Dead & Company continues to build momentum ahead of their 2019 summer tour by gradually sharing official audio and video footage from the band’s 2017 fall and 2018 winter tours. So far, the band has released pro-shot videos of “Deep Elem Blues”, “If I Had The World to Give“, “Eyes Of The World“, “Iko Iko“, and “Greatest Story Ever Told“. Dead & Company’s latest release from their video vault rollout features the set-opening “Shakedown Street”, from the band’s 2017 tour opening show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on November 12th, 2017.
With a high-energy buzz floating throughout The World’s Most Famous Arena, Dead & Company opened their 2017 fall tour with a well-delivered take on “Shakedown Street”. Backed by Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Oteil Burbridge’s infectious rhythm section, Bob Weir took little time to jump into his vocal lead, with a nearly sold-out crowd at The Garden singing along with the original Grateful Dead member. The 12-minute rendition of “Shakedown Street” features some standout guitar work from John Mayer, as well as some experimental interplay between the rockstar lead guitarist and Weir. Later in the show, Dead & Company played “Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Beat It On Down The Line” for the first time in their post-Dead configuration.
SiriusXM’s Gary Lambert also continues to provide thought-provoking liner notes to go with the release of every video and audio performance, as part of the band’s latest fan-friendly initiative. As he notes about the band’s latest video selection,
Just the right song at just the right venue to open the first show of the 2017 Fall tour. The Grateful Dead introduced “Shakedown Street” live in August of 1978, just weeks after recording it for the album of the same name, which would be released that November. The song’s theme of finding a vibrant beating heart in even the most blighted urban neighborhood – helpful hint: you just gotta poke around – might apply to many a town, but it had a special resonance for audiences in New York in the late 70s, as the city was just starting to come back from the brink of total collapse. It never failed to elicit a huge response from the crowd at Madison Square Garden on the numerous occasions the Grateful Dead played it there, and that clearly still holds true for Dead and Company.
Watch pro-shot video of Dead & Company’s set-opening take on “Shakedown Street” from MSG below:
Dead & Company – “Shakedown Street” – 11/12/2017
[Video: Dead & Company]
Dead & Company fans should keep their eyes peeled on the band’s social media accounts, as more videos and audio recordings are expected to arrive in the upcoming weeks.
Setlist: Dead & Company | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 11/12/2017