Dead & Company made their historic return to Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday to kick off a three-night, 4th of July Weekend run. Saturday marked the Grateful Dead offshoot’s 11th appearance at the University of Colorado Boulder football stadium, tying it with New York City’s Citi Field as the band’s most-played venue.
Of all the amphitheaters, stadiums, and arenas on Dead & Company’s The Final Tour, Folsom Field has one of the most prolific histories with the greater Dead family. The Grateful Dead first played the stadium back in 1972 (three years after the band made its initial Boulder, CO debut), returning in 1980 for a two-night run celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary. Though the Dead never returned to Boulder after 1981 (when they played the Coors Events Center), in the Dead & Company era, Folsom has become a landmark and mandatory stop for summer tours—like Ruoff Mortgage Music Center (formerly known as Deer Creek) is to the Midwest.
For this final swing through the Deadhead stronghold outside Denver, Dead & Company focused on the present rather than the encroaching conclusion, starting off with the jovial Sam Cooke cover “Let The Good Times Roll”. Underscoring this commitment to staying grounded in the moment, Bob Weir crooned the lines, “It might be one o’clock and it might be three / Time don’t mean that much to me.”
Dead & Company – “Let The Good Times Roll” (Sam Cooke) [Pro-Shot] – 7/1/23
Dead & Company’s cheerful outlook was reciprocated twofold by both the cross-generational crowd of Deadheads singing along and by the heavens themselves as a double rainbow presided over the concert. The show got on the road quite literally with the traveling anthem “Truckin'”, setting off on a journey through the John Mayer-sung Howlin’ Wolf original “Smokestack Lightning” and into a short but sweet “Deal”.
A geospecific cover was in order for the Centennial State faithful, as “Me & My Uncle” elicited widespread applause with the mention of “south Colorado” and Weir’s declaration “I’m as honest as a Denver man can be.” The combination of Traffic‘s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and The Beatles‘ “Hey Jude” coda has become an—albeit predictable—setlist choice that never fails to elicit a groundswell of energetic momentum, and nowhere is that palpable inertia felt more than in a sports stadium as the coliseum roars along to the pairing popularized during the Dead’s ’80s/’90s stadium heydey.
Riding the spirituous locomotive with service through the ornate grandeur of “Terrapin Station”, a transition into a set-closing “Don’t Ease Me In” reaffirmed Dead & Company’s commitment to the here-and-now.
A second set-opening, 19-minute “Eyes of the World” proved a harbinger of things to come, setting up a nearly continuous 100ish minutes of music. “Eyes” proved the lengthiest sonic exploration of the evening and flowed into a “Shakedown Street” resulting in a pairing that—all told—clocked in at over half an hour. “Shakedown Street” preceded the second-to-last stoppage in play of the evening (counting the encore break), as Dead & Company powered through primal Dead favorite “St. Stephen” and transitioned a trip down the mine of “Cumberland Blues” into the “Drums” and “Space” excursion.
Dead & Company – “Eyes Of The World” [Pro-Shot] – 7/1/23
Under the light of a nearly full moon, Miles Davis‘ “Milestones” made its second appearance of the year, tacked onto the avante garde “Space” voyage. Back to reality, Weir provided a sobering “Days Between” before executing an energetic slingshot with a cheerful transition into a floral pairing of “Sugar Magnolia” and “Scarlet Begonias” before a final, set-closing “Sunshine Daydream”.
Rather than finishing the show with the encore-staple singalong “Ripple”, Dead & Company kept the vibes at an all-time high with a roaring “Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad” to finish off the first of three nights at Folsom Field.
Dead & Company – “Truckin'” > “Smokestack Lighting (Howlin’ Wolf) – 7/1/23
[Video: Scott Sigman]
Dead & Company – Folsom Field – Boulder, CO – 7/1/23 – Full Audio
[Audio: Z-Man]
Setlist: Dead & Company | Folsom Field | Boulder, CO | 7/1/23
Set One: Let the Good Times Roll (Sam Cooke), Truckin’ > Smokestack Lightning (Howlin’ Wolf) > Deal, Me & My Uncle (John Phillips), Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic) > Hey Jude Reprise (The Beatles) > Terrapin Station > Don’t Ease Me In (Traditional)
Set Two: Eyes of the World > Shakedown Street, St. Stephen > Cumberland Blues > Drums > Space > Milestones (Miles Davis) > Days Between > Sugar Magnolia > Scarlet Begonias > Sunshine Daydream
Encore: Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad (Traditional)