Fare Thee Well: Dead & Company Bring Long, Strange & Marvelous Final Tour To A Close In San Francisco
The band bookended their three-night stand at Oracle Park with “Not Fade Away.”
By Scott Bernstein Jul 17, 2023 • 9:03 am PDT

Dead & Company wrapped up The Final Tour on Sunday at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The band featuring Grateful Dead members guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart joined by bassist Oteil Burbridge, guitarist John Mayer, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane closed a three-night stand last night with their 29th show of the historic excursion, which featured a total of 111 unique songs played at concerts held in 14 states dating back to May 19 down the coast in Los Angeles.
Yet to focus solely on the numbers seems to miss the point. Dead & Company reached new heights this summer as Jay Lane stepped in for Grateful Dead and Dead & Company co-founding drummer Bill Kreutzmann. The sextet was consistent with memorable moments on tap each night and the “Slow & Company” descriptor not applicable to what went on over the past two months. It makes one think that perhaps if the band members knew how vital the music was this summer, they may not have been ready to embark on a farewell tour. Dead & Company hit their peak as the Grateful Dead, as pointed out by the New York Times, “became a cultural touchstone again.”
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Now that the last show of The Final Tour is in the books a number of questions remain. Will those six musicians play together again? Mickey Hart left the door open in an interview given mid-tour.
“It’s not final anything. We never said we’ll never play again, but we’ll never tour again,” Hart told ABC Audio.
The drummer’s bandmates didn’t dive into the reasoning for why Dead & Company was ending after an eight-year run. Oteil Burbridge was still trying to figure out the rationale behind the break as recently as last week. A fan on Instagram asked the bassist why the six-piece was stopping. “Excellent question. And one that no one seems to have an answer for,” the 58-year-old Burbridge responded.
Each Dead & Company Final Tour livestream featured an interview with band members or those in the Dead & Co. orbit during setbreak. Last night Weir was in the hot seat for a pre-recorded chat. It appeared questions about the future of Dead & Company were off the table as the gigantic elephant was in the “room” with co-hosts Gary Lambert and David Gans throughout the uncomfortable conversation. Bobby is less than two years removed from being of the mindset that Dead & Company should continue after he and The Rhythm Devils retire.
“To hear Bob Weir talk about it, he wants this to continue after [the surviving Grateful Dead members] are done touring,” Mayer told Sammy Hagar during an episode of Rock & Roll Road Trip. John Mayer explicitly said he’d “never close the door on Dead & Company, ever,” the guitarist explained to Billboard’s Gary Graff in 2016.
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Another good sign for those hoping Dead & Company isn’t done came when last night’s setlist was shared on social media. Matt Busch, Weir/D&C manager/setlist writer and perhaps the only non-band member to see every note of music the band played since their formation in 2015, always includes information about the next show as part of setlist posts. “Next show: …,” reads the line accompanying a photo of the setlist. It could be wishful thinking, but the ellipsis is better than “none” or “not applicable” or anything that would have instantly put the kibosh on hopes Dead & Company has a future.
Now, getting back to last night’s show. The energy was high and good vibes were flowing.
“I think everyone’s had enough loss in their life to go to San Francisco and have this be funereal,” Mayer noted in previewing the show during a recent interview with the New York Times.
“I’m dead-set against that happening,” Weir added. “I’ll be stir-fried if I’m going to let that happen.”
The guitarists and their band held true and instead provided a celebratory affair. There were a few tug-at-the-heartstrings moments — looking at you “Days Between” and “Brokedown Palace” — but for the most part it was an upbeat concert.
First Set Preview
Rumors of special guests ranging from Kreutzmann to Phil Lesh to Bob Dylan circulated in the days and weeks leading up to the last show of The Final Tour. The six musicians had other ideas and went sans anyone else. There was a stage-filling moment and that came after the backend of “Not Fade Away” to close a three-song encore which also included “Truckin'” and the aforementioned “Brokedown Palace.” Dead & Company’s massive crew emerged as the capacity crowd of over 40,000 clapped the “Not Fade Away” beat and sang “You know our love will not fade away.”
Mickey thanked those who “got us from there to here” and explained, “you’re only as good as your crew.” It was the only notable banter of the evening as Hart also shared appreciation for the fans. “Right the fuck on, man,” added Jay Lane, MVP of The Final Tour.
