Dead & Company Come Out To Play On 3rd Night Of 3rd Dead Forever Weekend At Sphere

Dead & Company completed the third weekend of their now 30-date residency at the Las Vegas Sphere by staging their ninth show last night at the state-of-the-art venue. Saturday’s setlist presented another batch of Sphere debuts – including covering The Beatles — as well as a revisiting of guitarist John Mayer’s favorite segue.

The first set opened with Mayer leading his bandmates – Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart, alongside bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane – through the first Sphere debut of the night, “Alabama Getaway.”

Mayer and Weir’s guitars were still adorned with tie-dye #32 decals honoring legendary NBA player and Deadhead Bill Walton. Set one continued with “The Music Never Stopped,” “They Love Each Other” and “Ramble On Rose.”

Back-to-back-to-back Sphere premieres completed the first set with Mayer steering the blues staple “It Hurts Me Too” and Weir fronting the often united “Lost Sailor” into “Saint Of Circumstance” that ushered in intermission.

The band opened the second set with the gentle rock of “Sugaree.” The second saintly tune of the night, “St. Stephen” followed in psychedelic glory. A rare second-set placement of “Brown-Eyed Women” was on tap next. “Cumberland Blues” then galloped along before opening the way into “Drums.”

During “Drums,” video of Bill Walton playing drums with Hart was shown in the center of the virtual drum circle spiraling above Hart, Lane and Burbridge thumping away below. The otherworldly unscripted “Space” would soon lead to another Sphere debut as The Beatles’ classic “Dear Prudence” came out to play for the first time at the Vegas venue.

Dead & Co. then gave a go at a segue previously attempted last summer on their Final Tour that Mayer called the band’s “#1 transition of all time.” The sequence started with the second sugar tune of the night, “Sugar Magnolia” that seamlessly progressed into “Scarlet Begonias” before transitioning back into “Sunshine Daydream.”

The steadfastly earnest “Brokedown Palace” came in as the penultimate song of the night. A 1960s news broadcast featuring the Grateful Dead played over the PA before a fitting “One More Saturday Night” brought the third Dead Forever weekend to an exuberant end.

Dead Forever resumes this Thursday, June 6. Scroll on for The Skinny and visuals captured by attendees of last night’s Dead & Co. Sphere show.

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