Dead & Company Plays Halloween Concert Without Bill Kreutzmann: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Dead & Company‘s Halloween show wrapped a three-night run at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Sunday’s concert once again saw drummer Bill Kreutzmann replaced by Jay Lane.

Kreutzmann recently sat out Dead & Company’s four fall tour shows in Colorado due to a medical issue that was undisclosed beyond confirming it was not related to COVID-19. Lane filled in for Billy again on Saturday, replacing the 75-year-old drummer midway through the second set.

After Saturday’s Hollywood Bowl show, Billy posted on social media that he went from the venue to the hospital where doctors determined he returned to performing too soon and needed to rest. Kreutzmann ended his message by stating he hopes to be back performing with the band at their destination event in Mexico in January.

Dead & Company’s Halloween concert began with guitarist Bob Weir starting Sunday’s service with a “Samson And Delilah” sermon. The opener was trailed by guitarist John Mayer guiding “Uncle John’s Band,” taking the spotlight as it opened up into a winding jam. Mayer then led a rowdy “Brown-Eyed Woman” that saw the guitarist trading runs with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti’s piano work. Next came the reassuring rocker “Touch Of Grey.”

Chimenti’s piano skills were again on full display during “Dire Wolf,” which would end up being the only song with “wolf” in its title played on Halloween. Weir’s “Hell In A Bucket” followed and gave way to several minutes of blues interplay between the two guitarists. A journey through, and to, “Terrapin Station” arrived as the final song of the first set.

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

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After setbreak, Dead & Company began their final set of 2021 with Mayer fronting the band on “Althea,” featuring Weir on slide guitar. The mood at the Hollywood Bowl shifted from the spirited opener to the haunting spirits of “Dark Star” as the Grateful Dead classic served its typical role of providing a gateway to deep improvisation. From the depths of “Dark Star” arose “El Paso,” as Weir went acoustic for the Marty Robbins cover before going back to electric for a brief return to “Dark Star.”

The six musicians eventually landed on the opening notes of “Eyes Of World” which led to more back-and-forth between Mayer and Chimenti as Oteil Burbridge worked through complimentary lead basslines. The nearly 16-minute “Eyes” dissolved into the night’s free-form rhythmic excursion “Drums.” Drummer/Rhythm Devil Mickey Hart was accompanied by Burbridge and Lane, with all three costumed in devil’s horns and capes. Hart spent several minutes filling the bowl with an eerie atmospheric drone from The Beam before ceding the stage to Weir, Mayer, Burbridge and Chimenti for several more minutes of free-form peculiarity via “Space.”

The back half of the set continued with “Scarlet Begonias.” While it was the fourth “Scarlet” of D&C’s current tour, Sunday’s show was the first to be immediately paired with its longtime partner, “Fire On The Mountain,” featuring Burbridge singing lead. Totalling 21-minutes, the “Scarlet/Fire” combo laid bare more jamming as the band seamlessly transitioned between the two tunes. The final set of the tour was punctuated by a poignant “Morning Dew” and the ending of “Not Fade Away,” completing the version that started the night prior. The show and tour capping “Brokedown Palace” was selected for the encore.

Dead & Company’s next scheduled performances will take place at their Playing In The Sand destination event in Mexico in January. Watch pro-shot video of the first and second set opening songs from Sunday’s Halloween concert below:

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