Production values were top notch throughout The Final Tour but reached a crescendo in Boulder, where drones displaying Grateful Dead iconography took to the skies above Folsom Field on July 3. Dead & Company employed Boulder-based company Nova Sky Stories to put on the same visuals at Oracle Park on Sunday.

Every song seemed to take on extra importance last night. A rollicking “Bertha” got the concert underway and bled into a potent “Good Lovin'” helmed by Weir who provided plenty of extra mustard. Bobby also captained the ensuing “Loser,” an audible according to the pre-planned stage setlist, making just its second appearance of the tour and first since May. Burbridge had a turn in the vocal spotlight for a heartwarming “High Time.” Weir then delivered his Sunday sermon of “Samson & Delilah.”
Surprisingly, Mayer didn’t sing a Pigpen blues number on Sunday or on Friday after the Pigpen slot was a staple of first sets leading up to the final weekend. Instead, John made it rain with torrid soloing in “Althea,” perhaps the most important song in Dead & Company history. It was “Althea” Mayer heard on Pandora that sent him down the Grateful Dead wormhole from which hopefully he’ll never leave. Both guitarists went on to share vocal duties on “Dear Mr. Fantasy” complete with “Hey Jude Reprise.”
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Dead & Company closed out the penultimate set of The Final Tour with an outstanding “Bird Song.” The song took flight for over 14 glorious minutes and showcased a key compent of Dead & Company, the musical relationship between John Mayer and Jeff Chimenti. The pair have gotten so good at finishing each other’s phrases to the delight of fans. The guitarist and keyboardist were locked in last night especially during “Bird Song.”
The last set of The Final Tour began with the beloved trifecta of “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower.” While the sextet powered quickly through the first two portions of the suite, they patiently “rolled away the dew.” Burbridge offered a thick and powerful bassline underneath Chimenti and Mayer’s handiwork on the stellar “Franklin’s.” Dead & Co. then turned in a memorable pairing of “Estimated Prophet” and “Eyes Of The World.” Both versions were smokeshows with Mayer, Chimenti and Burbridge each getting a turn leading the jam on the latter.
Second Set Preview
“Eyes” was followed by “Drums.” The 12-minute sequence was a “greatest hits” of past “Drums” from The Final Tour. It started with Burbridge on banjo bass and Hart on Balafon backed by Lane on the kit. Then all three musicians headed to The Beast for tribal beats before Mickey worked over The Beam. Hart dedicated the portion of “Drums”/”Space” at The Beam to the recently passed Tom Paddock, a close friend of Mickey’s who was the “mastermind behind The Beam.” The instrumentalists then returned for a “Space” excursion that truly lived up to its name. Chimenti even weaved a few “Close Encounters” teases into the mix.
“Days Between” was a perfect call to follow “Space.” The last song written together by the late Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, the lyrics hit home and Weir leaned into the emotion with his vocal delivery. A raucous “Cumberland Blues” picked the energy back up and featured outstanding Chimenti/Mayer interplay. Weir then fronted fan-favorite “Sugar Magnolia” to end the frame ahead of the aforementioned encore. “Not Fade Away” concluded a version that opened Friday's show at Oracle Park. All six members of Dead & Co. not only took their usual bow but came together for a mighty hug and shared words between them off-mic.
Not Fade Away / Speech / Drones
As for now there are no Dead & Company performances scheduled. Mayer and Burbridge will focus on their solo careers, Hart will paint and enjoy the fruits of his labor and Weir, Chimenti and Lane will hit the road for a Wolf Bros tour this fall.
The Skinny
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The Setlist |
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Setlist Notes
Setlist info via Phantasy Tour. |
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The Venue |
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Oracle Park [See upcoming shows] |
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41,915 |
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3 shows |
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The Music |
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8 songs |
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11 songs |
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19 songs |
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1974 |
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6.89 [Gap chart] |
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None |
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None |
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Loser LTP 05/30/2023 (23 Show Gap) |
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Eyes of the World 17:56 |
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Workingman's Dead - 2, American Beauty - 3, Wake of the Flood - 1, Blues for Allah - 3, Terrapin Station - 1, Shakedown Street - 1, Go To Heaven - 1 |
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