Dead & Company Debuts ‘Foolish Heart’ At Folsom Field

Dead & Company played “Foolish Heart” for the first time during their concert on Saturday night in Boulder, Colorado. The debut came in the first set of the second night of a two-show run at Folsom Field.

Saturday’s concert kicked off with “China Cat Sunflower” and its frequent partner “I Know You Rider” tallying around 20 minutes from start to finish. Guitarists Bob Weir and John Mayer sheparded the subsequent “He’s Gone,” which was the first of several tour debuts to make the evening’s setlist. Next up was “Brown-Eyed Women” and spirited interplay between Mayer and Jeff Chimenti’s lively piano work.

“Foolish Heart” then officially entered the Dead & Co. repertoire. The last time Weir and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart performed the song was on July 4, 2015 at Soldier Field in Chicago for the “Fare Thee Well” concert celebrating the Dead’s 50th anniversary, with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio singing lead. On Saturday, Weir sang lead on the song written by Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter for the band’s final album, 1989’s Built To Last.

Dead & Co. went from the Dead’s late-career era to their early-career era with Mayer fronting a rare performance of the blues cover “It Hurts Me Too.” Like the start of the set, the end of the first set featured two songs closely associated with one another. Both making their first appearances of the summer and written by Weir with lyricist John Perry Barlow, the woeful “Lost Sailor” set up the redemptive “Saint Of Circumstance” closer.

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

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First played by Dead & Co. at their Summer Tour 2022 opener in Los Angeles, Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” segueing into The Beatles’ “Hey Jude Reprise” was seamlessly linked together to start the second set. The band then rolled out the summer’s first offering of “Help On The Way” into “Slipknot” into “Franklin’s Tower.” The vintage trilogy saw Mayer leveling fierce soloing to set up the transition from “Help” into “Slip” and steering the move into “Franklin’s” and its prevailing jam.

The nightly “Drums” showcase began with Hart layering a mystical rhythm before being joined by bassist Oteil Burbridge. Kreutzmann then joined the action and the threesome pounded out quaking beats. Hart was left to close the sequence with the deep drone generated by The Beam leading to an accompaniment by Burbridge on bass and improvised vocal sounds. The Beam/bass combo ushered in the return of Weir, Mayer and Chimenti for the free-form “Space” segment.

With Kreutzmann and Hart back in place, Chimenti led a shift from “Space” into Miles Davis’ “Milestones” which put a smile on Burbridge’s face. The tour’s first offering of the instrumental jazz cover was followed the summer’s first take on Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.” Tour debuts keep coming with Weir, Mayer, Burbridge and Chimenti taking turns singing verses of “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” and Weir helming the ever-poignant “Morning Dew” set closer.

The encore started with “Terrapin Station,” which had only held an encore slot once prior (June 3, 2019). Not done after the multi-part suite, the Saturday night concert came to a rocking conclusion with Weir’s “One More Saturday Night.” Dead & Company’s Summer Tour 2022 continues on Tuesday at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri. A livestream is available via nugs.net.

Watch pro-shot video of the set openers and listen to audio of the show taped by Jeff Travitz:

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