Loose On The Town: Mickey Hart Raps For ‘Fire On The Mountain’ During Night 2 Of Dead & Company’s Folsom Run

Dead & Company returned to Folsom Field on the campus of the University of Colorado Boulder on Sunday night for the second of three concerts at the storied stadium. The Grateful Dead offshoot filled the first set with ’70s classics while the second set saw drummer Mickey Hart rapping for the third verse of “Fire On The Mountain” as well as an unfinished “The Other One” likely setting up a triumphant conclusion of the psychedelic epic during D&C’s final show at Folsom tonight.

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Dead & Company kicked off the concert with guitarist Bob Weir leading the band through “Feel Like A Stranger,” with guitarist John Mayer working the auto-wah and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti pulling triple duty on synth, clavinet and electric piano. Oteil Burbridge thumped out the bassline over a locked-in groove from Hart and Jay Lane. It was gonna be a silky crazy night two in Boulder.

The final jam saw Mayer adding a little bite to the auto-wah and peeling off some fun licks before the band linked up on the final hits and conclusion. Next John helmed the Grateful Dead favorite “Brown-Eyed Women.” The guitarist delivered a twangy, double-stop laced affair for his first solo. Chimenti would take on the second solo with a rollicking run on the 88s before kicking it back over to Mayer and also swapping riffs with the guitarist with both musicians bringing the song to a boil.

On account of it being Sunday, the band then jumped into the Grateful Dead gospel of “Samson & Delilah.” After Bobby handled the first couple verses with the vocalists joining him on the choruses, Weir delivered a tasty slide solo. The American Beauty classic “Friend Of The Devil” followed with John and Bobby sharing lead vocal duties on the verses. The tune also saw Weir continuing his soloing ways before Mayer and Chimenti took turns in the spotlight, with the latter exhibiting a well-constructed, honky-tonk-tinged piano run.

John Mayer then showed off his blues chops, both vocally and the guitar for Tampa Red’s “It Hurts Me Too” with his pal Jeff Chimenti riling things up with tasty blues tone on the Hammond before Mayer brought the tune home with a wailing affair on his axe ahead of the song’s conclusion. “Ramble On Rose” was next on the agenda, which once again showcased Mayer and Chimenti’s chemistry.

Oteil then delivered a typically gorgeous vocal performance on “High Time.” John had a weepy solo in store for the Workingman’s Dead cut. The sextet then slid into “Let It Grow.” Mayer offered a spicy run on the upbeat tune. The sextet would explore a spirited jam which saw more soloing from Bobby ahead of a Latin-jazz-tinged groove that featured John taking over on lead. The ascending power chord sequence saw Jeff reeling off some rocking piano riffage before Bobby sang the final verse and the first set came to a close.

D&C launched the second set with a funky “They Love Each Other,” with Mayer on lead vocals and highlighted by barroom piano from Jeff and a crunchy ride from Mayer which flowed smoothly into “China Cat Sunflower.” Bobby captained the Aoxomoxoa cut. The sextet turned in a well-paced jam into “Chincat’s” live companion “I Know You Rider.” Folsom naturally exploded for the “Colorado rain” verse. Bobby and John vibed off one another for Mayer’s final run. Weir then queued up Chimenti to tickle the ivories ahead of the a capella conclusion.

Next up, “Fire On The Mountain,” which saw Oteil breaking out a four-string banjo bass for the song’s plucky baseline. Oteil also handled lead vocals on the Shakedown Street track. But the band threw a curveball when Mickey Hart stepped to the mic to rap a stanza of the Robert Hunter lyrics Mickey composed the music too. Hart recorded “a proto-rap version of the song for an unreleased album entitled Area Code 415,” as per Dead.net. While it came during the third verse slot, Hart delivered the lyrics to the first verse. Watch Mickey’s rap below:

The epic “The Other One” emerged from “Fire.” The sextet eased into the opening jam, which featured Mayer flying around his six-string before Bobby took over for one of his signature songs. Mayer and Chimenti then egged each other on guitar and electric piano respectively to begin the second jam sequence, which rolled through peaks and valleys full of jazz chords from Jeff and rapid-fire bass runs from Oteil. Left unfinished, “The Other One” gave way to “Drums,” which featured Mickey and Jay battling on bike horns. Hart then looped the honking as he and Lane manned the drum station with Burbridge joining in. Mickey then manned The Beam, accompanied by his effects pad.

The rest of the band then returned for a surreal “Space,” which then gave way to a triumphant “The Eleven.” The jam boasted some sizzling front pickup riffage from Mayer laced with electric piano from Chimenti. A fitting 4th of July weekend “U.S. Blues” followed.

The beloved Bonnie Dobson number, “Morning Dew,” brought the second set to a close with a typically dynamic performance from the band filled with soaring solos from Mayer as well as a torchy final build to put an exclamation point on the second set. Dead & Company returned for another beloved Dead classic, “Ripple,” — which boasted both Bobby and Mayer on acoustic guitars and trading verses — to wrap night two at Folsom.

Dead & Company play their final show at Folsom tonight before moving on to The Gorge and finally San Francisco to conclude The Final tour. Livestreams can be purchased via nugs.net.

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Audio (Taped by Z-Man)