Dark Star Orchestra
http://www.darkstarorchestra.net
Stu Allen – lead guitar, vocals
Rob Barraco- keyboards, vocals
Rob Eaton – rhythm guitar, vocals
Dino English – drums, percussion
Rob Koritz – drums, percussion
Lisa Mackey – vocals
Kevin Rosen – bass, vocals
I am fighting the urge to go again tonight…
last night was great fun! It was like a big sing-a-long!
And Stu was smokin’ hot…
The show was Santa Barbara 2-27-77.
Rob E. started out strong with “Minglewood” (New version…gratefully without the “and it’s T right here in Solana Beach….” verse!). Stu followed with “Loser”….and now the crowd was warmed up…..followed by “El Paso”, which was wonderful to hear again.
When he started “Ramble On Rose”, the whole place was dancing…and singing along. Quickly into “Estimated”, which, of course was well received…we are in California! A little slow down into “Peggy-O”…I noticed the smoking lot got a few more visitors. The security guard outside was doing his best to keep it to cigarettes only….
At the first few notes of “Good Lovin’” the smoking section cleared out quickly…and the dancing really began. Rob is a master of the keyboards, and he did not let us down! I had a fever…and the only prescription was more cowbell from Rob K. A rousing “Mississippi Half-Step”…Stu even stumbled a tad on the lyrics, to give a real Jerry feel to it, which was charming. Even Stu was smiling about it! “Music Never Stopped” and a very hot, very nice “Scarlett Begonia’s” rounded out the first set.
The smoking lot again filled with people, and lots of interesting conversation. Again, the guard tried…but this time he just gave up and went back inside.
The drums called us all back inside to a pounding “Samson & Delilah”. Rob and Dino shook the joint on that one….and the crowd singing “tear this old building down”… I think the management got a little nervous! Followed by “St. Stephen”… always welcome, and a favorite in the sing-a-long category. You could hear the faint beginnings of “Not Fade Away” in the jam. Of course, they let the crowd do their thing at the end — I guess that was the drums/space part, a short break. At this point, I thought we were at the encore. How wrong I was! They came back on with a sweet “Terrapin”, into an emotional “Morning Dew”. Stu really showed his talent here. It is a simple song…and very hard to do right. Stu nailed it. A wonderfully happy “Sugar Magnolia” ended the set, and left everyone with a BIG smile on their face! “Johnny B. Goode” encored this very happy show.
Ok, I think I have talked myself into tonight, too…..
