Mention Ithaca to any Grateful Dead fan and you’ll get an immediate response: Barton Hall, May 8th, 1977. Considered by most fans to be the definitive recording of the San Francisco jam band’s live work, the concert bred a special association between the Dead’s music and Ithaca. While there may be no Dead show that has topped it, one group has come as close as any to reaching Barton’s untouchable perfection. That band is Dark Star Orchestra, a Dead tribute band who in 2007 came to Barton to play a sold-out song for song redo of the legendary concert. DSO returned to Ithaca to rock Deadheads Thursday night at the State Theater.

Waking the dead

For Deadheads, seeing DSO is the closest experience a fan can have to seeing the Dead themselves. The group is critically acclaimed for their attention to detail, from song for song performances of legendary concerts like the Barton show to DSO’s pitch perfect improvisations onstage. Keeping with the group’s tradition of working with members of the Dead’s lineup, DSO was joined by The Donna Jean Godchaux Band, featuring vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux who played with the band throughout the 1970s. Thursday’s audience got a double hit of the Grateful Dead, seeing one of the best live acts around play the group’s music in one of their most hallowed locations.