Folky, Jazzy Fun in the Sun
By Art Howard

Who, Where & When: Blueground Undergrass, Atlanta’s own psychedelia-influenced,banjo-pickin’, bluegrass-preachin’ space cowboys; Dark Star Orchestra, a Chicago-based group that reproduces entire Grateful Dead concerts in detail, right down to the equipment used; David Gans, host of syndicated radio show The Grateful Dead Hour, now seeking to make his mark as an acoustic singer-songwriter. Saturday, August 25^th at Masquerade Music Park, 695 North Avenue, Atlanta. Show starts at 4:20 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 advance / $20 day of show. Call Ticketmaster, (404) 249-6400.

What They Sing: There are no hits here to speak of (this is “underground," dude), just the favorites of the loyal fans. Blueground Undergrass’ showpiece is a spacey, jazzy reworking of the bluegrass classic “Oh, Death,” recently sung by Dr. Ralph Stanley in the film “Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?” Dark Star Orchestra will use whatever Dead songs they cover as a springboard to create their own fascinating improvised tapestry; David Gans’ best tunes are his own “An American Family,” the Jim Page song “Down to Eugene” and a cover of comedian Martin Mull’s “Normal.”

Why It’s Worth Seeing, Even if You’re Not a Deadhead or Fan of Psychedelia: Dark Star Orchestra and Blueground Undergrass are setting new standards for musicianship in rock n’ roll, almost tipping over into jazz fusion. Blueground’s folk-ish style is to the ear what a buttered biscuit is to the belly. Dark Star Orchestra takes the concept of six guys doing six different solos simultaneously and somehow makes it fly. David Gans is just a darn nice guy with a quirky taste in covers. Plus, this sort of easygoing, zoned-out, mellow dance music should mix well with a barefoot summer evening in the Masquerade Music Park.

The Critics: Blueground Undergrass took the award for “Best Bluegrass Artist/Group" in the December 2000 issue of Atlanta Magazine, and was chosen “Best Bluegrass Group” by readers and critics in a 1998 Creative Loafing poll. The Denver Post describes Dark Star Orchestra as "...a perfection-oriented practitioner of homage.”