On Dec. 8 at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, the lights went down as the Grateful Dead took the stage. Or, at least, they sounded like the Dead. After frontman Jerry Garcia's 1995 death, many bands have tried to recreate the carefree bluegrass psychedelia that Grateful Dead fans know and love, but none has been as successful as the Dark Star Orchestra. Considering the fact that bands such as Phish and the String Cheese Incident have taken psychedelic music to a new level, it is impressive that the Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) continues to cover only Grateful Dead songs, mimicking entire shows.

The relevance of such a group may seem moot with the surviving members of the Dead touring as The Other Ones and Phil Lesh and Friends. However, the DSO wows their audiences with nearly perfect imitations of Dead shows, while Lesh and The Other Ones make new playlists. "Between the seven of us in the band, we've probably seen a couple thousand shows," said DSO drummer Rob Koritz.

Koritz and fellow DSO drummer Dino English play the parts of Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Although there are rumors that DSO lead guitarist John Kadlecik imitates Jerry Garcia so painstakingly that he's copied Garcia's mistakes, Koritz contends that the DSO preserves some originality. "[The Grateful Dead] give us a vocabulary to work with. There are certain things that I do in the band that Mickey would never have done. There's plenty of room for self-expression; we play it style for style, tone for tone, but not note for note." The DSO has a good relationship with the original members of the Dead, and former Dead members occasionally play as guest members of the DSO. Even the Dead spouses are fans. "Mountain Girl [Garcia's widow] is one of our true champions," Koritz said.

The Dec. 8 show instantly recreated the Greek Theater in Berkeley, Calif. on June 15, 1985, by blasting off with a raucous "Touch of Grey." By the time the DSO reached the "we will get by" line, the audience was hooked by the flawless reproduction. Afterwards, the band launched into "New Minglewood Blues," an old standard that produces simple but utter satisfaction for the listener. "Friend of the Devil" followed, a favorite of mine dating back to my days at camp when my counselors traded Dead tapes and sang along loudly.

Next came the underappreciated "Cassidy," which soared into "Dupree's Diamond Blues," a strange, loping tune that sounds older than rock 'n' roll itself. The first set closed with a tremendous uplifting swing when "Me and My Uncle" took the audience on an American roadtrip, then melded into "Big River." The jam finally flowed into "Might As Well," where the band turned their amps "all the way to 11" and blew everybody into a sonic haze that lasted through the set break.

Second sets of most concerts are often better than the first, and this show did not disappoint. The DSO started off with "China Cat Sunflower" which, as any Dead fan would know, melted into "I Know You Rider" with the audience singing along. Just as in the 1985 show, the DSO followed that set opener with "Lost Sailor" and "Saint of Circumstance," two songs from the Dead's lesser-known 1980 album "Go To Heaven."

The show rebounded with an epic "Terrapin Station" that produced a drum duet (with both drummers in some religious, mind-melding symbiosis playing like one man with four arms) that eventually slowed down to a "Space" jam. "Space" was the lowest point of the show; it seemed contrived and didn't have the spirit or timing that the original Dead would put into it. Yet, the DSO revived in style with "The Wheel" jamming into "Gimme Some Lovin'" and then seguing to "Throwing Stones," with "Not Fade Away" bringing it back home. The feeling of joy after "Fade" kept the audience singing the lyrics until DSO came back onstage for their encore: "She Belongs to Me," a Dylan cover, and a thumping "U.S. Blues."

Surely, the Grateful Dead will never fade away as long as the DSO continue to put excruciating effort into keeping their music alive in minute detail.