Dead & Company doubled down on Bob Dylan covers at the Saturday finale of the sixth weekend of their Dead Forever residency at Sphere. Touching on a couple Dylan classics, including a Sphere debut, the tributes came a week after Dead & Company debuted their take on the Pulitzer Prize-winning singer-songwriter’s “I’ll Remember You“, a song even the original Grateful Dead never performed.
The Grateful Dead’s reverence and appreciation for Dylan is well-documented, with the original group keeping over a dozen Dylan songs in their live rotation. While most of those songs joined the Dead’s arsenal in the mid-1980s around the time of the Dylan & The Dead tour (or while on it), the band covered “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” as far back as 1966 and the song appeared almost 150 times through the group’s 30-year run. The Dead’s other most favored Dylan composition was “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, which appeared nearly as many times as “Baby Blue” just from its debut in 1987 until the final Grateful Dead concert on July 9th, 1995 at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Dead & Company have kept up the love affair with “Masterpiece”, with the song making its 12th-ever appearance with the Grateful Dead offshoot on Saturday, which also marked its Sphere debut. Bob Weir took up an acoustic guitar for the track first released by The Band on 1971’s Cahoots and later that same year by its author on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2. After about a minute of trying to tune the guitar while singing, Weir took it off and crooned the first verse unarmed without an axe—a rare sight in Dead history. In total, Bobby played three different guitars during the seven-minute cover, beginning with his electric D’Angelico semi-hollow body, followed by the acoustic, and then ending with his trusty oak-colored Fender Stratocaster. Overhead, the Sphere transformed into a veritable garden of bucolic flowers painted onto the massive LED interior.
Dead & Company — “When I Paint My Masterpiece” (Bob Dylan) — 6/22/24
[Video: Scott Sigman]
Saturday’s second set was a dream-come-true run of songs for most any Deadhead, starting with “Uncle John’s Band” and seguing seamlessly through classics “St. Stephen’s” and the apocalyptic catharsis of “Morning Dew”. A ride to “Terrapin Station” let off at Mickey Hart and Jay Lane‘s “Drums” segment before the descent from “Space” brought on the second Dylan cover of the night. Though not quite as meteoric as “Masterpiece”, “All Along The Watchtower” became another fast favorite with the Dead in the 1980s, joining the repertoire in 1987 and appearing over 100 times through 1995. Dead & Company have also fostered that affection for the John Wesley Harding track made much more famous by Jimi Hendrix‘s incendiary interpretation, with Saturday marking its 23rd career appearance for the band and second of the Sphere residency.
Dead & Company — “All Along The Watchtower” (Bob Dylan) — 6/22/24
[Video: Scott Sigman]
The fan-favorite Dead cuts continued to cascade from the revolutionary Sphere Immersive Sound system, with a somber and contemplative “Stella Blue” coming next. Young gun and Jerry Garcia stand-in John Mayer was a bit too eager to take a bite out of “Althea”—which has almost unanimously become his staple song over the band’s nine-year-run—and erroneously started the intro as his bandmates were sliding into “Stella Blue”. Following the sorrowful rumination, Mayer got his wish as he delivered yet another searing “Althea” before Dead & Company closed out the main portion of the set with The Crickets‘ “Not Fade Away” and an emotional “Brokedown Palace” accompanied the traditional show-closing flip through the Grateful Dead family photo album.
Check out some fan-shot videos from Dead & Company at Sphere on Saturday by Scott Sigman and full-show audio from Hunter S T. The band will take a much-deserved weekend off before returning to continue the Dead Forever residency with a 4th of July run. Visit the band’s website for tickets and a complete list of concerts.
Fans hoping to get in on the action with Dead & Company at Sphere can find tons of face-value tickets for the entire run via CashorTrade. By choosing CashorTrade over other sites you are supporting real fans, not brokers trying to offload inventory. Unlike other platforms, you may even stumble upon a miracle. Browse what’s available on the site here.
After Dead & Company wrap their Sphere residency, members of the Grateful Dead universe Jason Crosby and John Morgan Kimock—frequent Friends of Phil Lesh and Oteil Burdbridge, respectively—will convene at Golden Road Festival where they will debut their new project Spirit Guide. Golden Road Festival is set for November 8th–10th at the Wonder Valley Ranch Resort in Sanger, CA. Fans can take advantage of four-installment, zero-fee, interest-free payment plans until June 30th. Learn more and grab your ticket here.
Dead & Company — “Minglewood Blues” (Cannon’s Jug Stompers) — 6/22/24
Dead & Company — “Uncle John’s Band” > “St. Stephen” — 6/22/24
Dead & Company — “Morning Dew” (Bonnie Dobson) > “Terrapin Station” — 6/22/24
Dead & Company — Sphere — Las Vegas, NV — 6/22/24 — Full Audio
Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 6/22/24
Set One: Minglewood Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers), Shakedown Street, Bertha, When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob Dylan), Jack Straw, Sugar Magnolia
Set Two: Uncle John’s Band > St. Stephen > Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson), Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan), Stella Blue, Althea, Not Fade Away (The Crickets), Brokedown Palace
The post Dead & Company Deal A Double Dose Of Dylan At Sphere Weekend 6 Closer [Videos/Audio] appeared first on L4LM.
