Dark Star On The Big River: Dead & Company Return To Boston’s Fenway Park

Dead & Company returned to Boston’s Fenway Park on Saturday night for the first of two shows at the historic baseball field. The band last played at the storied stadium in 2017. The capacity crowd was presented with a particularly standout sequence of improvisation within Saturday’s second set, highlighted by a “Dark Star” jam infused with Johnny Cash’s “Big River.”

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Guitarist Bob Weir’s “Cassidy” held down Saturday’s lead-off spot. The “fare thee well” lyric carries an extra weight each time the song co-written with the late John Perry Barlow is played on The Final Tour.

Guitarist John Mayer sang lead on “Brown-Eyed Women,” which landed in the two hole. Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti’s dynamic piano solo once again anchored a hearty “Brown-Eyed Women.” Weir’s scorching slide guitar accentuated the “I Need A Miracle” that came next, intermingling with Mayer’s bluesy action.

An abrupt transition into “Here Comes Sunshine” followed and led into a funky little jam bolstered by bassist Oteil Burbridge’s buoyant low end and the steady groove of drummers Jay Lane and Mickey Hart. Burbridge’s vocals were then prominently displayed by fronting the band on the beloved delicate ballad “China Doll.”

The set continued with “Viola Lee Blues,” played a bit peppier of a pace than previous editions this tour and leading to another concise and funky jam. “The Music Never Stopped” was tapped for the first set closer and propelled from its loping start to a vibrant conclusion.

“New Speedway Boogie” led the way to start the second set with Weir emphatically lingering on the “This darkness got to give” lyric. The opener was akin to a baseball relief pitcher’s warm-up pitches before taking the mound and throwing heat in the game. Warmed and ready, Dead & Co. would go on to toss an improvisational gem of a second set.

The ensuing “Dark Star” came on with a sudden start, like a switch was flipped and the “Dark Star” realm was immediately open and engulfing Fenway. Hart was quick to employ The Beam to add deep texture underneath Chimenti’s wobbly Fender Rhodes and Weir’s cutting riffs. The first arrival of the “Dark Star” motif drew a cheer from the Fenway audience. Burbridge oscillated between sparse accents and loaded up bursts of notes as the psychedelic jazz landscape unfolded.

Weir captained the delivery the first verse of “Dark Star,” which would be the only verse to materialize on Saturday night. The band then incorporated a blues stomp within the developing jam, moving on to fully out-there, atmospheric, improvisational rock exploration that weaved in and out of the “Dark Star” structure and resolved with a stabilizing groove.

The groovy element of the end of the “Dark Star” jam was a springboard to the rumbling start of “The Other One,” which surfaced as Burbridge laid into its signature introductory bass line. Mayer and Chimenti steered a progression that roared into an intense peak. “The Other One” was left after one verse due to the arrival of “Terrapin Station.” The late-1970s Grateful Dead center-piece stayed within its well-defined structure.

Hart was then left to initiate the evening’s “Drums” presentation, which was inspired by, “Duality and sonic balance, the yin and yang of rock and roll and the sounds of nature” and “the location of Fenway in the middle of Boston’s famed Emerald Necklace series of parks.” Hart began on The Beam and triggering samples of sounds of nature like birds chirping. He then moved to the massive rig of drums to pound out a pulsating rhythm with Burbridge joining in as well. Hart went back to The Beam and filled the ballpark with otherworldly sounds and a core rattling drone.

Weir, Mayer, Chimenti and Burbridge came back to the playing field for the transition into “Space” and proceed to develop an improvisational sequence worthy of its moniker. Hart and Lane returned and kicked up a shuffling rhythm akin to “Big River” or even “Cumberland Blues.” The other members of Dead & Co. picked up on the rhythm but played the “Dark Star” theme repeatedly over the country-like beat, producing an unexpected jam in an even more unexpected style.

The must-hear, unusual, but well-executed “Dark Star” jam, which was labeled “Dark Star on the Big River Jam” on the official setlist shared by D&C, segued into an exuberant “The Other One” jam that like the “Dark Star” jam that came before never completely materialized and went without additional vocals. The thrilling improvisation that grew out of “Space” produced many smiles across the faces of the musicians on stage.

The second “Black Peter” performed on The Final Tour was the first song to take shape with Weir once again utilizing his slide on the sorrowful tune. The slow-paced “Black Peter” was juxtaposed with a hard-charging strut through “Casey Jones,” which cycled around to a fiery culmination.

Saturday’s second set fittingly ended with Weir’s rowdy rocker “One More Saturday Night.” The band did not play an encore on Saturday, perhaps due to a slightly delayed start of the show.

Dead & Company’s Final Tour continues tonight, Sunday, June 25 in Boston. Watch D&C’s final show at Fenway Park and the rest of The Final Tour via nugs.net

Audio (Taped by Steven Weld)

Source: JamBase.com