[UPDATED] Dead & Company Debut ‘The Weight’ As Part Of Stellar Charlotte Show

Dead & Company‘s fall tour only features two spans of multiple nights off between shows. The pair of off days between Saturday’s show in Columbus and Tuesday’s concert in Charlotte found the band well rested, which paid off with the best performance of the tour yet. Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir along with John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge turned in an 80-minute first set along with a powerful second set that included a debut and a beautiful encore at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.

The sextet worked over a funky groove that gave way to “Hell In A Bucket” to kick off the show. Effects of revving motorcycles were fit into the mix as Weir provided powerful vocals on the In The Dark cut. Mayer then had his first turn in the spotlight for an upbeat “Bertha” filled with passion. Next, Bobby strapped on his acoustic for a two-song run of “Peggy-O” and “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” The latter was a particular winner thanks in part to Chimenti’s keyboard work.

Bob Weir sported a “Gonesville” t-shirt, a reference to the standout track on his 2016 album of cowboy songs, Blue Mountain. The Bobby-heavy set continued on with the recently debuted “Greatest Story Ever Told,” which works nicely for this band. A pair of highlights came next in the forms of “Ship Of Fools” and “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” The former featured beautiful vocals shared by Oteil and John, while the latter contained an emotion-laden build to a crescendo. Weir added delicate harmonics at the just the right time throughout the “Half-Step” jam. Tuesday’s unparalleled 80-minute opening stanza concluded with a fairly tight “Let It Grow.”

The biggest surprise of the night came at the start of the second set. Dead & Company opened the frame with their first ever version of “The Weight” by The Band. In true form, especially the way the Grateful Dead would perform the song, band members swapped verses. Weir was up first followed by Mayer and Burbridge. Surpringsly, Chimenti handled the fourth verse and did a good job with his rare lead vocals. Jeff received huge cheers from the audience when he started singing at at the end of his verse. Bobby was back up front for the fifth verse, but sang falsetto. “Playing In The Band” came next and was the improvisational highlight of the night. D&C powered through the structured part of the song at almost lightning speed. Once at the jam, the six-piece explored new territory with Mayer focusing more on psychedelic licks than blues riffs.

“Playing” gave way to “Uncle John’s Band” and as usual Dead & Company did a wonderful job with “UJB.” They took out the jam just a bit from the structure before reeling it in to conclude the song. Multiple band members worked in hints of “Terrapin Station” and sure enough the 40-year-old title track from the Dead’s 1977 album came next. The sextet continues to sharpen their version each time out. Up next was a “Drums” that saw Mickey and Billy quickly move from their normal positions to the middle of the stage, where they banged out wild beats. After the instrumentalists returned they embarked on a brief, free-wheeling “Space” excursion.

A short and sweet jam from all the members landed in a Weir-sung “Standing On The Moon” and Bobby delivered heart-felt vocals throughout the Hunter/Garcia ballad. The guitarist stayed up front for a particularly driving and forceful “I Need A Miracle.” Weir, Burbridge and Mayer then shared vocals on a fun romp through “Going Down The Road Feelin’ Bad.” When Dead & Company returned for the encore, John stepped up to lead a gorgeous “Black Muddy River.” The group wasn’t done yet as they tacked on “Playing In The Band Reprise” for good measure. All in all, the band is hot and now heads to Atlanta for a Wednesday night show. Head to LiveDead.co for a live webcast.

Watch pro-shot video of the set-openers:

[Hell In A Bucket]

[The Weight]

Here’s Oteil-Cam footage of “Ship Of Fools”: https://www.facebook.com/Oteil/videos/10156509400539057/ Check out fan-shot videos thanks to BorrowedTune:

[When I Paint My Masterpiece]

[Greatest Story Ever Told]

[Peggy-O]

Listen to Z-Man’s recording:

Setlist

Set One: Hell In A Bucket, Bertha > Peggy-O@, When I Paint My Masterpiece@, Greatest Story Ever Told, Ship Of Fools, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Let It Grow

Set Two: The Weight, Playing In The Band > Uncle John’s Band > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Standing On The Moon > I Need A Miracle > Going Down The Road Feelin’ Bad

Encore: Black Muddy River > Playing In The Band Reprise