Lagniappe - Mobile, AL
Posted on: February 23, 2010
DSO's return to Mobile is featured in the Lagniappe, the town's entertainment weekly, with a fantastic detailed interview with Rob Barraco.
Glide Magazine - Show Review
Posted on: February 14, 2010
Our recent performance in Milwaukee is reviewed here with a photo gallery at Glide Magazine.
Daily Iowan - Iowa City, IA
Posted on: February 08, 2010
DSO's performance in Iowa City is previewed here with a Dino English interview to advance the band's performance at the Englert Theatre tonight.
The Post - Milwaukee, WI
Posted on: February 08, 2010
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's Post offers this quality review noting that "recent Dark Star addition Jeff Mattson brings a fresh sense of lyricism to the guitar-playing of the group, channeling the late Jerry Garcia better than any other."
Telegraph - Alton, IL
Posted on: February 05, 2010
Rob Barraco is interviewed in this lengthy piece about DSO's upcoming Feb. 11 performance in St. Louis, MO.
The Post - Milwaukee, WI
Posted on: February 01, 2010
University of Milwaukee's student newspaper, The Post, features Dark Star Orchestra with a detailed interview with drummer Rob Koritz.
Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
Posted on: January 29, 2010
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota's largest newspaper, previews DSO's tour-starting show at the Varsity Theater Feb. 3.
Jambase.com Reviews DSO on Jam Cruise
Posted on: January 23, 2010
Dark Star Orchestra's nighttime pool deck set made it clear that DSO has as much a claim on the Grateful Dead legacy at this point as any of the surviving members of the Dead. With fans' hearts and an under-appreciated level of technical skill, DSO reconnects with the source vibe of Dead music, that thing that makes us listen to countless bootlegs of every era, that thing that made us fall for this strange American music in the first place, particularly when they do original setlists, as they did both performances on Jam Cruise. "The Music Never Stopped" kicked this set off and seemed a purposeful anthem for this cruise. Swaying in the inky blackness of open water, cell phones dying off and the mainland a fast fading memory, Dark Star wove music that knitted us together and made one glad to be part of this adventure – not unlike when Garcia was still leading the Dead and made many of us feel we'd run away to some fantastical circus. Any doubts about new lead guitarist-singer Jeff Mattson (i.e. DSO's new "Jerry") were erased by a breathtaking "Eyes of the World" that rivaled the arguably definitive version on the So Many Roads box set. Overflowing with beauty and common man's spirituality, "Eyes" made one glad to be nowhere else at that moment, and Mattson continually proved a real prize in his new role, bringing all his years in The Zen Tricksters to bear and then upping the ante a bit more. Though heresy to many John Kadlecik purists, I personally dug Mattson more in DSO and suspect he's only gonna prove a better and better fit as time goes by.
Niner Online - Charlotte, NC
Posted on: January 22, 2010
University of NC Charlotte's student newspaper, Niner Online previews the band's Neighborhood Theater shows on Feb. 19.
Buffalo News - Buffalo, NY
Posted on: December 04, 2009
Buffalo News music writer, Jeff Miers, offers this feature to preview the sold out Town Ballroom show and notes that DSO is "widely held to be the pre-eminent one in the world of Dead tribute acts."