It is as if no time has passed between last summer’s Dead & Company tour and now. Forever bandmates Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, and Mickey Hart, along with newcomers John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti get seemingly tighter and more comfortable with each show. The songs of the Grateful Dead are going places like never before, and these new flavors are only proving the timelessness of one of America’s greatest band in the history of rock and roll.
The diversity of the band’s catalogue shined brightly during the first set on Saturday night at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, with songs like “Samson and Delilah,” “Brown-Eyed Women,” and “El Paso” starting off the set. The beautiful “They Love Each Other,” “Cassidy,” and “Bird Song” followed, with a “Don’t Ease Me In” set closer.
Watch the set-opener below, courtesy of nugs.tv.
The second set was monstrous from the very beginning, with two of the band’s favorited song pairings. For one long continuous jam, the band broke into “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot!,” and “Franklin’s Tower” before delivering a “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain” couplet for the books. As per tradition, this lead into the desirable “Drums” and “Space” break, spotlighting the rhythm devils on their impressive percussion, going deeper and deeper into the music. The enormous second set jam ended with a rocking “The Other One,” before moving on into Bob Dylan‘s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Dead & Company closed the second set with “Casey Jones,” then returned to the stage for an outstanding “Brokedown Palace” encore.
Watch the second set opener below, courtesy of nugs.tv.
You can also listen to the full show audio, courtesy of JeffFrank below:
Dead & Company go on to play the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on June 7, before heading to their two shows at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado this weekend.
Setlist: Dead & Company | Shoreline Amphitheatre | Mountain View, CA | 6/4/17
I: Samson and Delilah, Brown-Eyed Women, El Paso, They Love Each Other, Cassidy, Bird Song, Don’t Ease Me In
II: Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower > Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain > Drums > Space > The Other One, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Casey Jones
E: Brokedown Palace