Lexicon: Themes and Modular Jams

Here is a key to some of the terminology we will be using in our exploration of Dark Star. There are several themes that reappear in various versions, including both modular jams and musical themes that reappear in several Dark Stars.

                              THEMES

Some of these themes were named by Light Into Ashes of the Grateful Dead Guide; these will be marked "LIA." Others were named by ourselves, or are of unknown origin.



Introduction Theme
This appears at the beginning of most Dark Stars, particularly when they do not emerge from another song or ongoing jam.

1970-02-13

Main Theme
This appears near the beginning of Dark Star in many early versions, but eventually it comes to introduce the verse.

1971-10-31 4:22

216. 1994-03-30

14832 Atlanta 10:29

Verse melody at 2:52.
Main theme at 4:18.
First verse at 4:48.
Goes into Drums.


The final Dark Star follows a Playing in the Band that gets rather freaky at the end. Garcia kicks it off, and right away it is a bit more laid-back than the last one—the funky and frenetic approach seems to have been a one-off. Nevertheless, it bounces along nicely, moving at a good clip.


What the hell is Garcia doing starting at 2:02? He’s got some really freaky stuff happening, like he’s tuning a radio; then there’s a rather Hawaiian rendering of the verse melody at 2:52. The playing here is completely unlike anything we’ve heard in a previous Dark Star! When they hit the main theme, Weir almost takes the lead for a moment. There’s a sense of possibility here, and the crowd seems to recognize this with a cheer when they hit the verse.


Jerry follows the verse with some more conventional Dark Star leads, which are welcome here…now we’ve got four minutes for this to go somewhere. As usual, it will have to go out without falling apart entirely, as the latter is a constant danger when Drums are in the offing. By around 7 minutes in, the music has quietened considerably. There’s a little segment where Jerry and Vince are the focus, and Weir drops out for a little while.


We get hints of Sputnik, and at 7:41 Garcia sounds like he wants to start playing Comes a Time! He works a little melodic bit that sounds like the intro to the former, and Vince follows him. The drummers are very restrained throughout this segment; their time is coming, but they allow this delicate jam to unfold. Garcia keeps his Comes a Time lick going, with various permutations, but the band doesn’t quite coalesce around it—rather, they seem content to let it spill away and to cede the stage.


It's very difficult to evaluate this one—even though the band almost certainly didn’t know this would be the last time, it has sentimental force nevertheless. There’s not a whole lot to it, really; on the other hand, and fittingly enough, it has elements that are absolutely unique. What an amazing thing Dark Star is, that it could last so long and go so many places. We are fortunate to have these recordings, and in the end the finale could have been a lot worse. Even though their commitment to Dark Star waned in the last few years, they were still trying new things to the last.


What was said:

215. 1994-03-16

139174 IL 11:15

Main theme at :06 and 4:20.
First verse at 4:31.
Goes into Drums.


This time there is no spacey jamming preceding Dark Star—Long Way to Go Home ends with a vocal coda (which the audience seems to love!) and Garcia, again playing the Lightning Bolt with the acoustic patch, immediately plays the introductory riff. We’ve now arrived at that portion of the Dead’s career many would prefer to pass over in silence, but Jerry sounds really good here, breaking off crisp licks as the band plays a tight and bouncy take on the two-chord pattern.


In fact, this might be the funkiest take on the introductory jam we’ve yet heard, and Garcia’s staccato licks are almost reminiscent, at times, of Shakedown Street. They’ve found a whole new feel here, and it’s a delight to hear, as the protean qualities of Dark Star are still in evidence after 26 years. They know they’ve caught something, and they lean into it—it’s not spacey or mysterious, but it is the sound of the Grateful Dead finding a groove. They’re also going pretty fast, and this is particularly evident when Jerry sings the verse, for which they do not slow the tempo, as they sometimes did in the past when it got brisk in the intro jam.


They continue as they started after the singing subsides, and now Garcia’s line gets more melodic and majestic, even as the band cranks away. They get the idea, though, and soon the music starts to stretch and breathe. The tempo is still quick, but the gestalt changes to something more expansive, if still rather tightly structured. When Lesh climbs at 8:00 things start really popping, as guitar and bass embark on their familiar winding dance.


Welnick is rather timid tonight, almost sounding like TC at times as he swirls around without substantially affecting the direction of things. Weir stays within the funk concept for the most part, which works just fine. Lesh and Garcia have given us a moment, though, and now it’s going to wind down in the direction of Drums, which take an increasingly tribal approach to the funk template that’s been set.


This is surprisingly good, if a bit limited. They explore a single tempo and beat, but they do it really well, and it is engaging throughout. It is perhaps a conservative decision to maintain the tempo throughout the verse--there will be no reset, no need to find a new approach--but it works well enough. This is way better than I expected (or feared).


