Full Show Audio & Pro-Shot Video: Dead & Company Kick Off Shoreline Amphitheatre Run

Last night Dead & Company were in the heart of DeadHead country to kick-off the first of a two night run at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California just a stones throw from Menlo Park, where the Grateful Dead played their very first show as The Warlocks back in 1965. The two set performance found the band continuing to mine the Dead’s songbook and offering up a number of tour debuts, as well as holding true to the promise of letting bassist Oteil Burbridge get a chance to sing lead.

The six-piece act kicked the night off with a lengthy Bob Weir-sung “Playing In The Band,” followed by John Mayer-led take on “Viola Lee Blues.” Next up was “Tennessee Jed” and a pair of tour debuts with an always welcomed exploratory version of “Here Comes Sunshine” and “Candyman,” which gave Mayer a chance to flex his blues-guitar muscle. The band dipped their toes into the Dead’s country and folk side with the a punchy “Me & My Uncle,” and a campfire sing-a-long take on “Friend Of The Devil.” The first set came to a close with an unusually placed, but night-appropriate “One More Saturday Night.”

Dead & Co. kicked off their second set with the traditional pairing of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider.” Next up was the highly-anticipated fulfillment on promise to ‘Let Oteil Sing’ with the bassist handling lead vocals on a tender version of “China Doll,” which got a huge ovation from the sold out crowd. A 17-minute jazzy “Eyes Of The World” and a rousing “Deal” let the band stretch their wings before heading into the “Drums” > “Space” portion of the night. The psychedelic excursion led into a reggae-tinged “The Wheel,” with Bobby closing the set out with a “Looks Like Rain” and “Good Lovin’.” The band brought the night to a close with a “Black Muddy River” encore.

Dead & Company return to the stage at the Shoreline Amphitheatre tonight, which will be webcast via nugs.tv.

Watch pro-shot video of the first song from each set, Oteil’s lead singing debut, listen to full show audio and check out the setlist below:

Listen to audio taped by Jeff Frank: