Double Rainbow: Dead & Company ‘Let The Good Times Roll’ At Folsom Field In Boulder

Dead & Company’s Final Tour arrived in Boulder on Saturday for the first of three shows at Folsom Field. The band loaded the setlist with one beloved Grateful Dead song after another and included a few surprises along the way underneath a bright full moon and double rainbow.

Folsom Field has been Dead & Company’s home for each of their seven summer tours with the exception of 2021, when they played two nights a piece at Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green instead. The six-piece made their debut at the venue on July 2, 2016 and by the end of this year’s run the stadium on the campus of the University of Colorado will be the room Dead & Company has played more than any other. While the venue is a favorite for the group, no other band has played Folsom Field since 2001.

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Dead & Company “Let The Good Times Roll” to get Saturday’s show and the final Folsom Field run underway. Guitarists John Mayer and Bob Weir shared lead vocal duties with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti on the Sam Cooke cover that was a live staple for the Grateful Dead from 1988 through 1995. Weir, Mayer, Chimenti, bassist Oteil Burbridge and the drumming duo of Mickey Hart and Jay Lane then worked up a tasty little jam they used to launch “Truckin’.”

In a reprise of the last show at Wrigley Field on June 10, 2023, D&C worked “Truckin’” into Howlin Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning.” Once again Weir moaned the lyrics but this time around the band dropped into “Deal” instead of finishing “Truckin’.” Mayer shined on “Deal” as he peeled off one intense riff after another. Next, Bobby helmed the tour’s first “Me & My Uncle” and sent the crowd into hysterics with mentions of “Colorado” and “Denver” in the lyrics of the John Phillips-penned song.

A cover of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” followed featuring John Mayer on lead vocals. Weir backed him with a falsetto voice reminiscent of the late Brent Mydland. As usual, “Dear Mr. Fantasy” led into the “Hey Jude Reprise” that has been partnered in all Dead & Company versions of the classic off Traffic’s 1967 album, Mr. Fantasy. From there the sextet treated fans to a rare first set “Terrapin Station.” The title track from the Grateful Dead’s 1977 studio has been played 54 times by Dead & Company. Last night was just the sixth delivered as part of the opening frame. A Mayer-sung “Don’t Ease Me In” was tacked on to close the set.

Dead & Company came out of the gates with a euphoric “Eyes Of The World” to open last night’s second set. Chimenti unleashed a memorable piano solo before Bobby sang the final verse of the Wake Of The Flood gem that was among his longest of the tour. Oteil had a turn in the spotlight after the last chorus for an ethereal bass solo. He ran up and down the neck of his custom instrument in a way that was a common occurrence at Aquarium Rescue Unit shows but is only typically seen during “Eyes Of The World” with Dead & Company. Mayer then led the group on a final bout of “Eyes” jamming towards the 20-minute mark.

”Shakedown Street” filled the two-slot in the second set last night and was laced with Mayer’s auto-wah fretboard fireworks. “Poke around” and “shake it down” vocal vamps delineated the two main sections of the “Shakedown Street” jam. The latter was a more free-form affair and was the first time all night that Mayer and Chimenti traded instrumental melodies in impressive fashion, one of the elements that will be missed most when Dead & Company hangs up their skull and roses.

The otherworldly John Mayer/Jeff Chimenti interplay was also showcased during the ensuing “St. Stephen.” Dead & Company worked through the composed section slowly to give even more emphasis to the collective head of steam the band built up as they exploded into the jam. Chimenti mimicked the inventive licks Mayer executed and added outstanding variations. The final lyrics came ahead of a near silence that saw Bobby Weir move from his last “St. Stephen” pattern to the rhythmic figure that signals the arrival of “Cumberland Blues.”

The rollicking “Cumberland Blues” was highlighted by Chimenti’s barrelhouse rolls on piano. Mickey Hart and Jay Lane were then left on-stage to start the evening’s “Drums” excursion. Hart and Lane laid into The Beast with help from Oteil Burbridge. Sounds and images from the 1991 film Voices Of The Rainforest: A Day In The Life Of Bosavi were inserted into the mix, a trend that continued once Mickey moved to The Beam. Hart co-produced the movie’s soundtrack in collaboration with recordist and researcher Steven Feld and members of a remote rainforest community in Papua New Guinea as per MickeyHart.net.

Mickey Hart let one final drone ring out as the instrumentalists returned. “Space” lived up to its name until Jeff Chimenti lit into a jazzy interlude. Chimenti then went full blast into Miles Davis’ “Milestones” just as Lane and Hart sat down at their respective drum sets. The band crushed the title track from the legendary trumpeter, bandleader and composer’s 1958 studio album.

Dead & Company followed the jazz tune with the tour’s third “Days Between.” Weir helmed the final song written together by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, adding extra emphasis to certain lines and passion to all of them. The emotion-laden ballad gave way to the high-energy “Sugar Magnolia.” The group was making its way through the song when out of left field they weaved into “Scarlet Begonias” via a deliciously weird transition that included a taste of “Greatest Story Ever Told.”

The “Scarlet” jam reached a peak and then Weir fronted a segue into “Sunshine Daydream” to cap “Sugar Magnolia” and the second set. But not before a potent bluesy coda replete with Mayer teasing “Scarlet Begonias.” For the encore, the sextet chose “Going Down The Road Feelin’ Bad.” In typical D&C style, Weir, Mayer, Burbridge and Chimenti each sang a verse of the traditional song.

Dead & Company continues their three-night stand at Folsom Field on Sunday. Watch a livestream of Sunday’s show and the other six remaining Final Tour concerts via nugs.net.

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Audio (Taped by Eric Lugassy)