Dead & Company Commence Final Residency Weekend at Sphere with Grateful Dead Classics

Photo: Chloe Weir

On Thursday, May 15, Dead & Company returned to Las Vegas’ Sphere venue for their final weekend of their Dead Forever experience. Night one of three on the state-of-the-art stage commenced with the tone-setting “Good Times” before the arrival of fan favorite “Shakedown Street.” Bobby Weir, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Mickey Hart, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane kept up with crowd rousing renditions of cherished Grateful Dead covers, including sing-along “Uncle John’s Band.”

Night one produced a plethora of fan favorites, a set one version of “Friend of the Devil” ahead of the heavily covered Jerry Garcia Band-associated song/ Eric Clapton’s original “Lay Down Sally,” which allowed Mayer to flex his guitar chops. The tune above set up the arrival of “Terrapin Station,” a catalog highlight that brought out every member’s prowess, letting inspiration flow and flourish.

The band’s song selections remained elevated from set one to two, beginning with a hefty dose of “Bertha,” which preluded another name-dropped song, this time, “Jack Straw,” from Wichita. Seeking an opportune entry point for sister songs, the band performed “China Cat Sunflower” into the expected “I Know You Rider,” before dipping into “He’s Gone.”

The previously mentioned move came before the second set’s instrumental interlude, “Drums” and “Space.” During the outro of Hart’s exploration through the cosmos, his bandmates arrived on the stage where the collective picked up their return on “Standing on the Moon.” The softness of the latter was cut by the thump of “Brown-Eyed Women” and continued pulse of “Hell in a Bucket.” 

Dead & Company sought a reflective second set conclusion on “Brokedown Palace,” before their expected encore and subsequent conjuring of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn on Your Love Light.”

The band will return to Sphere tonight for night two of three during their final residency weekend in Las Vegas.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dead & Company (@deadandcompany)

The post Dead & Company Commence Final Residency Weekend at Sphere with Grateful Dead Classics appeared first on Relix Media.

Link to the source article – https://relix.com/news/detail/dead-company-commence-final-residency-weekend-at-sphere-with-grateful-dead-classics/