Dead & Company Begin 4th Dead Forever 2025 Weekend With 40th Show At Las Vegas Sphere

Dead & Company continued their residency at the Las Vegas Sphere last night, beginning weekend four of Dead Forever 2025.

Dead & Company’s 40th public Sphere show was my first time at the state-of-the-art venue, and I was absolutely blown away by the visuals and sound, every note played coming across crystal-clear while being augmented by everything from goopy colors to cartoon landscapes and retro backstage pass graphics.

The show began with a languid “I Need A Miracle,” guitarist Bob Weir fronting his classic as the screen showed huge blown-up versions of the band members – highlighting bassist Oteil Burbridge‘s use of a Phil Lesh “Mission Control” bass clone.

Sphere opened up to give us our first trip through the cosmos as we emerged onto Haight-Ashbury with the opening strains of “Franklin’s Tower.” As the venue rose from the streets of San Francisco into space (complete with a blimp reading “60 Years” in the distance), keyboardist Jeff Chimenti threw a sly tease of Herbie Hancock‘s “Chameleon” into his solo.

“Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” had one of the wildest visuals of the night, featuring several different variations on the iconic Uncle Sam skeleton including motorcycle riders, sliding down a tube and river in a coffin, and getting on a school bus – all repeated several times across the massive screen as the picture twisted and blended. I was struck by the remarkable clarity of each section as we zoomed in toward the top, repeated bursts of fireworks at the top of the Sphere drawing the eye.

A rare standalone “I Know You Rider” saw a solitary Uncle Sam skeleton emerge from its grave before revving up a motorcycle and driving through a modernized version of the opening sequence to The Grateful Dead Movie. Eagle-eyed fans would notice the art from the Terrapin Station cover, plus nods to the 1970 Festival Express Tour and an airplane emblazoned with “Dead Air” as the motorbike blasted off further into the air.

The musical highlight of the first set came next with “Feel Like A Stranger,” Chimenti and guitarist John Mayer engaging in some back-and-forth play that sent the song spinning off into a jazzy zone, matching each other’s riffs with huge smiles as the Wall of Sound was constructed piece by piece above them.

Bringing the first set to a close with a laid-back and slow take on “Bertha,” appropriately matching the “dressed myself in green” lyric was an undulating pattern of simple green-on-black shapes around a big rectangle showing the band in the middle.

Burbridge stepped to the forefront on the “China Cat Sunflower” that opened set two, the venue getting buried in an avalanche of bright yellow petals that faded away into a beautiful mountainous landscape as D&C eschewed the “China Cat” jam in favor of “Loser.”

What at first looked like a stray piece of paper blowing in the wind grew bigger before enveloping us in a grid pattern of the iconic dancing bear as things picked up a bit with “Truckin’,” which provided amazing high-energy singalong.

Fading into some free-flowing tie-dye goo, the visuals moved in time to the music as the band segued into “The Other One,” Chimenti standing out once again with some fuzzy synth and electric piano work.

“St. Stephen” featured a journey through tape labels spanning the entire Grateful Dead history and was my musical highlight of the night – it being the best version of the Mayer/Chimenti bond during the show. A slick tease of “Day Tripper” by the guitarist and “The Eleven” by the keyboardist saw the band build to a small peak before returning home and setting the stage for “Drums” and “Space.”

This is generally an easy bathroom trip for me, but experiencing the haptic seats inside the Sphere was nothing short of tremendous. Mickey Hart was right at home, sending pulsating waves of The Beam through and around the room as Burbridge and drummer Jay Lane attacked the huge array of percussion behind the main kits.

Weir, Mayer, Chimenti, and Burbridge weaved together a gorgeous major-key “Space” that deposited us nicely in a long and introspective “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” a simple greyscale video of the band giving the focus completely onto Mayer going full blues mode on the classic Dead cover.

The set’s energy picked back up with “Brown-Eyed Women,” highlighted by visuals of backstage passes from across the Dead’s tenure and another vibrant solo from Chimenti before being brought back down to earth and the Haight by way of a beautiful “Black Muddy River,” Mayer contrasting his earlier solo work by pouring a ton of Jerry Garcia-like emotion into his solo.

A brief radio news recording about the Dead played over the P.A. before a show-closing “Sugar Magnolia,” complete with a photo montage from across the Grateful Dead’s 30-year career for a touching conclusion to the show.

Dead Forever 2025 continues for just a few more weeks, and I can honestly say that the vibe inside that room is absolutely phenomenal and the visual experience is unparalleled. I highly recommend a visit if you’re able before the residency ends!

Audio Taped by r/GuestFlat6453

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