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.
The visual elements at play have also evolved somewhat through the first nine shows. While many motifs appear nightly, the band has gradually cycled in a smattering of new ones each weekend. This most recent set of shows, with its last-minute incorporation of various Bill Walton imagery (rest easy, big man), showed that Dead & Company can, to some degree, adapt their Sphere production as they go.
Even in the repeated visuals, however, trends have begun to emerge. Some of the visual elements that have appeared regularly have seemed to carve out certain niches in the realm of Sphere setlists. The band has used a number of “cowboy tunes” as the soundtrack to its faux Western film credits look, utilized the rainbow road look for various songs with “on-the-go” motifs, set sail in a rose-covered pirate ship for watery selections like “Row Jimmy” and “Ship of Fools”, and applied its “box of old ticket stubs” illusion to a number of early-days Dead favorites. On the other hand, some songs, like “Good Lovin’”, have featured different visual accompaniment for different appearances (the rendition during weekend one featured tie-dye visuals, while the weekend two performance was accompanied by imagery inspired by the Grateful Dead’s famous trip to Egypt in 1978).
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Truth be told, it’s difficult to tell from home exactly what’s going on visually each night. With no official video or audio streams available and most fans only attending a handful of shows at most, those of us following along from the couch are left to scroll YouTube and Instagram to try to put the pieces together, relying largely on videos posted by attendees (thank you, all of you). Even when we can piece things together, it’s likely that the general Deadhead public watching from home won’t catch every moment of audiovisual nuance that happens during the residency.
One element we can track from afar, however, is the evolution of the Dead & Company Sphere setlist, so let’s talk song rotation: Through nine Sphere shows, Dead & Company have performed 88 different songs*. Of those 88, only 18 have appeared during each of the residency’s first three weekends (Althea”, “Bertha”, “Brown-Eyed Women”, “Casey Jones”, “China Cat Sunflower”, “Cold Rain and Snow”, “Eyes of the World”, “Fire on the Mountain”, “Franklin’s Tower”, “Hell in a Bucket”, “I Know You Rider”, “Jack Straw”, “Scarlet Begonias”, “Shakedown Street”, “St. Stephen”, and “Terrapin Station”), while “Drums” and “Space” have each appeared at all nine shows so far. An additional 29 songs have been played twice each over the course of three weekends.
What’s most intriguing to us is the volume of single-appearance tunes so far. As we’ve seen through the first nine shows, Dead & Company seem intent on expanding their setlist rotation as the residency continues. Of the 88 total songs played through three weekends, a substantial total of 41 have only made one appearance, while all nine shows have featured at least one song not yet played at Sphere up to that point.
Related: Dead & Company Announce 6 New Sphere Dates, Bringing Residency Total To 30 Shows [Update]
During The Final Tour in 2023, the band cycled through a live repertoire of 100ish songs. With 21 shows to go and plenty of back catalog left from which to pull, Dead & Company appear ready and willing to continue expanding the setlist rotation as their summer of Sphere goes on. View a list of the songs played so far at Sphere below. Find complete setlists for each of the nine completed Dead & Company Sphere shows here.
Dead & Company return to Sphere this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 6th, 7th, and 8th to continue the Dead Forever residency. For a full list of upcoming dates, head here.
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 9 Shows)
*[Note: this tally counts “Sugar Magnolia”/”Sunshine Daydream”, “Terrapin Station”, “Drums”, and “Space” as single songs]
Drums: 9
Space: 9
Althea: 3
Bertha: 3
Brown-Eyed Women: 3
Casey Jones: 3
China Cat Sunflower: 3
Cold Rain and Snow: 3
Eyes of the World: 3
Fire on the Mountain: 3
Franklin’s Tower: 3
Hell in a Bucket: 3
I Know You Rider: 3
Jack Straw: 3
Scarlet Begonias: 3
Shakedown Street: 3
St. Stephen: 3
Terrapin Station: 3
Black Peter: 2
Brokedown Palace: 2
Cumberland Blues: 2
Dark Star: 2
Deal: 2
Estimated Prophet: 2
Feel Like a Stranger: 2
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad: 2
Good Lovin’: 2
Help on the Way: 2
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door: 2
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo: 2
Morning Dew: 2
Not Fade Away; 2
One More Saturday Night: 2
Playing in the Band: 2
Ramble On Rose: 2
Samson and Delilah: 2
Slipknot!: 2
Standing on the Moon: 2
Stella Blue: 2
Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream: 2
Sugaree: 2
Tennessee Jed: 2
The Music Never Stopped: 2
They Love Each Other: 2
Throwing Stones: 2
U.S. Blues: 2
Uncle John’s Band: 2
Alabama Getaway: 1
All Along the Watchtower: 1
Big River: 1
Bird Song: 1
Black Muddy River: 1
Cassidy: 1
Crazy Fingers: 1
Dancing in the Street: 1
Days Between: 1
Dear Mr. Fantasy: 1
Dear Prudence: 1
Don’t Ease Me In: 1
El Paso: 1
Friend of the Devil: 1
Good Times: 1
He’s Gone: 1
Hey Jude (Reprise): 1
I Need a Miracle: 1
Iko Iko: 1
It Hurts Me Too: 1
Let It Grow: 1
Loose Lucy: 1
Loser: 1
Lost Sailor: 1
Maggie’s Farm: 1
Mama Tried: 1
Me and My Uncle: 1
Mr. Charlie: 1
New Speedway Boogie: 1
Ripple: 1
Row Jimmy: 1
Saint of Circumstance: 1
Ship of Fools: 1
Smokestack Lightning: 1
The Other One: 1
The Weight: 1
The Wheel: 1
Touch of Grey: 1
Truckin’: 1
Turn On Your Love Light: 1
Wharf Rat: 1
The post Dead & Company Sphere Setlist Snapshot: A Look At The Numbers Through Three Weekends appeared first on L4LM.
