On Saturday, Dead & Company offered up their debut performance at Foxborough, MA’s Gillette Stadium as part of their 2019 summer tour.
The Grateful Dead spin-off band—comprised of Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti—opened up their first set with an exploratory “Eyes Of The World”, allowing Mayer a chance to dazzle the crowd with an explosive guitar solo out of the gates. “Eyes” smoothly flowed into a Mayer-led “Deal”, highlighted by some delicate interplay between Chimenti and Mayer. The sextet moved forward with “Black Throated Wind” and “Easy Wind” before offering up a tender take on “Loser”. Weir gave the Robert Hunter/ Jerry Garcia ballad his all, with the receptive and cheerful crowd singing along. Picking up the pace, Weir and Mayer split vocals duties on “Big Railroad Blues”, which once again found Mayer and Chimenti trading off some spicy licks. Dead & Company closed out their first set with a pairing of “Bird Song” into “Box Of Rain”, leaving the New England crowd with some high hopes for the second set.
Dead & Company – “Black Throated Wind”
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Dead & Company – “Easy Wind”
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Dead & Company – “Big Railroad Blues”
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Following a setbreak, the band returned to open up their second set with “Help On The Way”, which crashed into the customary pairing of “Slipknot!” into “Franklin’s Tower”. Chimenti and Mayer locked into a bubbly groove, backed by Kreutzmann, Hart, and Burbridge’s fierce rhythm section. Dead & Co. moved kept on truckin’ with “He’s Gone”, highlighted by some impressive vocal work from Weir and Mayer. “He’s Gone” coasted into a deep “Dark Star”, which was eventually followed up by the “Drums/Space” segment of the evening. With the full band reemerging, Weir took the vocal lead on “Stella Blue” before the band closed out their second set with “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” sandwiched in between “Not Fade Away”. Dead & Company returned to deliver a lone encore of “The Weight” by The Band.
Dead & Company – “He’s Gone”
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Tonight (Sunday), Dead & Company will close out their weekend with a performance at Queens, NY’s Citi Field. For a full list of the band’s upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, head to Dead & Company’s website.
Setlist: Dead & Company | Gillette Stadium | Foxboro, MA | 6/22/2019
Set One: Eyes Of The World > Deal, Black Throated Wind, Easy Wind, Loser, Big Railroad Blues, Bird Song > Box Of Rain
Set Two: Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower, He’s Gone > Dark Star > Drums/Space > Stella Blue > Not Fade Away > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad > Not Fade Away
Encore: The Weight