Dead & Company returned to the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, CT on Tuesday for a belated Independence Day celebration. The concert once again saw drummer Bill Kreutzmann sit out in favor of his understudy Jay Lane.
Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, John Mayer, and Lane triumphantly declared “The Music Never Stopped” to open Tuesday’s show. Up next came the Fourth of July anthem “Liberty”, last played on 10/14/21 during the band’s “ladies night” show in Dallas following Texas’ passage of restrictive abortion laws.
Dead & Company – “The Music Never Stopped” [Pro-Shot] – 7/5/22
Mayer took the reigns on “They Love Each Other”, plodding along the bouncy vamp ahead of the first “Loser” of 2022. Chimenti’s Hammond B3 roared to life on “Alabama Getaway” in tribute to the late Brent Mydland before Dead & Company headed down south for a steaming pot of New Orleans flavor with “Iko Iko”. The following “High Time” gave Oteil his first turn on the mic that evening prior to Weir’s “Cassidy” closing out the first set.
Back for more, “Jack Straw” opened the second frame as the Xfinity Theatre clamored at the line, “Leaving Texas, Fourth day of July.” The proceeding “Scarlet Begonias” set up a segue train that would roll on through the rest of the show, making a scheduled stop at “Viola Lee Blues” before finding its partner in the second Oteil-sung tune of the evening, “Fire on the Mountain”. The back section of Lane and Hart chugged the band along into “The Other One” before being left to their devices with “Drums” after only one verse.
Dead & Company – “Jack Straw” [Pro-Shot] – 7/5/22
Burbridge lent his hands to “Drums”, as has been tradition, before Mickey took the floor with The Beam. Coming back down from “Space” Dead & Company rolled right into “The Wheel” before a reprise of “The Other One” allowed Weir to finish the second verse. With the clock winding down, Bobby led the band through the darkness of “Black Peter”. Butting up against the venue’s 12 a.m. curfew, Dead & Company closed out with “Sugar Magnolia” as Weir rang out the last notes of the “Sunshine Daydream” coda at the stroke of midnight to end the encore-less performance.
Dead & Company’s summer tour continues tonight, July 6th, in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Dead & Company – Xfinity Theatre – Hartford, CT – 7/5/22
[Audio: JT/NY]
Setlist: Dead & Company | Xfinity Theatre | Hartford, CT | 7/5/22
Set One: The Music Never Stopped, Liberty, They Love Each Other, Loser, Alabama Getaway, Iko Iko, High Time, Cassidy
Set Two: Jack Straw, Scarlet Begonias > Viola Lee Blues > Fire on the Mountain > The Other One > Drums > Space > The Wheel > The Other One > Black Peter > Sugar Magnolia
with Jay Lane on drums in place of Bill Kreutzmann