Lisa) 6:40 start with 10:30 curfew. Spot-on re-creation of this early Vince-only show I attended in Spring ‘91. I don’t think Jerry and Vince jammed on Within You Without You during space at the original show, but Jeff and Barraco did. I won’t be at the Greek this year so hopefully some other West Coaster will ring in.

Looks like a festvial situation. Any intel on how many sets of DSO we will get? Only one other act on Sunday. Doors 3 / Show 4. Hmm. Praise DSO.