Dead & Company Closes Red Rocks Run Without Bill Kreutzmann: Setlist, Recap & The Skinny

Dead & Company drummer Bill Kreutzmann missed Wednesday’s concert at Red Rocks as he did Tuesday’s show at the famed Morrison, Colorado venue. Once again, drummer Jay Lane stepped up to replace Kreutzmann who was out due to a non-COVID-19 related illness.

.article-summary-wrap {
margin-top:25px;
}

.panel-article .list-posts > li {
border-style: dotted;
}
.panel-article .list-posts > li:last-of-type {
border-bottom-width:0;
}
.panel-article .list-posts .excerpt {
margin: 3px 0 0;
}
.panel-article .list-posts .btn-sm {
margin-top: 10px;
padding: 3px 10px;
}

While the band addressed Billy’s absence on Tuesday both via social media and from the stage, there was no mention of Kreutzmann on Wednesday. The sextet instead rolled right into a rousing “Bertha” sang by guitarist John Mayer. Dead & Co. then perfectly dropped into the fall’s first “Good Lovin.” Bob Weir handled lead vocals on the Young Rascals cover that was part of Grateful Dead’s live repertoire for most of the legendary band’s career.

Next, the group rolled out a “The Wheel” featuring gorgeous piano work from Jeff Chimenti and impressive interplay between Weir and Mayer, both vocally and instrumentally. From there, Bobby led the way on a slow burning “Black-Throated Wind” before John honored Ron “Pigpen” McKernan on a quick romp through “Mr. Charlie.” The best jams of the set came during the run of “Hell In A Bucket” and “Bird Song” that closed the frame. Mayer peeled off one blues-laced riff after another in “Hell In A Bucket,” which ended with the band employing a reggae feel as Weir belted out the chorus. “Bird Song” flew for 22 minutes and included a funky interlude anchored by bassist Oteil Burbridge featuring Chimenti on Clavinet.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

Last night’s second set began with a sprawling “Playing In The Band” in which the band covered plenty of ground despite the version coming in just a nose under 13 minutes. Dead & Company pulled off a spot-on transition into the tour’s first “He’s Gone.” Weir and Mayer shared lead vocal duties on the slow and throbbing number. John brought “He’s Gone” to a close with a powerful solo while Chimenti mirrored Mayer’s riffs on piano.

“Uncle John’s Band” emerged out of “He’s Gone” and was propelled by Lane and Mickey Hart‘s strong beat. Dead & Company didn’t stray far from the song’s structure yet each member made stellar contributions to the 15-minute version. Next came the beloved “Terrapin Station” with Mayer fronting the “Lady With A Fan” section and Weir handling lead vocals on the remaining portions of the song. The pre-inspiration portion of “Terrapin” featured otherworldly interplay from Mayer and Chimenti. It was then time for the evening’s “Drums” excursion as Lane and Hart laid down thunderous beats. Oteil came out a few minutes in as he typically does to add to the fun. Eventually, Mickey — wearing a “Dead Rocks” shirt — headed to the Beam. He used a bow to eek out a number of droning chords the last of which served as the base for a trippy “Space” segment.

A cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” emerged out of “Space.” Weir growled out the vocals and Mayer put the tremolo bar on his PRS Silver Sky guitar to good use in the ensuing jam. The seamless start to the second set continued with “Playin’ Reprise” and a particularly intense “Standing On The Moon” passionately delivered by Bobby. Dead & Co. then reprised the “Not Fade Away” that started the band’s Red Rocks debut one night prior. The six-piece encored with a rare electric “Ripple.”

Dead & Company now heads to nearby Englewood, Colorado on Friday for the first of two shows at Fiddler’s Green. A livestream can be purchased through nugs.tv.

Stream an audience recording of last night’s show taped by Jeff Travitz and watch pro-shot video featuring the first song from each set below:

!function ($) {

$(function(){ // document ready

$(‘.video-sticky’).stickybits(
{
stickyBitStickyOffset: getNavbarsHeight()
}
);

});

}(window.jQuery);

.video-content .panel-body {
padding-top:40px;
padding-bottom:40px;
}
.video-sticky {
z-index: 999;
background-color: #fcfcfc;
}
.honorable-mentions {
padding-left: 0;
margin-left: 1.375em;
}
.honorable-mentions li {
margin-bottom:5px;
}
.honorable-mentions .fa-li {
margin-top:-2px;
}

.video-summary-wrap table.glance-table.jambase-videos-songs-table{
background-color: #e2e8ef;
}

!function ($) {

$(function(){ // document ready

$(‘.video-sticky’).stickybits(
{
stickyBitStickyOffset: getNavbarsHeight()
}
);

});

}(window.jQuery);

.video-content .panel-body {
padding-top:40px;
padding-bottom:40px;
}
.video-sticky {
z-index: 999;
background-color: #fcfcfc;
}
.honorable-mentions {
padding-left: 0;
margin-left: 1.375em;
}
.honorable-mentions li {
margin-bottom:5px;
}
.honorable-mentions .fa-li {
margin-top:-2px;
}

.video-summary-wrap table.glance-table.jambase-videos-songs-table{
background-color: #e2e8ef;
}

Poster

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQoy_VllFx/

Source: JamBase.com