After 15 shows spanning two months, Dead & Company returned to Sphere to kick off the final weekend of their 2025 Dead Forever residency warmed up and raring to go.
Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane set the tone for a joyous and celebratory show with “Good Times” before settling in with a laid-back “Shakedown Street”. The relaxed-tempo version was not as slow as previous renditions from earlier in the run but was still ambling for a song known for its upbeat disco groove.
“Uncle John’s Band” also had a relaxed tempo, giving it a dreamy feel that perfectly matched the paint by numbers morning sky landscape that transformed the venue into a cartoonish technicolor wonderland.
The first set’s chill vibe continued with the first “Friend of the Devil” of the residency. You could tell it had been a while since the band played it—an entire year minus 11 days—when Weir surprisingly flubbed one of the lyrics. He smiled and gestured with a playfully dismissive wave when the audience caught him red-handed and reacted with a cheer of knowing recognition. Chimenti took the heat off Bobby by shifting the focus with a standout piano solo while a portal decorated with spiraling Egyptian iconography meanwhile opened up into a psychedelic tie-dye backdrop with dancing bears boogying along, like a Grateful Dead t-shirt come to life.
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Eric Clapton‘s “Lay Down Sally”, a cover debuted during the first weekend of the residency and played one other time since then, changed up the vibe but was short and sweet, no longer than the original album version.
The first set then finished on a high note with an epic, crowd-pleasing “Terrapin Station”.
After returning from set break, Dead & Company dropped into a straightforward “Bertha” before the arc of “Jack Straw” helped pick up the energy a bit.
A shower of yellow flowers filled sphere during down-tempo “China Cat Sunflower”. Just when it seemed like the band was finally loosening up, they transitioned smoothly into “I Know You Rider”. Mickey gave a smile after playing big tom fill during the climactic refrain, “The sun will shine in my back door someday,” and the crowd came alive during the following lyric, “I wish I was a headlight, on a North bound train.”
“He’s Gone” was as powerful as ever and faded out gracefully as Mayer played expressive, bluesy, low-volume licks, using the volume knob on his guitar to mimic the voice of seasoned soul singer.
A thunderous “Drums” was a highlight as always, starting off with a pounding four-on-the-floor beat that dropped out once Oteil returned to the stage to join Mickey and Jay. The in-seat haptics rumbled along as the trio banged on big gong drums. One can’t help but wonder how a Mickey Hart just “Drums” headline show/tour would do, possibly at the mini-Sphere venues that are reportedly in the works, or planetariums perhaps. In any case, the percussive segment is definitely a can’t-miss part of the Sphere experience. Mickey’s beam reverberated through the venue as he bowed its long strings and then scraped them with a short metal tube, guiding the audience through the cosmos like a conductor and astronaut in one.
The following “Space” segment was surprisingly static, with minimal movement before ultimately taking the shape of “Standing on the Moon”. Although the improvisatory portion was pretty uneventful, the Weir-led ballads that emerge out of “Space” have been another consistent highlight for those who appreciate the Dead’s more thoughtful and reflective songs, and this was no exception.
The energy picked back up with “Brown-Eyed Women” and peaked during “Hell in a Bucket”, which featured a dazzling array of colorful claymation.
Then, after descending down from interstellar space to the Grateful Dead’s former haunt, 710 Ashbury, during “Brokedown Palace”, Dead & Company surprised fans with the first “Turn On Your Love Light” of the residency.
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All in all, night one of Dead & Company’s final weekend at Sphere was a solid—if surprisingly tame—performance, with fun song choices and minimal jamming. With just two more nights left, they are primed to finish their 2025 Dead Forever Vegas residency in triumphant fashion.
Click below to view a collection of fan-shot videos.
The band also just confirmed a three-night celebration of the Grateful Dead‘s 60th anniversary at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. For a full list of upcoming dates, head here.
Fans hoping to get in on the action with Dead & Company at Sphere can find tons of face-value tickets for the entire run via CashorTrade. By choosing CashorTrade over other sites you are supporting real fans, not brokers trying to offload inventory. Unlike other platforms, you may even stumble upon a miracle. Browse what’s available on the site here.
Dead & Company – “Shakedown Street” – 5/15/25
[Video: Mike Tarleton]
Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 5/15/25
Set 1: Good Times (Sam Cooke), Shakedown Street, Uncle John’s Band, Friend of the Devil, Lay Down Sally (Eric Clapton), Terrapin Station
Set 2: Bertha, Jack Straw, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider (Traditional), He’s Gone, Drums > Space > Standing on the Moon Grateful Dead, Brown-Eyed Women, Hell in a Bucket, Brokedown Palace
Encore: Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby “Blue” Bland)