Dark Star Orchestra – Veteran’s Park Amphitheatre – Springfield, OH – 7/8/13

It was a nice, typical summer weekday with rain in the forecast,  but that didn’t stop my plans to attend the annual free Dark Star Orchestra concert at Veterans Park Amphitheatre in Springfield, Oh.   I had made the trip north the night before to bring a couple friends from the Wheeling, WV area to catch the show, and on the way, we took a detour to car pool with a few other people.  During the drive,  the heavens were opening up with evening showers that you would usually expect to get this time of year, but no rain, snow, sleet, or hail could stop us from attending .   Luckily, this time of year, snow is out of the question, but the rain had a few people nervous.  Knowing it was listed as a “rain or shine” event, our group had the attitude that a little rain would never dampen our spirits of having a great time.

   We arrived just as soon as the music began, and off in the distance you could hear the opening song Mississippi Half Step, getting louder as we walked toward the amphitheater, where we found throngs of smiling people dancing  and hooping, a normal yet welcoming site  seen at most any DSO show.   Everywhere you looked people were getting down and having a good time.  Throughout the show, there was a light rain that would at times slow up, but the weather didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits.  The energy of the crowd was magical and appreciative of the annual free show that Dark Star Orchestra puts on in this small Ohio town.  It was our time to reconnect back to May 11th 1979 where the Grateful Dead performed at Billerica Forum Billerica MA.    Jim Allard (Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue, Coral Creek Band, American Beauty, One Kind Favor, Shakedown Street) replaced outgoing bassist and founding member of DSO Kevin Rosen at this show and throughout DSO’s summer tour, and did a solid job filling the mighty shoes of Rosen.