Dead & Company Delivers ‘Samson & Delilah’ Sermon + More In Philadelphia

Dead & Company’s Summer Tour 2022 swung through Philadelphia on Sunday for a concert at Citizens Bank Park. The band featuring guitarists Bob Weir and John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti as well as drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart focused almost exclusively on songs from the Grateful Dead’s ’70s output outside a few exceptions.

Jay Lane replaced Bill Kreutzmann in Philadelphia. Lane stepped behind Kreutzmann’s drum kit for the start of the second set in Cincinnati on June 22 and has held down the spot ever since besides a handful of occasions. “Bill The Drummer” last performed with his bandmates on June 29, when he played from “Drums” through the end of the concert at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan.

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Dead & Company patiently built a jam into “Truckin’” to get Sunday’s show underway. Mayer and Chimenti engaged in a call-and-response sequence that led into the Weir-helmed “Truckin’.” Bobby then belted out the lyrics to the song he wrote with lyricist Robert Hunter and Grateful Dead bandmates Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia.

The sextet surprised fans by dropping into “All Along The Watchtower” out of “Truckin’” via a Chimenti-led jam on Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.” Sunday marked just the second time Dead & Co. played the Bob Dylan cover in a first set. Twelve of the band’s 14 “Watchtower” performances came either directly after “Space” or within one song of “Space.” Bobby handled lead vocal duties while John Mayer strung together one spirited blues-laced riff after another.

“Watchtower” dissolved into a quick run through a Mayer-led “Here Comes Sunshine” featuring “China Cat Sunflower” teases. John Mayer then passed the lead vocal baton back to Bob Weir for “Looks Like Rain” before returning to the spotlight on “Brown-Eyed Women.” Another unpredictable song placement followed in “Estimated Prophet.”

Dead & Co. has now played “Estimated Prophet” 43 times and last night was only the second time the Terrapin Station cut was featured in a first set. The other first set “Estimated” also took place at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. However, the band’s August 21, 2021 concert in Philly was a one-set affair due to inclement weather. John Mayer guided the group through “Deal” to close the opening stanza on Sunday. Burbridge propelled the “Deal,” which featured several minutes of blues interplay between Weir and Mayer.

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

Bob Weir took concertgoers to church by offering his Sunday sermon “Samson And Delilah” to begin the second set in Philadelphia. Mayer then fronted the band for “Help On The Way” and displayed his tapping skills on the ensuing “Slipknot!” Chimenti went the jazzy route on electric piano as part of a “Slipknot!” that saw John Mayer offer many variations on its main theme.

Dead & Company swerved into the “China Cat Sunflower” hinted at earlier instead of the expected “Franklin’s Tower.” Weir filled the intro with unusual rhythmic work before playing his typical part. Bobby sang “China Cat” while Mayer treated fans to fretboard fireworks galore between verses. Lane and Hart laid the groundwork for the transition into “I Know You Rider” complete with Chimenti’s barrelhouse piano licks.

Both guitarists dug in on “Rider” before Bobby nearly yelled the “sun will shine in my back door” and “I wish I was a headlight” lyrics to the delight of the crowd. Mayer then provided a burst of blues-laden leads urged on by Chimenti’s counterpoint. The instrumentalists left Jay Lane and Mickey Hart on stage after “I Know You Rider” for the evening’s “Drums” segment.

Lane pounded out tribal beats while Hart accentuated Jay’s wild rhythms. Jay banged away like a mad man and soon Oteil re-emerged to add more percussion to the mix. The three musicians built the energy to a heady climax. Burbridge sported a cheeky grin as he raised his drumsticks in victory formation. Mickey then moved over to the Beam to provide cosmic vibrations from the unusual percussion instrument.

Hart used a bow to let low frequency notes drone before strumming the Beam with his hands and working samples into the start of “Space.” Mickey left the stage while a droning note rang out. Burbridge, Mayer, Weir and Chimenti then came back and engaged in free-form improvisation. John Mayer played a Fender Telecaster for a “Space” jam that saw Jeff tease “Blues For Allah.” Mayer picked up what Chimenti laid down. However, the exploration eventually faded to momentarily silence.

Bob Weir plucked the opening notes to “Cumberland Blues” and off Dead & Co. went on the post-“Space” portion of the evening. The guitarists engaged with the keyboardist on high-octane riffage throughout the 10-minutes “Cumberland Blues.” Chimenti then provided a pretty intro to “Days Between,” one of the last ballads penned by Hunter and Garcia. Bobby sang the poignant number while Mayer delivered angular leads for his solo.

The sextet picked up the energy in a big way by working “Days Between” into “Franklin’s Tower” to complete the beloved “Help”/”Slip!”/”Franklin’s” trifecta that was left unfinished earlier in the set. “Franklin’s” was highlighted by Jeff Chimenti’s rowdy organ solo. The keyboardist received one of the biggest cheers of the night after he lit up Brent Mydland’s Hammond B3. A tender “Brokedown Palace” and rollicking “Casey Jones” encore ended Sunday’s concert.

Dead & Company Summer Tour 2022 continues at The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Watch a livestream via nugs.net.

View pro-shot videos of the set openers below:

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Source: JamBase.com