LIVE REVIEW // Dead & Co.’s Last Shows

I remember the exact moment I heard about Dead & Company’s final tour. I was in line for an Infamous Stringdusters concert (where, coincidentally, they played a cover of “Touch of Grey”, the Grateful Dead’s only top-10 hit ever recorded) at Sony Hall last September and opened Instagram for a few minutes of mind-numbing. The first thing that popped up was a post from Bob Weir, guitarist for the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company (among many other side projects) announcing the Final Tour. 

I bought four tickets for the last night of the show in San Francisco during a class in October, waiting in the notorious Ticketmaster queue while my professor lectured about different narrative forms. Finally I clicked “Buy Now!” and ran out of class, a fluttering of excitement gathering in my chest that didn’t leave until after the concert.

Halfway through the waiting period (the show was set for July 15, 2023 — a mere ten months away), Dead & Company added a new final date, which I immediately jumped on to get tickets for me and my mom, because her birthday was the next night. And with another $200 purchase under my belt, the fluttering turned to exponential levels as I waited for what I might be able to classify as the greatest two nights of my life. 

Dead & Company, for the average person, might just seem like a group of aging rockers playing old hits to an equally aging crowd looking to relive the glory days of their youth — with John Mayer thrown in there, too. For some deadheads you talk to, they might say the same thing. My friend's dad, arguably the biggest Deadhead I personally know, is forever sworn off Dead & Company (somewhat affectionately known as “Slow & Co”) — an almost elitist view from those who can brag they “saw Jerry live.” For the majority, however, Dead & Co is a magical experience that, yes, allows old hippies who barely remember the 60s to spin to their favorite songs once again, but also opens doors for a new demographic. Just like in the late 80s when the Dead had their first big break with “Touch of Grey” on MTV, a new generation called Touchheads emerged, filling the stadiums with new fans the older Deadheads didn’t much appreciate, the new generation at these Dead & Co shows are younger, only dream of having seen Jerry live, but bring the energy of the full stadium to a peak.

Dead & Company started in 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago for the 50th year anniversary of the Grateful Dead, one of America’s most well known and revered rock bands from the last century. The lineup for Dead & Company boasted former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, and added in Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and John Mayer. Prior to the tour starting, Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead’s first original drummer, dropped out (reasons were given after the tour was over — Kreutzmann opted out of the tour due to previous health scares), and Jay Lane replaced him. This led to a few memes circulating around: “I saw Dead & Co with Bill Kreutzmann,” an homage to “I saw Jerry with the Dead.”

Dead & Co isn’t known for being the best or the fastest players in the post-Grateful Dead era, but it does have one thing that none of the cover bands, tribute bands, or even Dead member’s side projects don’t have: the classic Grateful Dead experience. As with any genre of music, the community is alive and thriving, and in San Francisco, the amount of love — and, dare I say it, good vibes — outlasted any type of pre-show negativity or competition that might happen outside of the stadium. 

The last three nights of Dead & Company were scheduled for July 15, 16, and 17th, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. Even before walking into the stadium, the air was overflowing with smells: weed, of course, being the main one, but also sausages, patchouli, and B.O. Locals had camped out with nitrous tanks, selling “ice cold fatties,” and more had brought coolers plastered in Grateful Dead related stickers of drinks, and grills to make bacon-wrapped hot dogs. Across the bridge from Oracle Park was Shakedown Street, a street-fair-like setup that originated at Grateful Dead shows years ago as a way for people following the Dead on tour to make money along the way. Throngs of people pushed together, checking out handmade pipes, flower crowns, the famous “lot grilled cheese,” paintings, and Final Tour t-shirts, most, if not all, made by Deadheads on the road. Grateful Dead songs flowed from all booths, creating a mix of jams and Jerry that made me sentimental even before the show began. I traipsed around Shakedown Street both nights before my shows, and even though I spent only a few hours there, I recognized people I had met before, even one girl I knew from going to shows here in New York City.

Once inside the stadium on Saturday, July 15, night 2 of 3, the crowd was ready, waiting and excited, and there was not a dry eye in the house as Bob Weir took the stage in his signature cowboy hat, exercise pants, and bare feet to “Let the Good Times Roll.” The band flew through the first set, pulling out Pigpen classics like “It Hurts Me Too” and “Lovelight” that even I can admit John Mayer’s vocals and guitar had improved even since the past tour, getting the crowd even more built up for the guaranteed face-melting second set that the Dead is known for. They meandered back onto the stage, launching into Jerry Garcia’s “Deal,” which then turned into “Playing in the Band”>”The Other One”>”Terrapin Station”, which led nicely into “Drums”>”Space”, a staple for Dead & Co and a chance to let Mickey shine on the drums. Finally closing with a beautiful “Morning Dew” to thunderous applause, they left the stage for the classic peek-a-boo exit, then returned for an encore of “Ripple”, sung by Bob Weir, John Mayer, and 42,000 deadheads, closing out a wonderful second night and again leaving not a dry eye in the stadium. 

Night 3, Sunday, July 16, opened with a rocking “Bertha” — one of my favorite Dead songs that I had never managed to hear live. Bassist Otiel Burbridge, who during the whole tour had been painting white “peace paint” on his face with help from his wife, appeared on stage the final night with Jerry Garcia’s handprint on the left side of his face. The crowd clapped the hardest it had that night when he was featured on the giant screen. “I assume that there are a lot of people at least micro-dosing. I’m just giving them a little extra visual aid!” said Burbridge about the paint in an Instagram post. 

John Mayer pulled out his favorite song, “Althea”, and the first set again flew by, a setup to the yet again insane second set. “Never miss a Sunday show!” I had heard Deadheads say, and they were right. The second set jumped right into a tried and true “Help on the Way”>”Slipknot!”>”Franklin’s Tower”, and the band didn't even give themselves time to calm down before launching into yet another wonderful quartet of “Estimated Prophet”>”Eyes of the World”>”Drums”>”Space”. Otiel joined Mickey during “Drums” with a banjo bass, making what some people might consider the bathroom break even more memorable. And for those who did decide to take a bathroom break during “Drums”>”Space”, they missed the beginning of the drone show that took many a tripping hippie’s breath away. The light up drones rose from a barge that had been waiting in the water right next to the stadium, and began transforming into Grateful Dead iconography: an eye growing out of a box of thorns, the first of many Steal Your Faces, and a dancing bear. 

And then, after an especially hot “Sugar Magnolia”, the band breaks, walking off for a short break before returning for the final encore of the final tour. They start off with a rolling, rockin Truckin,’ everyone in the band singing “what a long, strange trip it’s been” along with the crowd. In that moment, the love and gratitude I felt for the band and its songs had never been higher. The band smoothly moved into a heart wrenching “Brokedown Palace”, and the feeling that it was the last song of the last tour really set in. The entire crowd swayed to the fitting lines of “Fare you well, fare you well/I love you more than words can tell,” and the love and gratitude swelling from the audience was surely felt even outside the stadium. 

Finally, the band jumped into “Not Fade Away”, echoing “you know our love will not fade away” as they waved to the crowd while walking off stage. While the drones rose again off the barge, Mickey Hart stepped back out, giving a small speech, ending with “without you, there would be no us — we thank you so much.” As the drones turned into a rose, then a dancing bear, and finally the words “Please Be Kind” before turning off, the crowd still clapping to the beat of Not Fade Away, the only thing I was thinking about was how grateful I was. Grateful for the band, the community, and most of all the music, without which many of us would not have such a strong community as there is today. Despite this tour being the last, don't worry. In the words of Mr. Bob Weir (via instagram), “We will all be out there in one form or another until we drop.”