For Grateful Dead fans too young to see Jerry Garcia in person, and long-time Deadheads might be a bit dismayed to realize that’s almost anyone under 30, Furthur’s done the unthinkable by channeling Jerry in an uncanny way.

For the rest of the folks, who followed the Dead and have unsuccessfully tried to fill that small void in their life for the last 15 years, the party ain’t over yet.

No one will ever replace Jerry, but by bringing John Kadlecik to the mix, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir have added the missing link – the man who sounds so much like Jerry in every way.

Furthur, the new incarnation of the Dead starts with Phil and Bobby, but it’s Kadlecik that could make this the best post-Jerry experience.

Think of Kadlecik like the guy from the movie Rock Star, who spends his life in the cover band of his favorite group, only to get called up to the big leagues.

After 12 years fronting Dark Star Orchestra, a fantastic group that covers Dead shows to a T, Kadleick gives Lesh and Weir a 40-year-old in his prime that bring a burst of youth to Furthur.

Lesh is just a month away from his 70th birthday and Weir — once the Dead’s youth — is 62.

Kadleick, at 40, is the same age Garcia was in 1982.

But Friday’s show at Miami’s Bayfront Park Ampitheater showed that Furthur isn’t just trying to bring Jerry back in a Dark Star sort of way — they’re moving further, and in this case, that meant going back.

Yes, the under-30 crowd will revel at the opportunity to experience a Dead show, but for the earlier Deadheads, Furthur is busting out tunes long stored in the vault.

On a rainy night in downtown Miami, the band opened with “Born Cross-Eyed”, a song the Dead played nine times in 1968, and none after that.

It’s a wonder why the Dead played “The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion” throughout 1967, and then dropped it from its repertiore. It’s a fun sing-a-long that Furthur busted out after a lively “Ramble on Rose”.

And how about the “Throwin’ Stones/Viola Lee Blues/Mason’s Children/Viola” jam? Talk about taking it back. “Viola” was a staple in the earliest of Dead shows, and a great blues classic to bring back to the mix.

“Mason’s Children”, played 15 times between 1969-70, resurfaced for an energetic Miami crowd that didn’t seem to mind intermintent rain.

Phil had high praise for the Miami crowd, acknowledging that the boys don’t make it down enough, but might have to start performing regular South Florida gigs.

There were still plenty of empty seats in the 10,000-capacity amphitheater, and you have to wonder if some of the traveling fans were sitting out this tour opener and waiting to join Furthur in Orlando? It would make sense since hotel rooms were impossible to come by on Super Bowl weekend.

With Phil’s announcement that there’s more Miami left in him, it’s a sign that he’s not winding down, an amazing feat not only because he underwent a liver transplant a decade ago, but because he’s turning 70.

As we enter the ’10s, many of the ’60s rockers are hitting 70.

Lesh’s inspired performance at Bayfront Park, complete with his funky bass illuminated by blue lights, shows that these artists will continue to awe us long after we expected them to hang it up.

It didn’t hurt to add some youth to the band. With 33-year-old Joe Russo (of the Benevento/Russo Duo) and 45-year-old Jay Lane (of Primus) on drums, and 41-year-old Jeff Chimenti (Ratdog) on keyboard, it’s old meets new.

Phil Lesh and Bob Weir might be the only Grateful Dead members in Furthur, but if they want to continue spreading the Dead’s word throughout the 2010s, Furthur is the perfect outlet.