With Dead & Company enjoying their first weekend off since the start of their 30-date Sphere residency in mid-May, we figured this would be a good time to revisit our examinations of the band’s evolving setlist and other trends developing in Las Vegas through six weekends and 18* shows.
In the lead-up to the lengthy Dead & Company Dead Forever residency at Las Vegas, NV’s Sphere—comprised of smaller, three-night runs each weekend—many fans expected the setlist from weekend to weekend to remain largely the same (i.e. “If it’s expensive to create these visuals, and each song needs visuals, the band will likely maintain a relatively small rotation of songs”). While the visual capabilities of the state-of-the-art Sphere may be cool, many wondered, how would a “Vegas residency model” work for a band whose M.O. for decades has been its ever-changing setlists?
Expectations quickly became clouded on the second night of the residency when fans were greeted with largely repeated night-one visuals to go along with a new setlist. But while the repeated visuals initially caused some grumbles among fans, they have allowed the band—comprised of Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane—to tinker with the setlist more than most had expected, to make it more like the perpetually evolving experience that Deadheads know and love.
Early on in the run, we were all left to piece together this process bit by bit with each new night worth of information. Now that we’re through six weekends and 18* shows, however, the whole picture has become much clearer: There is a rough beginning and end to each Sphere show’s visual narrative and a finite (though gradually growing) set of visual motifs that can make up the rest of the trip. None of the visuals are necessarily tied to a given song, nor vice versa. Certain visuals (i.e. the old West Bobby ‘Ace’ title screens) have often been paired with certain “types” of tunes (i.e. cowboy songs), but there’s generally more maneuverability with the song list than many thought was possible ahead of time.
With Mayer and Weir both breaking their media silence about the Sphere run in an array of interviews that ran this past week, we now also have some first-hand insight into how the band is piecing together the setlists for these shows. Take it away, Johnny (via Variety): “Setlist creation for Dead & Company is always a discussion, but it was automated to a certain extent [at Sphere], which made going to do the show kind of like, ‘Here’s the list. Maybe make a couple changes. OK, off to soundcheck we go.’ What’s become really interesting — and I would say it’s a challenge, but it’s a really fun one — is that not only do you have to make the songs work in some kind of a flow for the setlist, but every piece of [visual] content has maybe eight or 10 songs that can go with it. … So now you’ve got these two layers… these two columns. You have to write the setlist, but then the content goes to the left of that in a different column. And if your content isn’t balanced enough, then you have to change the music setlist. So it’s really like a 3D puzzle.”
Now, the numbers: Through 18 Sphere shows over the course of six weekends (not counting the 6/18/24 private gig), Dead & Company have performed 104 different songs*. Of those 104, only 11 have appeared during each of the residency’s first six weekends (Drums: 18, Space: 18, Althea: 6, Brown-Eyed Women: 6, China Cat Sunflower: 6, Eyes of the World: 6, I Know You Rider: 6, Jack Straw: 6, Scarlet Begonias: 6, St. Stephen: 6, and Terrapin Station: 6), while “Drums” and “Space” have each appeared at all 18 public shows so far shows so far (though, funnily enough, not at the private show).
An additional 14 songs have been played at five out of the six weekend runs (Casey Jones: 5, Cold Rain and Snow: 5, Deal: 5, Franklin’s Tower: 5, Fire on the Mountain: 5, Help on the Way: 5, Morning Dew: 5, Not Fade Away: 5, Playing in the Band: 5, Shakedown Street: 5, Slipknot!: 5, U.S. Blues: 5). A collective 24 songs have been played at either three or four of the six Dead & Company Sphere weekends.
That leaves the most telling section of the numbers: 55 different songs—more than half of the total list—have only been played once or twice during the first six weekends. Of those 55, 28 have been played just once, and the band has been consistent about introducing new “Sphere debuts” at each night’s show (Man Smart Woman Smarter, Dire Wolf, Greatest Story Ever Told, Easy Wind, and When I Paint My Masterpiece all made their first appearances during weekend six). At this point, we’d say it’s likely for that setlist expansion trend to continue as the band moves into its last 12 Sphere shows.
Below, view the full list of songs played at Sphere so far alongside the number of times they have been played. Find complete setlists for each of the nine completed Dead & Company Sphere shows here.
