With red-clown noses in their hearts, and songs to fill the air, a few thousand caring, music-loving souls gathered to wish Wavy Gravy, America’s favorite psychedelic relic, a happy 79^th birthday on May 17.

On a cold fall evening, November 11, 1997, the founding lineup for the Dark Star Orchestra began its first of four weekly performances run at Chicago’s Martyrs’. Fast forward to 2014 where today the band has performed 2379 shows in that time, eclipsing the number of shows the Grateful Dead performed over its 30 year arc.

One of the most anticipated shows of the Fall was Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s new side project together called Furthur. The lineup also consists Dead keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Dark Star Orchestra lead guitarist and vocalist John Kadlecik. Dark Star Orchestra is considered the best Grateful Dead cover band in the country because of Kadlecik’s ability to sing in a very similar mellifluous voice like Jerry Garcia is part of his attraction to longtime Dead Heads.