Symphonic psychedelia was on tap at Cincinnati’s stately Music Hall when Bobby Weir returned to its stage – the Grateful Dead gigged there Oct. 26, 1972 – with his Wolf Bros and Wolfpack in tow to collaborate with the Queen City’s Pops Orchestra.

The Nov. 13 performance was one of five such mashups, with two, two-night runs in Chicago and New Orleans to follow.

Speaking of NOLA, Weir remembered every word of “Truckin’,” which was received rapturously with the sold-out house singing along lustily amid violin solos and a ginormous, Dead-worthy crescendo. The audience danced as muted primary colors washed across the white walls of the ornate performance space. 

CPO began the show alone with “Grateful Overture,” which foreshadowed songs to come and confirmed Giancarlo Aquilanti was the right person to score such a collaboratio as the composer’s musical ideas wended their way intricately through threads of “Dark Star,” “The Other One” and other living pieces of Dead music.

Weir—sporting khakis, a grey poncho-cum-shawl thingy and sandals against the others’ formal black attire—and his nine bandmates took the stage with “Jack Straw.” After warming up, they hit their stride with the pairing of “Lost Sailor” -> “Saint of Circumstance,” which found the Wolfpack horns playing Chicago (the band)-styled charts and signaling an all-hands-on-deck evening. 

“Dark Star” followed with the symphony handling the melody and Weir providing counterparts on electric guitar. When the first verse ended, a CPO violinist stood to play a sublime solo that led the audience to shower him with adulation and the musician to respond by spinning his bow over his head. The orchestra then melted away, leaving Weir, pianist Jeff Chinenti, bassist Don Was, drummer Jay Lane and pedal steeler Barry Sless to toy around with the theme from “Eternity” before the orchestra re-emerged and “Truckin’” burst forth. 

Set No. 2 also ran an hour to the second and kicked off at 9 p.m. sharp with “Shakedown Street.” This unexpected number provided each section of the orchestra a chance to shine under the phantom Dead disco ball courtesy of Aquilanti’s thoughtful and sympathetic scoring. Conductor John Morris Russell, meanwhile, turned his back on his charges to cue the audience for their requisite “woos!”

As if they needed any help. 

The psychedelic-symphonic integration was complete by the time “Playing in the Band” launched and the CPO transformed the song with a majestic arrangement. It then dropped out and allowed the 10 members of the Bros and the ’Pack to take the number for a little walk in the woods with saxophone leading the way. 

“Uncle John’s Band” followed and never quite ended—but it would—before the orchestra’s string section lit into the telltale time signature of “The Other One.” A sweeping swirl of improvisation and precise reading of charts, the song shone even as Weir forgot to sing the second verse. 

All was forgiven, however, when the Dead man delivered an elegiac version of “Days Between” accompanied by only Lane and the orchestra. That this song seems to work best in such settings—Warren Hayes played it during his Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration tour many moons ago—says much about one of the last Garcia/Robert Hunter projects. 

A long ovation led to the amalgamated musicians reprising “Dark Star,” “Uncle John’s” and “Playing,” thereby wrapping the show with what was essentially a “Grateful Epilogue” to tie it all together. 

The roar from the audience when the CPO stood to get their due was as gratifying from the seats as it must’ve been from the stage. Weir and his Bros and their ’Pack may have brought the songs, but Cincinnati’s Pops Orchestra transformed them into something even more special. 

And everybody understood. 

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Setlist: Grateful Overture; Jack Straw; Lost Sailor; Saint of Circumstance; Dark Star; Eternity theme; Truckin’/Shakedown Street; Playing in the Band; Uncle John’s Band; The Other One; Days Between; Dark Star Reprise; Uncle John’s Band Reprise; Playing in the Band Reprise