POP MUSIC REVIEW : Milestone on Long Strange Trip : As he hits 50, Jerry Garcia manages to be both nostalgic and forward-looking in concert. He and his band will be at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre tonight.

Jerry Garcia turns 50 today, when he’ll be performing at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, so it’s understandable that age seemed to be on his mind when he played Wednesday at the Universal Amphitheatre with his Jerry Garcia Band. But for the graybeard guitarist to sing Chuck Berry’s line “ ‘ C’est la vie ,’ say the old folks” as if he was not of that number himself. . . . a bit too much, wouldn’t you say?

Well, to continue the song, “It goes to show you never can tell.”

Garcia may not be ageless, but his fans seem to be. And he wore his thankfulness for that on his sleeve Wednesday, opening with the R&B; classic “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You,” which served as a sentimental benediction, followed by Bob Dylan’s spiritual blessing, “Forever Young,” and then Berry’s frisky tale of puppy love--a darn good metaphor for Garcia’s relationship with his following.

If that doesn’t exactly keep him young, it sure keeps him going. And the show seemed tailored to say that 50 is just a gladly met milestone on his (to coin a phrase) long strange trip. About half of the concert used favorites of Garcia’s youth to look back with joyous nostalgia (including a version of Van Morrison’s wistful “Stoned Me”), while the other half had a buoyantly forward-looking gospel thrust.

Musically, this band excels at the latter, with Melvin Seals’ organ and the Jackie LaBranch and Gloria Jones’ backup vocals giving the music a churchy feel that makes it distinct from the Grateful Dead. And if this group, which also includes bassist John Kahn and drummer David Kemper, doesn’t quite have the musical telepathy displayed in the Dead’s best musical flights, it does have more focus, something reflected in Garcia’s soloing Wednesday.

He decorated “Forever Young” with a delicate, staccato break and soared through a lengthy jam on Jesse Stone’s chestnut “Don’t Let Go.” As tends to be the case with Garcia shows, both hour-plus halves Wednesday started a bit sluggish. But each also ended on relative peaks, momentum-wise, the first concluding with a percolating version of soul man Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” the second with a hoedown on “Midnight Moonlight” borrowed from Garcia’s ‘70s bluegrass band, Old and In the Way, a name that becomes increasingly ironic with the passage of time.

Of course, no matter how frisky Garcia may feel, no one will ever mistake his craggy voice and generally deliberate pace for the youthful intensity of Nirvana or Ministry. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Kurt Cobain or Alan Jourgensen will ever radiate the joy and contentment that Garcia does.

The Jerry Garcia Band plays tonight at 7 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. $19.75 to $28.75. Parking: $6. (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).