Bob Weir & John Mayer Perform At Rise For The River Benefit Concert

Dead & Company bandmates Bob Weir and John Mayer shared the stage in Livingston, Montana last night at the Rise For The River benefit concert. Weir and Mayer played a two-hour set loaded with Grateful Dead classics at Pine Creek Lodge to raise funds for the Southwest Montana Flood Relief Fund to help those affected by historic flooding of the Yellowstone River in Southwest Montana back in June.

Montana’s own Kitchen Dwellers performed a brief set to get the evening underway. Longtime Park County resident John Mayer took a few moments before his set with Weir to thank all those in attendance as well as event organizers and Bobby. Mayer noted Weir “jumped at my request to come help out” and added, “I’ll never forget it.” The pair delivered a gorgeous “Friend Of The Devil” to get their 13-song set underway with both guitarists sharing vocal duties.

Mayer and Weir then treated the intimate crowd to a rousing “Bertha” sung by John and a Bobby-led “Loser.” While Bob played electric for the bulk of the set, John was on acoustic to start including on a passion-laced “Brown Eyed Women.” The sun started to fall over the gorgeous outdoor venue as Weir belted out Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” as Mayer played delicate leads and provided harmony vocals.

John exchanged his acoustic for an electric and Bob went unplugged in time for the duo’s take on “Cassidy.” Weir revealed the tune was written not far from where the pair were standing. The guitarists engaged in an adventurous bit of improvisation towards the middle of the song before bringing “Cassidy” home for a landing. “Cassidy” gave way to an emotion-laden “Bird Song” that took flight with a jam of its own. Weir sang the pre-jam verses with Mayer helming the final verse.

The next portion of the marathon set saw Weir on electric and Mayer on acoustic. Bobby and John both handled vocals on a nicely extended “Uncle John’s Band” as well as the “Jack Straw” that followed. Mayer laced “Uncle John’s Band” with Jerry-esque riffs, while the pair built “Jack Straw” to a strong peak. John then shared his appreciation for all those who played a part in putting on the benefit concert and asked fans to leave the venue quickly after the show and clean up after themselves.

The concert rolled on with a rollicking “Deal” filled with Bobby singing falsetto where the guitar solo normally fit. More thanks came next from Mayer who introduced “Terrapin Station” by saying, “This is a very exciting one for me to play acoustic, I don’t know if I’ll ever play it again acoustic.” The duo nailed each section of the title track from the Grateful Dead’s 1977 studio album. Mayer then lit into the intro of “Eyes Of The World.” Weir handled lead vocals on the Hunter/Garcia classic which the pair worked into “Not Fade Away” to close the evening.

Head here to donate to the Southwest Montana Flood Relief Fund. Watch pro-shot video featuring the “Friend Of The Devil” opener below:

Setlist (via Bob Weir Instagram)

Set: Friend Of The Devil, Bertha, Loser, Brown Eyed Women, El Paso, Cassidy > Bird Song, Uncle John’s Band, Jack Straw, Deal, Terrapin Station, Eyes Of The World > Not Fade Away