Dead & Company played 2 nights at at Citi Field (pics, setlists, videos)
photos by Greg Cristman
Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir brought their Dead & Company tour (with John Mayer on guitar/vocals) to NYC for two shows at the huge Citi Field this past weekend. Like at Bonnaroo, they brought out former Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux to sing on a few songs, and these shows were filled with favorites. Saturday’s (6/25) show opened with “Shakedown Street” (with Donna on stage), and also included “Sugaree,” “Casey Jones,” “Dark Star,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “The Other One,” “Ripple,” and more.
Sunday (6/26) opened with “St. Stephen,” and also included “Bertha,” “Box of Rain,” “Truckin’,” “Slipknot > Franklin’s Tower,” “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider,” and more.
Chad Berndston reviewed it for JamBase, and it sounds like he was a little skeptical but the shows won him over:
OK, I’ll buy it: Dead & Company are for real.
That’s a qualified statement, because if you’re heading into a Dead & