‘Looks Like Rain’ In Las Vegas: Dead & Company Offer Sphere Debut Of Bob Weir Ballad

Dead & Company delivered night 11 of their 30-date Dead Forever Las Vegas Sphere Residency on Friday. The band brought the Bob Weir ballad “Looks Like Rain” to the great dome for the first time during an all Grateful Dead original concert.

D&C — Grateful Dead members guitarist Bobby Weir and drummer Mickey Hart along with guitarist John Mayer, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Jay Lane — kicked off the concert with the sing-along classic “Uncle John’s Band.”

The vault then opened revealing Haight Ashbury as Mayer led the way through a spirited “Franklin’s Tower” as the Sphere zoomed into space. Next, Dead & Company doubled down on From the Mars Hotel cuts in Vegas with “Loose Lucy,” led by Weir, and “Ship of Fools,” with vocal duties shared by Mayer and Burbridge.

The sextet then worked through two Blues for Allah tracks, companion songs “Help on the Way,” with Mayer leading the charge, and “Slipknot!” — the sequence featured the Grateful Dead scrapbook motif. Bobby then led the band through “Eyes of the World,” which saw the snowy mountain and Dead iconography visuals.

The second set launched with Aoxomoxoa opener “St. Stephen” followed by “Scarlet Begonias,” the latter fittingly framed by falling flower petals, ahead of “He’s Gone.” The set continued with “Dark Star,” which boasted a stunning array of worlds and a flaming star floating overhead. “Drums” and “Space” followed.

The Sphere debut of “Looks Like Rain” emerged from “Space.” The tender, contemplative ballad — a Bobby collaboration with John Barlow — originally appearing on Bob Weir’s 1972 debut solo album Ace featured simple visuals of the band performing in black and white above the stage. Bobby delivered his typically impassioned vocal on the outro.

The classic “Truckin’” followed ahead of “Throwing Stones,” the latter adding a political edge to the concert. Night 11 at Sphere concluded with what has been a go-to closer, “Casey Jones.” Check out the setlist, Skinny and more video from the show below.

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Weekend four of Dead & Company’s 30-date Dead Forever Residency comes to a close tonight. Check out the itinerary below.