On Wednesday night, Dead & Company headed to Albuquerque, NM’s Isleta Amphitheatre, marking the Grateful Dead-inspired ensemble’s penultimate stop ahead of the band’s tour-closing two-night run at Boulder, Colorado’s Folsom Field tonight and tomorrow.
As noted in Live For Live Music’s review of the evening,
The band took the stage in a somewhat unusual formation, with Oteil Burbridge occupying the space to Bob Weir‘s left where Jeff Chimenti‘s keys usually sit and Chimenti set up in Oteil’s normal spot to John Mayer‘s right. The reasons as to why the change was made are anyone’s guess. This writer, for one, thinks the thought process may have something to do with the musical sparks that have been flying between Chimenti and Mayer all summer—put them closer together, and maybe those sparks might glow brighter… Or, you know, it could have been for practical reasons with no deeper meaning whatsoever. But whatever the reason for the stage plot switch-up, those moments of magic between John and Jeff continued in kind in New Mexico.
While a number of fans have taken to social media discussing why the band decided to switch up their stage positioning in New Mexico, it seems that we’ve finally gotten a clear answer from someone close to the band. Oteil Burbridge’s wife, Jess Burbridge, revealed in an Instagram story that Bob Weir initiated the change. As she explained in the Instagram story, “Bob wanted [Oteil] closer so they could connect better.”
Check out Jess Burbridge’s post below. As for tonight and tomorrow, who knows if the positioning switch will reappear during Dead & Company’s shows at Folsom Field.
