Dark Star Orchestra Re-Creates Cornell ’77 Grateful Dead Show At Wanee

Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra played two sets on the Peach Stage on the Thursday of last weekend’s Wanee Festival in Live Oak, Florida. DSO didn’t pick just any old Grateful Dead concert to re-create as they instead went with one of the most famous of all-time: May 8, 1977 at Barton Hall on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The band utilized the same exact setlist the Dead did at Barton Hall with the addition of a “filler.” Dark Star’s Cornell ’77 filler at Wanee consisted of a pair of oddball covers. Up first was Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” followed by Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35.” Cornell ’77 has been in the news quite a lot of late with the 40th anniversary of the show quickly approaching and an official recording finally set for release one week from today.

Dark Star Orchestra first used the Cornell ’77 setlist in 1999 at a private party held at their home venue of Martyr’s in Chicago. The band had moved up to Park West in Chicago when they re-created Cornell ’77 for a 2004 Rex Foundation benefit. It would be just a year later they would replicate the feat at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory and then they celebrated the 30th anniversary by using the Barton Hall setlist at the State Theatre of Ithaca on May 8, 2007. All told, Dark Star Orchestra has used the Cornell ’77 setlist seven times as it was also trotted out for a San Diego show in 2011 and in Jamaica back in 2015.

Last night Dark Star Orchestra kicked off a two-night stand at the Joy Theater in New Orleans, the group’s first trip to the Crescent City since 2010. DSO honored the 40th anniversary of another classic 1977 Grateful Dead show by re-creating April 27, 1977 (Capitol Theatre Passaic) on Thursday night in NOLA.

Full Show Audio (Taped by Scott Medeiros)

Video (Captured by Suwannee HD Streams)

[Set One (Except For Row Jimmy)]

[Set Two]

Setlist

Set One: New Minglewood Blues, Loser, El Paso, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Deal, Lazy Lightnin’ > Supplication, Brown Eyed Women, Mama Tried, Row Jimmy, Dancing In The Street

Set Two: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet, Saint Stephen > Not Fade Away > Saint Stephen > Morning Dew

Encore: One More Saturday Night

Filler: White Rabbit, Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35