Dead & Company Welcomes Donna Jean Godchaux At Citi Field Debut In Queens

Apparently former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux’s guest spot with Dead & Company at Bonnaroo wasn’t a one-time thing. The singer joined her former band mates Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann as well as John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge once again at Citi Field in New York City on Saturday night.

Donna came out for her first appearance of the night on the “Shakedown Street” opener and contributed to portions of both sets at the home of the New York Mets. The band found its groove quickly and Mayer shredded his “Shakedown” solo. John shared lead vocals on a Donna-less “Jack Straw” with Bobby and “Althea” continues to be one of Mayer’s strongest songs. Godchaux returned to the stage to add to the rest of the set. Weir growled out “Loose Lucy” ahead of a “Ramble On Rose” that saw the audience explode with glee following the “just like New York City” lyric. “Sugaree” was right in John Mayer’s wheelhouse, while the second-ever Dead & Company “Passenger” and a solid “Casey Jones” brought the opening stanza to its conclusion.

Dead & Company kicked off the second set with a lengthy “Dark Star” that saw the six-piece expertly explore various jam spaces before they segued into a Mayer/Weir-sung “Friend Of The Devil.” Donna Jean Godchaux came back during “Friend Of The Devil” and also added to the beloved “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire On The Mountain” sequence. Chimenti, Mayer and Burbridge each shined in particular on the pre-“Drums” segment. The Rhythm Devils then had their fun bouncing sounds around the massive ballpark before Hart set the pace for “Space.” Another big jam came next as “The Other One” led into the pretty ballad “Wharf Rat.” After more than 30 D&C shows Bobby’s political rant “Throwing Stones” finally made its way into a Dead & Company setlist to end the second set. Weir and Mayer (wearing a Mets jersey) strapped on acoustics for “Ripple” to begin the encore which was followed by the expected “One More Saturday Night” to close out the show. Dead & Company returns to Citi Field on Sunday night.

Videos

[Ramble On Rose | Captured by Sean Roche]

[Jack Straw | Captured by rdeal1999]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9XQzeeYi0

[Loose Lucy | Captured by rdeal1999]

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

[The Other One | Captured by rdeal1999]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN5Eh_XDMe4

[Captured by rdeal1999]