Playing In A New Band: Watch The Start Of Dead & Company’s 1st Concert

Today marks Dead & Company guitarists’ Bob Weir and John Mayer’s shared birthday. While they are separated by 30 years, the pair forged a fruitful bond in the latest Grateful Dead incarnation, Dead & Company.

Dead & Company is fairly fresh off their landmark 30-date Dead Forever residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, which followed D&C’s “Final Tour” in 2023. Dead & Company played their first show at Albany’s Times Union Center on October 29, 2015, just months after the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well concerts. While there was certainly a learning curve for all parties involved in Dead & Company, evident in their first concert, there were moments that foreshadowed the cohesiveness D&C would find later in their eight-year tenure.

The first two songs performed in Albany were Bobby’s signature “Playing in the Band” and Mayer helming “Cold Rain and Snow,” a traditional John would put his stamp on in the coming years. JamBase contributor Bryan Lasky was on hand. Read an excerpt from his review below:

Out of the gates came a nice 15-minute “Playing in the Band” that showed the jam possibilities this group has. The mix was clear and each member of the band could be heard easily. Bob was definitely in control, leading the band through the opening song. The jam didn’t go too far from its core, but it was a great way to start the show. Next Mayer stepped up to the mic for “Cold Rain and Snow.” He sounded great vocally, but unfortunately it was the slowed-down version. With the way Mayer can channel a psychedelic sound, they should ramp up the 1967 version of it and let him loose.

To celebrate John Mayer and Bob Weir’s birthday, watch the first two songs performed by Dead & Company below: