It's too bad the passion of Grateful Dead fans could never be harnessed.
Were it possible, we could ditch alternative energies and just link Deadheads to power grids while an '82 cassette recording of Jerry Garcia soloing at Syracuse's Carrier Dome screams in the background.
Before we page President Obama, we can see a more tangible example of Dead devotion when Dark Star Orchestra plays the Rialto Theatre on Monday.
Formed in Chicago in 1997, Dark Star tours the country replicating specific Dead performances from the '60s through the '90s — albeit not note for note.
"That would be impossible," said drummer Rob Koritz, 40. "The bottom line with the Grateful Dead music is it was all in the moment — it was all improvisational."
At 70 percent of its concerts, Dark Star Orchestra plays the same songs in the same order that the Dead may have played them on, say, May 8, 1977, in Ithaca, N.Y., while jamming in the spirit of the group. Other times, Koritz said, DSO creates its own list of Dead songs to keep things fresh.
People are also reading…
Each performance on the tour has an element of surprise, because the band doesn't usually tell the audience which Dead set it's playing until the end.
Dark Star Orchestra has played with various members of the original Dead over the years, and for the most part they approve of the band's homage.
When Koritz hits town with Dark Star Orchestra, it will bring back memories of his short time as a Wildcat. The St. Louis native studied music at the University of Arizona in the late '80s before deciding the program wasn't for him.
Koritz went on to get his degree in jazz studies in Missouri, but he still has fond memories of local spots such as Tanque Verde Falls and Mount Lemmon.
He had a few minutes to talk while driving around St. Louis in a rainstorm.
How many fans at a given show might know the Dead's performance you are replicating before you announce it?
"Back in the day, before the Internet, you'd see people with a DeadBase, which is a catalog, to figure out what the show is. Nowadays, they just start punching the first two songs into their BlackBerry and it'll spit out what show we're playing."
What do you make of people who say that if you guys do a Grateful Dead show from the mid-'90s, it's probably better than the original version?
"It's a pretty well-known fact that in the '90s, it was hit or miss. You might get a good show, or it might just be junk. I like to think that when we go onstage, we never put junk out there."
The Grateful Dead had a history of people taping their shows and trading them online. Is it weird that people are doing the same with your shows?
"It's definitely weird. I understand it in one respect: Tapers just love to tape. . . . I don't quite grab why someone would want to come on a tour and tape the whole tour and have it in their archives. . . . But don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining."
If Dark Star keeps going, you could potentially play more shows than the actual Dead. Thoughts?
"Yeah, it's a scary thought. It could happen. We have no intentions of stopping."
• What: Dark Star Orchestra in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Monday.
• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• Cost: $24 in advance and $26 the day of the show.
• More information: darkstarorchestra.net and rialtotheatre.com
