Splintered Sunlight
Carpenter Performing Arts Center6200 Atherton St., Los Angeles 90815
Splintered Sunlight brings its Grateful Dead tribute to the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. The band draws from across the Dead’s songbook, playing both the familiar songs and the less frequently heard material. Its approach is built around the improvisational traditions that made the original band’s live shows so open-ended, with a double-drum-kit lineup shaping the rhythmic drive.
The group has earned an enthusiastic following among Deadheads for its close engagement with that repertoire and performance language. Guitarist Butchy Sochorow is singled out for soaring lead guitar and a vocal style described as dead-on Jerry Garcia. Rather than treating the catalog as a fixed oldies set, Splintered Sunlight focuses on the elements that invite exploration: extended playing, shifting group interplay, and songs drawn from beyond the obvious favorites.
Named for pop duo and alumni Karen and Richard Carpenter, this 1,054-seat concert hall pairs the acoustics and sightlines of a premier civic theater with the welcoming ease of a campus arts hub. Visitors arrive early through a curved glass facade to browse a permanent lobby showcase of original instruments, gold records, and memorabilia before taking reserved tiered seats. The stage accommodates everything from touring jazz ensembles and symphonies to Broadway musicals by resident company Musical Theatre West, along with an occasional cabaret setup where small tables and chairs move directly onto the stage floor behind the main curtain. Light refreshments and beverages are available in the lobby to enjoy before showtime, and while the focused, listening-room atmosphere commands rapt attention throughout performances, the surrounding East Long Beach neighborhood offers plenty of casual dining just off the freeway.