Are you there Jerry, it's me DNA.

I entered the Brickworks, the pristine music showplace of the North State and surveyed the scene. Heads and dreads, twisting twirling and doing the snake dance to the sweet-home Chicago Grateful Dead clone band, Dark Star Orchestra. I headed off to get a good side view next to the monitor mix board, manned by the indubitable Bob Tolar. Bob had played the part of Phil Lesh, the bass player in the good time jamband The Kind, but tonight he was in the role of Harry Popick, Dead monitor mix master. This made me Ramrod, Tiny, John Cutler or Owsley, in any case I kept my ears open as Dark Star Orchestra played a historic set from October 1973. See, that's their deal, they've played over 400 Dead shows, song for song, in the same order they were originally birthed.

I knew that it was a show from the early seventies, because of several factors. The set list was interesting (this stopped in 1979), they played country classic The Race is On, a staple of the 1973 sets and with over 500 shows under my belt, I'm no dummy. Of course this didn't stop some from the mid-set, "let's guess what year this show is from," game.

Meanwhile, I was too busy trying to corner the Clone Garcia with some questions. "With the Democrats and the Republicans battling it out in Florida, what do you make of the Lesh, Hart war?" "I don't know what you mean?" "You know, look at New Years Eve, both camps from the Grateful Dead are playing on different sides of SF, what's a deadhead to do?" "Well, I'm not really involved in all that. I mean over the years, the band had politics like all bands do. There were deals made, deals that went bad, people that got stepped on, and relationships that got damaged. And during that time Garcia held it all together." "Yeah true, but what of the spirit of the adventure. It was one big party, and now the party is divided." "Right." "Well what of the archives, do you think that they should release it all for free on the web" "Well, they released what, 10 albums last year, and looks like they plan to do it indefinitely." "Milking the cash cow." "But it's their cow." "But Garcia said after the show, the milk is ours." "Yeah, as far as audience tapes go, but this is their privates stash." "Oh, the good milk."

I liked John Kadelecik, his guitar licks were awesome and his voice uncanny, but I'm still seeking closure. My wife says that I'm not over it yet. Maybe she's right.

I grew up seeing many Dead Clone bands on the East Coast. Bears Choice, Timberwolf, Max Creek. Even the Radiators, Phish and Edie Brickell had their time playing the covers. And yes, I enjoyed many of those pseudo-shows, but the preposition was that it was only a purgatorial reprieve till the real band came through town. Now, the clones are the only game in town. And to think that a clone band is a filler for The Other Ones, or Lesh and Friends, only makes matters worse. I suppose it's better than seeing a bunch of E-tarded kids swaying to a drum and bass solo, played on a record player, but not much. I kept thinking of Dolly, the cloned Sheep and how she aged too quickly and is now having physical problems. Would a clone band experience the same rapid growth dysfunction? With evolution curtailed and only the sweet cream of experimentation left to explore could a clone band really go anywhere new? I don't have the answers to these questions. But goddam if I'll stop asking!!

Should I stop making Sense? Contact me at DNA@shocking.com

10-29-73
Kiel Auditorium - St. Louis, MO

Set 1:
Cold Rain And Snow
Beat It On Down The Line
Brown-Eyed Women
Mexicali Blues
Don't Ease Me In
Black-Throated Wind
Tennessee Jed
The Race Is On
Row Jimmy
El Paso
Eyes Of The World
China Doll
Around And Around

Set 2
: Promised Land
Bertha
Greatest Story Ever Told
Loser
Big River
Brokedown Palace
Truckin'
The Other One
Wharf Rat
Sugar Magnolia

Encore:
Casey Jones