What was said:

214. 1993-09-22

13801 MSG 8:15

Main theme at 2:08.
First verse at 2:25.
Goes into Drums.


With David Murray sitting in, the band uncorks a 16-minute Estimated Prophet that gets suitably freaky on the home stretch; perhaps because they’re feeling their oats now, they break out Dark Star next. We know, however, that Dark Star doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an improvisational adventure on the horizon, anymore. We just have to see what we get.


Lesh seems to be the one pushing for Dark Star, and after some preliminaries which could as easily be tracked as the last bits of Estimated Prophet, he gets the result he’s looking for. Murray stays out of it entirely, letting them get it together. They bring it to the verse rather quickly, which might not be a bad thing since we’ve only got 8 minutes and we’re unlikely to hear the second verse.


The jamming is pretty normal at first. At about 4:05 Murray creeps in, and he sounds good. Garcia is deferential; he works his way back in, but they seem a little tentative still. Since we’ve just heard them both unleashed on Estimated, this ought to work, but time is running out.


At 6:55 the playing gets more abstract, and it seems like we’re finally getting somewhere, but they’re about to hand it off to the drummers. It’s getting better, but they’re letting the center unravel, and we know that it’s ending.


And so it does. This is nice as a little tag-on to the massive Estimated Prophet, but isn’t up to a whole lot in its own right.


What was said:

213. 1993-09-13

12096 Philadelphia 5:32


Main theme at :06 and 2:58.
First verse at 3:12.
Goes into Terrapin Station.


Playing in the Band is not very long, but it really starts to get out there, and they decide to take it into Dark Star. Garcia is employing the acoustic patch (now playing Lighning Bolt), which is a strange choice here, and he continues this into Dark Star, which begins with the intro lick but without a pause. Garcia plays the theme a few times to start it off, and then a fairly typical introductory jam ensues in which Jerry lays out for a while.


Phil plays with the verse melody a little here, and there are gestures in the direction of E monor. Jerry comes back at 1:15, still playing the acoustic patch. The jam picks up energy here; it’s a very full sound, with everyone going at it hammer and tongs. Although the faux-acoustic isn’t my favorite sound, Garcia plays some beautiful stuff here.


It’s a shame the band isn’t letting Dark Star off the leash these days, because they sound really good on a lot of these last versions. One gets the sense that if anything did happen, it would be something good! We get the first verse after three minutes, though, and then there’s another minute before they pull up into Terrapin Station. I’d like to say they make the last minute count, but it’s not really enough time to sink their teeth into anything, although it’s certainly not bad.


It seems like Dark Star is on its last legs, and in fact it’s not entirely clear why they keep playing it. It’s nice to hear Jerry play these familiar licks, but there’s nothing much happening.


What was said:

212. 1993-06-23

108984 Indiana 7:13 (6:30)

Main theme at :52 and 2:18.
First verse at 2:26.
Goes into The Wheel.


This is a show mostly known for a titanic Terrapin Station that goes into a wild jam. Between that and a 15-minute Space, there has already been a wealth of improvised music in the this second set by the time we get to Dark Star, and much of it is very good, to boot. As Space reaches its conclusion, Garcia has some kind of bowed sound going, which is almost certainly the result of an electronic gate rather than a Jimmy Page maneuver. Lesh moves it into Dark Star, which starts with the theme rather than the intro lick.


The band sounds focused from the outset here, and the intro jam is tighter and more punchy than the previous ones have been. Garcia dips into the theme a few times and they roll to the verse—one almost gets the impression in these latter-day versions that Jerry is thinking “Oh, we’re playing Dark Star now? That means we’re not jamming anymore!” At least this one doesn’t go into Drums, so it seems likely he’ll be on board for the duration.


Vince hangs on the theme longer than usual after the verse—tight and punchy seems to be the approach here as well. Garcia gets into some downward arpeggios that are almost reminiscent of Fire on the Mountain, which I thought of before the verse as well. Listen from about 4:45, as Jerry uncorks some lightning-fast runs—they may not be stretching this out anymore, but his playing here sounds fresh and engaged, as well as being more nimble than usual.

By about 6:30 Jerry starts playing The Wheel, and although it’s still tracked as Dark Star it doesn’t take long for the band to fall in line. It’s kind of surprising this pairing didn’t happen more times, as the transition is smooth and effortless.


It’s hard to fault the band for being perfunctory in such a jam-filled set, but it’s clear that Dark Star isn’t where the main action is anymore. This is quite good, though; there’s some excellent playing, although Garcia is clearly the main attraction this time.


What was said: