AN EVENING WITH THE DEAD
A few weeks ago, I told you about a visit to the Sphere to see the Eagles, as it was the greatest concert I had ever attended. I was wrong. This past weekend, a friend (Keith), my son (Zach), and I went to the Sphere again, this time to see Dead & Co. And it was even better than the Eagles concert!
If you are a fan of the Dead, or of just good musical show, go see Dead & Co., at the Sphere. I guarantee you it will be the concert of a life time. We enjoyed every minute of the show – the music was awesome and the visual production nothing short of mind-blowing.
Dead & Company is the name of a rock and roll outfit for who is left of the original Grateful Dead as several members have passed away. The band was formed in Palo Alto California in 1965, originally named The Warlocks. They are different from most rock and roll outfits as they have a diverse style encompassing rock, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass, gospel, reggae and world music. Writer Lenny Kaye aptly said of the band, “the Grateful Dead touches on ground that most other groups don’t even know exists.”
The Dead are also considered the pioneering godfathers of jam bands, stretching out studio songs into much longer jams. Conan O’Brien once said in his monologue, “the Grateful Dead are coming out with a new ten album box set. No word on which song it will be!”
Over 17,500 people were packed into the Sphere, some were Deadheads, others used to be Deadheads back when they still had hair and weighed less. Surely more were converted to be a Deadhead, including my buddy, Keith. At one point my son said to me, “you’re generation was so lucky,” referring to the music of our generation.
On hand for the night were two founding members of the Grateful Dead, rhythm guitar player Bob Weir and drummer Micky Hart. (Ok, Keith, Hart didn’t get there until 1967.) The aging rhythm guitar playing Weir, now 77 was in top form for the evening. Even more impressive was the performance by Micky Hart, now 81, playing drums alongside Jay Lane, formerly of Bob Weir’s “side” group, Rat Dog. The Dead were one of the first and few bands with dual drummers. Hart performed an amazing song called simply enough, “Drums,” which was accompanied by Lane and bassist/drummer Oteil Burbridge. Three drummers for one song. Our seats buzzed throughout the song.
Guitar virtuoso John Mayer was spot on for the night, making me believe this version of the band is better with Mayer’s guitar pickin’ than when the late, great Jerry Garcia handled the hot licks. And filling out the band for the evening flawlessly was keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.
The set list for the night included the following:
1. “Gimme Some Lovin'”
2. “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”
3. “Bertha”
4. “New Speedway Boogie”
5. “Brown-Eyed Women”
6. “Good Lovin'”
7. “Don’t Ease Me In”
8. “Feel Like a Stranger”
9. “Scarlet Begonias”
10. “Fire on the Mountain”
11. “Terrapin Station”
12. “Drums” (Click below to see and hear this song)
13. “Space”
14. “Standing on the Moon”
15. “Althea”
16. “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”
17. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
18. “Touch of Grey”
They slowed the pace considerably for the last two songs, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Touch of Grey.” It was a fitting ending for a concert that was nothing short of just staggering. I wish they would have included the mellow song “Ripple” in at the ending also, but maybe next time.
Folks, I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my time, but none better than the Dead & Company performance at the Sphere. If you have the opportunity to go, get tickets on the second level, then sit back for a great show.
