Dead & Company Continues Fall Tour In Atlanta: Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

Dead & Company brought Fall Tour 2021 to Atlanta on Tuesday for the second show of the run. The sextet featuring Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart filled the setlist at Cellaris Amphitheatre at Lakewood with gems from the Dead’s 1970s output.

The group is now approaching six years since their first show and the players continue to add new flourishes to their parts of the arrangements they’ve worked up. Dead & Company are clearly more comfortable with the material, both vocally and instrumentally, and are truly making Grateful Dead tunes their own. Oteil Burbridge rarely replicates Phil Lesh’s basslines and guitarist John Mayer has brought more of his sensibilities to the repertoire.

.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;
}

The sextet wasted little time diving into the jams in Atlanta by opening with a “Shakedown Street” that came in just short of 20 minutes. Burbridge anchored the improv with a groovy bassline while keyboardist Jeff Chimenti laid funky Clavinet jabs and slick electric piano stylings underneath John Mayer’s wah-heavy and angular leads. Mayer then fronted the group on the traditional “Cold Rain And Snow” and sang pretty falsetto harmonies as Bob Weir was the “leader of the band” on a particularly throbbing “Ramble On Rose” featuring a barrelhouse piano solo from Chimenti.

Last night’s first set moved on with a Mayer-led “They Love Each Other” played at a quicker tempo more akin to 1973 GD versions than past Dead & Company versions. John showed off his impressive vocal range as he once again went high for falsettos during the choruses and barked out certain lines of the last verse with a low bassy tone. The guitarist then did the same instrumentally with his PRS Silver Sky throughout his “TLEO” solo. Next, Burbridge had his first turn of the evening in the vocal spotlight for a gorgeous “High Time” before Weir led the way on “Let It Grow.” Dead & Co. ended the frame with a rollicking “Deal” set closer that featured a powerful organ solo from Chimenti between verses and a string of sharp Mayer riffs towards the end.

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

Dead & Company engaged in a few minutes of blissful jamming to lay the groundwork for the “Playing In The Band” that kicked off last night’s second set. “Playin’” was highlighted by the exceptional interplay between Mayer and Chimenti, who pushed each other to great heights and engaged in a call-and-response segment ahead of a segue into “Crazy Fingers.” Weir shined on lead vocals and played “lead rhythm guitar” in a way only he can do on D&C’s first “Crazy Fingers” since June 29, 2019 — the sextet’s last show at the venue. Next up was “Althea,” the first Grateful Dead song that grabbed Mayer’s attention when he randomly heard the studio version on Pandora. While Mayer uncorked a blistering solo in “Althea,” the tune also featured gnarly slide work from Weir.

Beloved song pairing “China Cat Sunflower”/”I Know You Rider” came next and was propelled by drummer Bill Kreutzmann patiently building the tempo to give the instrumentalists plenty of time to converse musically in the jam linking the tunes. Oteil sat down occasionally which earlier in the day he revealed was due to a collapsed disc in his lower back. While Mayer’s interplay with Chimenti is usually the headline, John connected with Bobby on a number of cool progressions just ahead of the move to “Rider” and towards the song’s conclusion.

Kreutzmann and Hart, The Rhythm Devils, were left to their own devices following “Rider” for the evening’s “Drums” excursion. The pair swapped their normal roles at first as Mickey laid down a solid beat while Billy added accents to the mix. It wasn’t long before the duo exchanged back to their typical spots when Oteil Burbridge emerged to join in the percussive fun. Eventually, Hart moved over to the Beam and started hitting the instrument with all of his might and triggered various samples before beginning a drone that served as the base for the instrumentalist’s trip to “Space.”

“Space” rolled into “The Wheel” and gave way to an intense “Stella Blue.” Weir sang the Hunter/Garcia ballad which featured an impassioned solo from John Mayer. The final notes of “Stella Blue” led into “Playing In The Band Reprise” to close the show. “That’s it, we’re out of time,” Bobby told the crowd as Dead & Co. went without an encore in Atlanta.

Dead & Company resumes the tour in Dallas on Thursday. Head to nugs.tv to purchase a livestream. See the first song from each of last night’s sets 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/CU70-IwFbIm/

Source: JamBase.com