Dead & Company return to Sphere for their next batch of shows next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 4th, 5th, and 6th for the 19th, 20th, and 21st shows of the 30-date Dead Forever residency.
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.
Songs/Number of Times on Dead & Company Sphere Setlist (Through 18* Shows)
*[Notes: This tally counts “Sugar Magnolia”/”Sunshine Daydream”, “Terrapin Station”, “Drums”, and “Space” as single songs. It does not factor in the stats from the 6/18/24 private gig. Setlists and numbers via setlist.fm.]
Drums: 18
Space: 18
Althea: 6
Brown-Eyed Women: 6
China Cat Sunflower: 6
Eyes of the World: 6
I Know You Rider: 6
Jack Straw: 6
Scarlet Begonias: 6
St. Stephen: 6
Terrapin Station: 6
Bertha: 5
Casey Jones: 5
Cold Rain and Snow: 5
Deal: 5
Franklin’s Tower: 5
Fire on the Mountain: 5
Help on the Way: 5
Morning Dew: 5
Not Fade Away: 5
Playing in the Band: 5
Shakedown Street: 5
Slipknot!: 5
Sugaree: 5
U.S. Blues: 5
Dark Star: 4
Estimated Prophet: 4
Good Lovin’: 4
Hell in a Bucket: 4
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo: 4
One More Saturday Night: 4
Ramble On Rose: 4
Standing on the Moon: 4
Sugar Magnolia: 4
Tennessee Jed: 4
They Love Each Other: 4
Throwing Stones: 4
Uncle John’s Band: 4
Brokedown Palace: 3
Cumberland Blues: 3
Feel Like a Stranger: 3
Good Times: 3
He’s Gone: 3
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door: 3
Stella Blue: 3
The Music Never Stopped: 3
The Other One: 3
The Weight: 3
Truckin’: 3
Alabama Getaway: 2
All Along the Watchtower: 2
Big River: 2
Black Muddy River: 2
Black Peter: 2
Cassidy: 2
Dancing in the Street: 2
Days Between: 2
Dear Mr. Fantasy: 2
Dear Prudence: 2
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad: 2
Hey Jude: 2
I Need a Miracle: 2
It Hurts Me Too: 2
Loose Lucy: 2
Lost Sailor: 2
Minglewood Blues: 2
Mr. Charlie: 2
New Speedway Boogie: 2
Ripple: 2
Row Jimmy: 2
Saint of Circumstance: 2
Samson and Delilah: 2
Ship of Fools: 2
The Wheel: 2
Touch of Grey: 2
Turn On Your Love Light: 2
Bird Song: 1
Black-Throated Wind: 1
China Doll: 1
Crazy Fingers: 1
Death Don’t Have No Mercy: 1
Dire Wolf: 1
Don’t Ease Me In: 1
Easy Wind: 1
El Paso: 1
Friend of the Devil: 1
Greatest Story Ever Told: 1
Here Comes Sunshine: 1
I’ll Remember You: 1
Iko Iko: 1
Johnny B. Goode: 1
Let It Grow: 1
Looks Like Rain: 1
Loser: 1
Maggie’s Farm: 1
Mama Tried: 1
Man Smart, Woman Smarter: 1
Me and My Uncle: 1
Peggy-O: 1
Smokestack Lightning: 1
Viola Lee Blues: 1
West L.A. Fadeaway: 1
Wharf Rat: 1
When I Paint My Masterpiece: 1
This November, Deadheads can continue their lifelong journeys down the Golden Road with Golden Road Festival at Sanger, CA’s Wonder Valley Ranch Resort on November 8th–10th, 2024. The all-inclusive, Grateful Dead-inspired micro-festival offers 200 fans an intimate, all-inclusive experience featuring lodging, activities, gourmet meals, and full open bar in addition to performances by Jason Crosby’s Golden Road All-Stars featuring Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company), John Kadlecik, and more; Pink Talking Fish Are Dead, Mihali, The Abbey Roads featuring Reed Mathis and Aron Magner, and others. For tickets and more information, head here.
The post Dead & Company Sphere Setlist Snapshot: A Look At The Numbers Through Six Weekends appeared first on L4LM.
