Dead & Company Play Female-Centric Set In Dallas: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Dead & Company’s Fall Tour 2021 stopped in Dallas on Thursday for a concert at Dos Equis Pavilion. The band’s setlist featured a first set consisting entirely of female-centric songs.

The choice of setlist contruction was likely in response to the restrictive abortion law that the Texas state government passed. Dead & Co. guitarist Bob Weir recently attended a protest in San Francisco against the controversial law. The show started with Weir leading the band’s first “Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” since June 13, 2018, ending a 73 show absence. A lively “Bertha” helped establish the theme of the set. Then came the group’s first cover of Bob Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately” in 70 shows.

Guitarist John Mayer lit into the subsequent “Brown-Eyed Women” with Jeff Chimenti responding in kind on piano. Weir went acoustic for a heartfelt rendering of “Peggy-O” and went back to electric for his Grateful Dead staple “Cassidy.” The female-centric set drew to a close with Mayer leading “Sugaree” and its loping, bluesy jam paving the way to setbreak.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

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In another nod to their locale, Dead & Co. opened the second set in Dallas with “Deep Ellum Blues,” covering the song for the first time since 2019. A breezy “Help On The Way” soon transitioned into “Slipknot!,” which developed into a groovy, jazzy improvisation underscored by bassist Oteil Burbridge’s cool runs and embellished by Weir’s rhythmic playing and Chimenti’s electric piano. The familiar sounds of “Franklin’s Tower” eventually grew from the fusion jam, sealing the classic trifecta.

Burbridge helped usher in “The Other One,” whose familiar rumbling bass line was used to propel another lengthy, groovy, jazz-tinged improvisation. Having anchored the band throughout the structured songs and intricate jams, drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart were given their nightly “Drums” showcase. Burbridge, himself a full-fledge Rhythm Devil, once again joined his rhythm section partners in the percussive excursion. The ensuing “Space” further explored free-form realms as Weir, Mayer and Chimenti let go of structure and exchanged interesting sounds.

“Cumberland Blues” brought the band out of the depths of “Space.” The lively jaunt through the country-leaning cover led to the heaviness that surrounds the Weir-sung “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.” Bobby and the band went from the preceding mournful blues to the joyous “Sugar Magnolia,” once again using the upbeat rocker to close out a second set. Perhaps making one more nod to their location, Dead & Company chose “Liberty” for the evening’s encore.

Dead & Company plays again tonight at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas. A livestream is available via nugs.tv. Watch pro-shot video of the starts of both of last night’s sets below:

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