Home Jambase Dead & Company Drops ‘Dark Star’ On Phoenix

Dead & Company Drops ‘Dark Star’ On Phoenix

May 24, 2023

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After a couple of days off, Dead & Company‘s Final Tour rolled into Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix for a Tuesday night concert. The setlist featured the Grateful Dead’s psychedelic improvisational favorite “Dark Star” split between the first and second sets.

Feel good opener “Feel Like A Stranger” got the first set underway with guitarist Bob Weir belting out the fitting “let’s get on with the show” and “it’s gonna be a long, long crazy, crazy night” lyrics. The second slot was given to another song off the Dead’s 1980 album, Go To Heaven, as guitarist John Mayer piloted a rocking “Alabama Getaway.”

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Set One Preview

Jeff Chimenti’s piano chops were showcased throughout the subsequent “Ramble On Rose,” taking a delightful solo in the midst of loping bluesy tune. Some onstage discussion between the members of the band led to Weir and Mayer bantering about “nether regions” and the benefits of Gold Bond powder impacting their performance.

Sprinkling on more simmering blues, Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” filled the hot Arizona air, picking up steam behind Mayer’s assertive riffing and Chimenti on the organ that once belonged to Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland. The customary “Hey Jude” tag was added to the end of “Dear Mr. Fantasy.”

“Dark Star,” which was recently the subject of Andrew Hickey’s excellent podcast series A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs (the episode is nearly five hours long), then made its first appearance of the night. After an elongated entrance and several passages through the “Dark Star” theme, Weir delivered the song’s haunting first verse, which was the first lyric Robert Hunter ever wrote with the Dead.

Bassist Oteil Burbridge found space to assert himself within the ensuing improvisation, simultaneously laying a rhythmic foundation and responding to the suggestions of the other musicians onstage. Mayer introduced a motif reminiscent of “My Favorite Things” that his bandmates picked up and collectively passed around.

From the deep depths of “Dark Star,” drummers Jay Lane and Mickey Hart started up the rolling rhythm of “Cumberland Blues.” Chimenti’s piano again led the way through the energized “Cumberland” that put a big smile on Burbridge’s painted face. Dead & Co. headed into set break with a laid-back run through “Casey Jones.”

“Here Comes Sunshine” ushered in the second set and featured Weir, Mayer, Chimenti and Burbridge’s sweet vocal harmonies. The opener was followed by an uninterrupted sequence of “Scarlet Begonias” into “Viola Lee Blues” into “Dark Star” into “Spanish Jam” back into the second verse of “Dark Star” and into the Burbridge-sung “Fire On The Mountain.”

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Set Two Preview

During this span, the band members pushed and pulled each other, Mayer frequently directing his attention to Chimenti with Weir adding to their on-the-fly melodic concoctions. Burbridge and Lane continue to tighten their rhythmic bond with each new jam, laying a strong foundation for the improvised passages.

The following “Drums” segment began with Lane and Hart surveying the various percussive instruments at their disposal. Burbridge emerged with his banjo bass and linked up with Hart who moved to his recently acquired Balafon. Hart, Lane and Burbridge then went for another round of drumming to lead into Hart delivering the deep drone of The Beam.

A relatively restrained “Space” section gave the band a chance to fully reassemble and regroup ahead of a sharp turn into “I Need A Miracle.” Weir’s lively rocker served as a stark juxtaposition to the previous several minutes of free-form improvisation.

The jovial “Miracle” was trailed by a trip back into the deep and dark blues with Rev. Gary Davis’ mournful “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.” Another upbeat rocking tune came next as “U.S. Blues” filled the second set closer role. Weir and Mayer went acoustic for the encore performance of the Dead classic “Ripple.”

Dead & Company’s Final Tour continues on Friday, May 26 at a sold-out Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas. Buy livestreams for each show on Dead & Company’s Fnal Tour via nugs.net.

The Skinny

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The Setlist
Set 1: Feel Like a Stranger, Alabama Getaway, Ramble On Rose, Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude Reprise > Dark Star > Cumberland Blues, Casey Jones Set 2: Here Comes Sunshine, Scarlet Begonias > Viola Lee Blues > Dark Star > Spanish Jam > Dark Star > Fire on the Mountain > Drums > Space > I Need a Miracle > Death Don’t Have No Mercy, U.S. Blues Encore: Ripple Setlist info via Phantasy Tour.
The Venue
Name	Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre [See upcoming shows]
Capacity	20,106
Previously	2 shows 5/28/2017, 10/25/2021
The Music
First Set	8 songs
Second Set & Encore	9 songs
Total Songs	17 songs 4 originals / 13 covers
Average Vintage	1974
Average Song Gap	9.33 [Gap chart]
Debuts	None
Tour Debuts	All but Cumberland Blues, Scarlet Begonias, Fire On The Mountain,
Biggest Bustout	Spanish Jam LTP 06/21/2022 (21 Show Gap)
The Spread	The Grateful Dead – 1, Workingman’s Dead – 2, American Beauty – 1, Wake of the Flood – 1, From the Mars Hotel – 2, Shakedown Street – 2, Go To Heaven – 2, Built to Last – 2

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