The Dead rock Penn State for Obama

STATE COLLEGE — Fans decked out in tie-dyed shirts huddled around tailgates in parking lots as the scent of patchouli oil wafted through the air. Soon, they would be heading inside a basketball arena for a rock concert.

Welcome to a get-out-the-vote effort for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama — Grateful Dead-style.

Four surviving members of the iconic rock band gathered Monday night for a rare gig as part of what the Obama campaign billed the “Change Rocks Concert.”

Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart had already played together in support of Obama in February in California; a fourth surviving member, Bill Kreutzmann, joined them for the show Monday night in front of about 15,000 people at a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State University campus.

It was the quartet’s first show together since a 2004 reunion tour. It was also a rare foray in the political arena for the Dead.

Before his set, Hart said in an interview backstage with The Associated Press that he was most impressed with Obama’s views on climate change.