Dark Star Orchestra

As its name suggests, the Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead tribute band named after the Dead's famous song "Dark Star." It was organized by engineer/producer Bob Matthews, a longtime associate of the Dead who worked on albums by the band from the late '60s to the early '80s. The idea behind the Dark Star Orchestra is that, at each of its concerts, the band re-creates a specific Grateful Dead concert, playing the same songs in the same arrangements on similar equipment. For example, on May 8, 2004, at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, the Orchestra replicated the show the Dead had played on May 5, 1977, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, CT. Matthews arranged for the performance to be recorded and filmed, resulting in the double-DVD set Live at the Fillmore, released on Matthews' own ArSeaEm Recording label (R.C.M. being his initials). ~ William Ruhlmann