Last night, Dead & Company took to Boston’s TD Garden, kicking off Dead & Company’s two-night run at the TD Garden, with the group performing at the arena once again tonight. Confirming what many fans have been feeling since the Grateful Dead-inspired act’s performance at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, last night’s high-energy performance offered up yet another fine performance that underlines the immense growth of the group since its inception back in 2015. The setlist was well-crafted, perfectly mediating the energy of the crowd from the first song of the night, “Jack Straw”, onwards.
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The first set—though really the entire performance—was chock full of crowd-pleasers, with a jubilant “Jack Straw” and slinky “New Speedway Boogie” dialed in from the get-go. The gorgeous, slower ballad “Althea” came next, serving as a quick respite before the band began to draw the energy back up with “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”. Building the energy to finish out the first set, the band shifted gears with their staple cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” before the beloved set-closing tunes “Sugaree” and a triumphant “The Music Never Stopped”.
“Jack Straw”
“Althea”
[Video: Sean Roche]
“Sugaree”
[Video: Sean Roche]
As for set two, Dead & Company returned with an opening “Scarlet Begonias”, making for a feel-good start after the break. A classic take on “Fire On The Mountain” came next, with the group again slowing things down for the third song of the set—this time in the form of the mournful “He’s Gone”. Before the show’s “Drums” & “Space”, the band led up to this beloved second staple with “Viola Lee Blues”, again using the lively spirit of the number to contrast with its prior and following numbers.
“Scarlet Begonias”
Out of “Space”, the band threw a curveball, offering up a cover of Miles Davis’ “Milestones”. Dead & Company debuted the cover earlier this year during their summer tour’s show in Atlanta’s Lakewood Amphitheatre on June 13th—however, the song itself served as the opening track on Jerry Garcia and David Grisman‘s 1998 acoustic jazz album So What and later made its way into The Dead’s and Ratdog’s live rotation. After the “Wharf Rat” moved through “The Wheel”, the group closed out the second set on a high note with a strong rendition of “Sugar Magnolia”. Returning for encore, the band offered up “Ripple” to truly call it a night.
“Viola Lee Blues”
[Video: Sean Roche]
“Milestones”
[Video: Sean Roche]
“Wharf Rat”
[Video: Sean Roche]
Setlist: Dead & Company | TD Garden | Boston, MA | 11/17/17
Set One: Jack Straw, New Speedway Boogie, Althea, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Big River, Sugaree, The Music Never Stopped
Set Two: Scarlet Begonias, Fire On The Mountain, He’s Gone, Viola Lee Blues, Drums, Space, Milestones, Wharf Rat, The Wheel, Sugar Magnolia
Encore: Ripple
[Photo: Phierce Photo]