Dark Star Orchestra Revive the Grateful Dead’s 1972 Winterland NYE Setlist at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester
On Dec. 31, Dark Star Orchestra arrived at The Capitol Theatre for the first of three concerts scheduled to take place at the Port Chester, N.Y. venue. Wednesday’s concert trailed previous stops on their holiday run, including the State Theatre in Portland, Maine (Dec. 29) and Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia (Dec. 30), which wheeled in the return of Rob Eaten, who had previously taken time away from the stage because of health concerns. During the band’s official NYE performance, they revived the Grateful Dead’s two-set concert, which occurred on Dec. 21, 1972, at the Winterland in San Francisco.
Dark Star Orchestra commenced their holiday concert by providing the Dead’s take on Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around,” seeding the sentiment that “[the] joint was jumpin’.” Following the footsteps of their jam predecessors, the cover band pulled in fan favorite “Deal,” before nodding to Weir’s prior solo release via “Mexicali Blues.” “Brown Eyed Women” came next, and with the band saluting the tumble-down shack in Bigfoot County before a complete treatment of the Phil Lesh-penned “Box of Rain.” They packed in “Don’t Ease Me In,” “Beat It Down the Line,” and “Candyman,” before arriving on “El Paso.”
The evening’s second cowboy tune was trailed by a trio of classics that included “Tennessee Jed,” “Playing in the Band,” and “Casey Jones.” The latter half of the concert began with “Promised Land,” before breaking into a segment of water-referencing tunes: “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo” and Johnny Cash’s “Big River.” Like the original band’s nods to members’ ‘72 solo efforts, Dark Star carved a path that allowed acknowledgment of Garcia’s musical endeavors at the time on “Sugaree.”
Upon the group’s completion of “Truckin’,” they wove in the second set’s instrumental segment, “Drums.” The segue went on to include “The Other One” and “Morning Dew.” After they turned in “Sing Me Back Home,” the group turned up the tempo on the set-ending “Johnny B. Goode.” For Dark Star Orchestra’s New Year’s Eve encore, they served up “Uncle John’s Band” and a finishing “One More Saturday Night.”
Tonight, Friday, Jan. 2, and tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 3, Dark Star Orchestra play the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Tickets remain on sale.
Dark Star Orchestra
The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.
Dec. 31, 2025
Set I: 1: Around And Around, Deal, Mexicali Blues, Brown Eyed Women, Box Of Rain, Jack Straw, Don’t Ease Me In, Beat It On Down The Line, Candyman, El Paso, Tennessee Jed, Playing In The Band, Casey Jones
Set II: The Promised Land, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo, Big River, Sugaree, Truckin’ > Drums > The Other One > Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia, Sing Me Back Home, Johnny B. Goode
Encore: Uncle John’s Band, One More Saturday Night
Setlist via dsoforums.net.
