Dead & Company paid tribute to late basketball Hall-of-Famer and legendary Deadhead Bill Walton on Thursday by taking the court at Sphere with instruments emblazoned with the NBA icon’s number 32 which he wore for UCLA, the Portland Trail Blazers, and San Diego Clippers. Walton passed away from cancer on Monday at the age of 71, leaving behind a legacy of infectious positivity that lit up basketball courts and concert venues for over half a century.
Before the starting six of the Grateful Dead offshoot the stage for their third weekend run at the groundbreaking Las Vegas venue, drummer Mickey Hart posted a photo of him and Walton with the caption, “Tonight we pulse, we vibrate, we dance, for Bill. The BIGGEST deadhead in the world!” Following news of Bill’s passing earlier this week, Mickey also called Walton “my best friend, the best friend I ever had.” During Hart and drummer Jay Lane‘s “Drums” portion of the show, Sphere’s dome LED screen showed footage from when Hart’s best friend previously joined him during the percussive interlude.
Bill made it to the 🔮last night, in spirit at least. Friends said the crowd erupted. 💔 @strayney I believe you asked the question the other day pic.twitter.com/hmOtuXemjB
— 🆂🅸🅼🅾🅽 🅱 (@S1monB72) May 31, 2024
The band left audiences on Thursday with another tribute to Walton, once again synced up with a Mickey-centric moment. As Hart rapped the words to “Fire On The Mountain” for the show closer, the visuals deviated from the typical virtual scrapbook montage of the past two weekends. Instead, the world’s largest LED screen was adorned with images of Walton with members of the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company through the years as rose petals stacked up behind the photos. Walton was a lifelong Deadhead who first started seeing the band in 1967, racking up over 850 Grateful Dead shows in his lifetime and becoming close personal friends with the entire group. His love and admiration extended well beyond Jerry Garcia‘s passing in 1995, and in recent years he served as a source of inspiration for Dead & Company’s John Mayer and Oteil Burbridge.
“He speaks with this cadence: ‘Go out there. Give it your absolute all. Don’t be shy. They are here to watch you play. Go play to the greatest of your ability,’” Mayer said of Walton last year.
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Other highlights from Dead & Company’s first of three shows this weekend at Sphere (and seventh overall as part of the residency) included a bevy of debuts for the residency, starting with the opening “Iko Iko”. “Loser” and Marty Robbins‘ “El Paso” also made their first appearances inside the $2 billion state-of-the-art venue, paired with visuals of the Dead’s 1978 trip to Egypt and a spaghetti Western starring Bob Weir as “Ace,” respectively. The second set kicked off with another residency debut, American Beauty singalong staple “Ripple”, followed not long after by the fifth and final Sphere debut of the evening “Mr. Charlie”.
Check out some fan-shot videos from Dead & Company at Sphere on Thursday, including the tributes to Bill Walton, by CML’s Moving Picture Videos. The Dead Forever residency continues tonight, May 31st, and will now run into August. A complete list of concerts are available here.
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Dead & Company — “Fire On The Mountain” — 5/30/24
Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 5/30/24
Set 1:Iko Iko, Eyes Of The World, Bertha, Loser, El Paso (Marty Robbins), Cold Rain & Snow (Traditional)
Set 2:Ripple, Estimated Prophet > Mr. Charlie > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower > Drums > Space > Standing on the Moon > Althea > Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad (Traditional) > Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan), Fire On The Mountain