On Monday night, Dead & Company continued their 2018 summer tour with a stop at Cincinnati, OH’s Riverbend Music Center. Coming off a weather cancelation in the middle of their second set on night two in Camden, the band took the stage at Riverbend with a well-worn Grateful Dead mindset: “Just keep truckin’.”

The band took their time before sliding into “Truckin'” in earnest to start the show. Bob Weir struggled early on the vocals, coughing and chuckling as he tried to soothe his dry throat. Eventually, a red cup filled with water appeared on the amp behind Weir, and with his whistle wetted, his trademark howl was back, albeit with a little more growl in it than usual.

Dead & Company – “Truckin'” [Pro-Shot]

[Video: Dead & Company]

Weir powered through, taking lead vocals on an upbeat rendition of Johnny Cash‘s “Big River”. John Mayer stepped to the mic next to lead the band through “They Love Each Other”, one of the tunes he’s most naturally made his own in the Dead & Co arena. Another such song followed in “Friend of the Devil”, as Mayer and Weir (on acoustic guitar) shared vocals and Jeff Chimenti took a beautiful piano solo on the American Beauty classic.

Next, Oteil Burbridge took to the mic for a tender, bluesy reading of “If I Had The World To Give”. “Sugaree” came next, and the band grooved through multiple swinging blues jam portions, with Mayer and Chimenti playing off each other to great effect. Burbridge and the Rhythm Devils, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, anchored the band firmly in the pocket before pushing Chimenti and Mayer toward a white-light peak. Finally, the band took one more stab at first set blues with “New Speedway Boogie” to bring their first set to a close.

Dead & Company came out of the gates hot for set two, opening with a “Deal” that felt somewhat faster than the band’s usually tepid pace on the Jerry Garcia classic. The band made the most of the approach, pushing the song into some interesting, sparse space before building it up to a satisfying climax.

Dead & Company – “Deal” [Pro-Shot]

[Video: Dead & Company]

Without skipping a beat, the band settled into a slow and steady “He’s Gone”, Weir and Mayer smile, smile, smiling as they shared lead vocals. The song’s outro jam, in particular, saw the band members play off each other impeccably, producing some of the most engaging improv of the night. The meat of the second set followed with a red-hot run through “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” pairing, with the band’s emotional accents hitting all their customary marks throughout the classic pairing.

Pulsing percussion plumed out of “Rider”, signaling the start of Mickey and Billy’s “Drums/Space” fun time. The band returned to the stage to craft a dissonant, jazzy atmosphere deep into “Space”, emerging on the other side in Bob Dylan classic “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”. Bobby’s early vocal struggles were a distant memory as he emoted an elegant reading of the tune.

Dead & Company kicked the energy back up a few notches with the “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” that followed, with Weir, Burbridge, and Mayer all taking a turn singing lead. Finally, after a straight-through set with nary a measure’s break, the band flowed into “U.S. Blues” to bring it to a close. Another Dylan favorite, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, served as the encore to cap the evening.

Of note, in addition to playing a seamless second set, every song the band played throughout the night (aside from the ever-present “Drums/Space”) was a tour debut—as has been the case in each of the tour’s 4 (3.75?) shows. While the repeats will inevitably begin sooner rather than later, it’s ensuring to see them making a concerted effort to utilize the Dead’s expansive catalog, much of which remains unexplored by this latter-day incarnation of the band. After a hiccup in Camden, Dead & Co’s Cincinnati performance saw them get their footing once again, delivering a fun early-tour show that shows promise for what’s to come as their summer run trucks on.

You can listen to full audio of the show via nugs.net. Next up for the band is a show at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in Noblesville, IN tomorrow, June 6th. For a full list of Dead & Company’s upcoming shows, head to their website.

Setlist: Dead & Company | Riverbend Music Center | Cincinnati, OH | 6/4/18

Set One: Truckin’ > Big River, They Love Each Other, Friend of the Devil*, If I Had The World To Give, Sugaree, New Speedway Boogie

Set Two: Deal > He’s Gone > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider > Drums/Space > A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad > U.S. Blues

Encore: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Notes: All songs were tour debuts

*Bob Weir on acoustic guitar