SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The songs still ran long. To the uninitiated, the communal rituals of the faithful fans probably looked strange. Was it trippy? Well, this was a Grateful Dead show, after all, the first in a handful over the next week that are said to be the last.

The four surviving members of the Dead, joined by a trio of well-versed companions, launched their “Fare Thee Well” mini-tour Saturday night in Northern California, where the legendary jam band got its start 50 years ago and almost two decades after the death of beloved guitarist Jerry Garcia.

During a performance that featured a little more than 3½ hours of music, the group’s so-called “core four” — rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — unreeled a set list featuring both crowd-pleasers and obscure pieces.

The audience, which included former flower children with more than a little gray as well as millennials who were babies when Garcia died — were inclined to appreciate every chord.

The parking lots had more Subarus and luxury sedans than VW buses. There were fewer vendors selling T-shirts than in the past, but enough to remind concert-goers they were in the right place.