Fresh off a nearly two-week break, Dead & Company returned to Sphere in Las Vegas, NV on Thursday for the first-ever Fourth of July show at the state-of-the-art venue. The superlative sextet of Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, and Jay Lane jammed their way through a scintillating three-and-a-half hours of Grateful Dead classics and other beloved covers, with more than a sprinkling of holiday patriotism.
The theme of Independence Day rang out from the very top of the setlist. The band opened the evening with the Sphere residency’s first rendition of “Liberty”, penned by the late Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. That song was a soothing introduction, set against the backdrop of an interior of a rocket ship hangar.
“Jack Straw” dropped in as another ode to the holiday festivities. The crowd whooped, cheered, and sang their hearts out at the mention of leaving Texas on the fourth day of July while the sight of an eagle in flight over a rainbow-lit, color-by-numbers landscape only added to the excitement.
Of course, it wouldn’t have been a properly patriotic Grateful Dead affair without “U.S. Blues”. To that end, the sextet delivered toward the end of the second set with Uncle Sam’s undead motorcycle ride through a brightly colored world sprawled across the Sphere’s interior screens. Unlike previous rides, though, this one ended with a red-white-and-blue fireworks show as Uncle Sam waved that flag wide and high.
Related: Dead & Company Sphere Setlist Snapshot: A Look At The Numbers Through Six Weekends
The show featured one other holiday-themed visual tweak. As Dead & Company emerged from setbreak to play “Scarlet Begonias”, the dome of the Sphere filled up with, well, begonias. But instead of just scarlet, the flowers rained down in red, white, and blue.
Fireworks in the Sphere last night, them old US Blues pic.twitter.com/4lrQhhsXB1
— Jack Straw ☮️✌️🇺🇸 (@jackstrawgfdead) July 5, 2024
Thematics aside, the setlist was befitting of such a special occasion. “Franklin’s Tower”, sans the typical “Help” > “Slip!” preamble, served as the soundtrack of the nightly liftoff from modern-day Haight Ashbury into outer space. The beloved Johnny Cash cover “Big River” came in after “Jack Straw”, complete with a title screen homage to the “cowboy” corner of the Dead’s live repertoire.
Related: Sphere Celebrates July 4th With Drone-Assisted Exosphere Spectacle [Full Video]
The cosmic musical connection between John Mayer and Jeff Chimenti took center stage many times, including on a journey through a tie-dye portal during “Friend of the Devil”. Their chemistry remained on full display as plumes of paint expanded across the Sphere for “St. Stephen”, and came back into focus coming out of “Drums” and “Space” with “Wharf Rat”.
To be sure, John’s face-off ambitions weren’t reserved solely for Jeff. John and Bob got into their own impressive guitar harmony tangle during “Feel Like a Stranger” as the visuals shifted from a colorful, Tron-esque spiral to a Deadhead disco ball to a trippy elevator descent.
John took on plenty of prodigious solos, as well. Chief among them was the soaring axe work he reserved for “Althea”, the song that John has credited with getting him into the Grateful Dead’s catalog years ago. That bit of backstory blended beautifully with the room full of Dead memorabilia into which the Sphere transformed as the band played.
Per usual, there was no shortage of Dead history brought back to life in stunning detail. The famed “wall of sound” made its triumphant return during “Help on the Way”, and summarily transformed into a Mario Kart-caliber rainbow road as the band slipped into “Slipknot!”, completing the out-of-order sequence that began with the show-opening “Franklin’s Tower”.
For “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”, the Sphere brought the audience back to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, where the Dead famously played in 1978. That song also saw each of the four non-percussionists take a stab at lead vocals, including an rare appearance in said role by Chimenti.
Anyone who had a hankering for the Grateful Dead’s famed iconography got more than two eyes full during “Terrapin Station”. At first, the dome screen showed soaring views of snow capped alpine mountains at sunset. Those were eventually subsumed by an accordion of colorful dancing bears that expanded into a swirling, psychedelic tunnel that included terrapins, skulls, flying eyeballs, and peace signs.
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To close out the show, Dead & Company trekked from the heavens back down to 1960s San Francisco to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” before sending fans off into the still-hot Las Vegas night to the party-friendly tune of “Casey Jones” complete with a photo montage from the heyday of the Grateful Dead.
Like many Americans, Dead & Company will be back to work on July 5th. In their case, though, they’ll do so inside the world’s coolest office, with tens of thousands of spectators in support.
Scroll down to view the July 4th setlist. Dead & Company return to Sphere on Friday night to continue their seventh Dead Forever weekend in Las Vegas. For a full list of upcoming dates, head here.
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Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 7/4/24
Set One: Liberty [1], Franklin’s Tower, Jack Straw, Big River, Friend of the Devil, Feel Like a Stranger, Althea
Set Two: Scarlet Begonias > St. Stephen, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Wharf Rat, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad, U.S. Blues > Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Encore: Casey Jones
[1] Residency debut
Hold onto the feeling of fun and freedom you’re enjoying this holiday weekend by booking your trip to Golden Road Festival, the three-day boutique micro-festival at Sanger, CA’s Wonder Valley Ranch Resort on November 8th–11th, 2024. An audience of 200 guests will get to enjoy an all-inclusive VIP experience filled with unique collaborations from more than 25 artists, immersive programming and workshops, gourmet meals served around communal tables, an open bar, and premium activities like horseback riding, zip-lining, paintball, go karts, paddleboarding and canoeing. New package options are now available, including some for solo travelers and sober guests. Find complete ticketing details here.
