Born-again Starhead

April 19, 5:11 AMSonoma County ExaminerLaura McHale Holland

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April 17, 8 p.m. The program for the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts provided a warning in tiny print. "Please note," it said. "Patrons are likely to stand and/or dance at their seats during this performance." I settled into a comfy seat next to Jim and thought, "Well, that's OK with me. Let them have their fun."

Little did I know that in less than half an hour I'd be bouncing with abandon to the Dark Star Orchestra--along with just about everyone else in the auditorium.

What a surprise. It was a tribute band, a bunch of imitators, knockoffs. So I thought. Plus, I'd been to the real thing at the Shoreline a number of years ago. I'd enjoyed the show, sure, but I didn't join in the multigenerational shenanigans nearby (grandmother, mother and daughter all dressed in tie dye and twirling in the aisle).

Here's the concept. The band re-creates entire Grateful Dead shows from decades ago, song for song, to bring to life a concert experience many consider to have been magical. But this is no rehash. Dark Star's improvisation, which is integral to the shows, is all their own. And, I believe, that's what distinguishes them as original creative artists.

I don't know which show they replicated, but since there was only one drummer, it's likely it was one from the early 1970s, when Mickey Hart took a hiatus, leaving the band with one percussionist instead of their usual two.

I never made it to a Grateful Dead concert in the 1970s, so I don't know how Friday night's performance stacks up against the original. But I can say they owned the room and everyone in it. People who'd been dancing way back when and those who weren't anywhere near to being born yet were swaying to the same beat--for hours. So, next time Dark Star Orchestra comes to town, dig out that tie dye and be prepared for a workout. You won't be able to sit still, not even to take a decent picture.