Dead & Company Work Sphere Debuts Of Blues & Jazz Classics Into 20th Dead Forever Show In Las Vegas

Dead & Company – Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart with guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane – played the 20th show of their Dead Forever residency at Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday night. The sextet continues to add to the list of songs performed at the state-of-the-art venue with blues standard “Next Time You See Me” and jazz classic “Milestones” each making the setlist for the first time this run last night.

John Mayer led the group through the traditional “Cold Rain & Snow” to get Friday’s show underway. “Lift Off” was then achieved as images of scaffolding parted and audience members were taken on a virtual trip to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood ahead of a typically extended “Truckin’.” Mayer shined once more on the “Bertha” that followed.

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“Bertha” gave away to a Weir-led “Good Lovin’.” John Mayer then stepped up again to front Dead & Company on their first cover of Junior Parker’s “Next Time You See Me” since July 8, 2023. The Grateful Dead performed the blues standard featuring Ron “Pigpen” McKernan on lead vocals a few times in 1966 and 1967 and then regularly played the song between 1969 and their 1972 tour of Europe. Last night marked Dead & Co.’s 14th “Next Time You See Me.”

John Mayer unfurled a tasty blues-tinged solo to bring the evening’s first tour debut to a close. Bobby Weir then captained the band through “Cassidy” as images of the rainforest were displayed on the technologically advanced venue’s screens. Those same screens showed graphics of GD backstage passes, posters and other concert memorabilia during the ensuing “Deal” that wrapped the set.

Dead & Company delivered the oft-paired “China Cat Sunflower” and “I Know You Rider” to start the second set last night. Attendees were taken on a tour of key venues in Grateful Dead history throughout the 18-minute sequence and at one point the six-piece performed in front of a simulated Wall of Sound. Next, Bobby stepped up to pilot the ensemble on the beloved “Playing In The Band.”

An open-ended jam devolved into near silence before D&C lit into the residency’s fifth “Dark Star.” Fittingly, the Sphere was transformed into a planetarium with the exploration accompanied by a trip across the solar system. Next, Mickey Hart and Jay Lane teamed with Oteil Burbridge to bang out rhythms as “Drums” took over Sphere. Eventually, Hart moved over to the Beam and strummed droning notes ahead of the instrumentalists providing the evening’s “Space” excursion.

Once the full band was back, Chimenti helmed a move into “Milestones.” The Miles Davis cover, played by Dead & Company from time-to-time out of space, had been shelved since July 1, 2023. The jam on “Milestones” bled into just the second “Looks Like Rain” of the residency. D&C returned to familiar territory for “Brown-Eyed Women,” which was a first set staple until this residency, when it’s been played several times late in the second set.

“Fire In The Mountain” came next and featured four members of the band swapping lead vocal duties. Oteil Burbridge sang the first verse, Bobby Weir the second and John Mayer the third. Mickey Hart rapped a portion of the song in a throwback to the early 1970s when “Fire” was a prototype and had yet to be performed by the full band. From there, Weir growled “Throwing Stones” before footage of an old newscast focusing on the Dead was shown ahead of the “Not Fade Away” finale.

The seventh weekend of Dead Forever concludes tonight. Check out The Skinny and videos from Friday’s concert below.

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Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daf5Fbrpd9E

Audio (Taped by Chas)

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