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Dead & Company Finishes Northeast Run With 5 Tour Debuts In Hartford [Photos/Videos]

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Dead & Company wrapped up the Northeast leg of its summer tour with a show at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, CT on Sunday. The show in guitarist John Mayer‘s home state saw additional tour debuts from the Grateful Dead spinoff act as the band continues to expand its playbook.

The show opened with a monster “Shakedown Street” as Mayer’s envelope filter-assisted guitar led the charge with guitarist Bob Weir, drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, and bassist Oteil Burbridge following close behind. The funk came early on as Mayer and Chimenti locked into a groove together while Burbridge and the Rhyhtm Devils smoothed out the edges.

Dead & Company – “Shakedown Street” – Hartford, CT – 9/5/21

The first tour debut of the evening came with “Samson & Deliah” in its familiar Sunday-show home. An ebb and flow of energy quickly developed as Dead & Company eased back on the gas for a somber “He’s Gone” that saw Weir and Mayer trading vocals. The band then went ahead and threw a big chunk of coal into the engine with a segue into “Big Railroad Blues”.

Dead & Company – “Big Railroad Blues” – Hartford, CT – 9/5/21

[Video: Matt Frazier]

The eternal pairing of “Lost Sailor” and “Saint of Circumstance” came next as Weir paddled audiences out into the depths. The band didn’t stop there, however, instead moving into a rare stand-alone “Franklin’s Tower” before wrapping for set break. During the crescendo of the song, Mayer pointed the spotlight toward Chimenti as he changed the lyrics to, “if you get confused listen to the B3 play!”

Related: Mickey Hart Discusses Healing Nature Of Music On PBS ‘NewsHour’ [Video]

Though Dead & Company covers quite a bit of ground in the expansive Grateful Dead songbook, Sunday’s second set saw a particular focus on Primal Dead-era early compositions. Opening up with the one-two punch of “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider”, the music never stopped as Mayer plucked out the opening to “St. Stephen”. Mayer led the charge once again as he put his blues guitar stylings on full display for the vintage track.

Dead & Company – “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” – Hartford, CT – 9/5/21

Dead & Company – “St. Stephen” – Hartford, CT – 9/5/21 – Partial Video

[Video: Matt Frazier]

Weir took the reins on the tour debut of “William Tell Bridge”, the vocal predecessor of “The Eleven” which also arrived as a tour debut and completed the classic Dead suite. The experiment in alternative music timing gave Burbridge a chance to flex his low end muscles before it was Kreutzmann and Hart’s time to shine with the Drums/Space segment. As the rest of the band filed back in, Weir used the post-Space ballad slot for the first telling of Bob Dylan‘s “All Along The Watchtower” this tour.

Dead & Company – “William Tell Bridge” > “The Eleven” – Hartford, CT – 9/5/21

[Video: Matt Frazier]

Extending the ballad song for yet another tune, Weir led a full band rendition of “Wharf Rat” before Dead & Company reprised the “Playing In The Band” that opened the two-night run at Mansfield, MA’ Xfinity Center on Thursday to close the set. Returning for the encore, Dead & Company had one more tour debut left with a reading of Warren Zevon‘s “Werewolves Of London”.

Dead & Company continues its summer tour tonight, September 7th, at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. For a full list of Dead & Company tour dates head here.

Scroll down to check out a gallery of images from Dead & Company in Hartford, CT on Sunday courtesy of photographer David Gray.

Setlist: Dead & Company | Xfinity Theatre | Hartford, CT | 9/5/21

Set One: Shakedown Street, Samson & Delilah, He’s Gone > Big Railroad Blues, Last Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Franklin’s Tower

Second Set: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider > St. Stephen > William Tell Bridge > The Eleven > Drums/Space > All Along The Watchtower > Wharf Rat > Playing In The Band Reprise

Encore: Werewolves Of London

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Source: L4LM.com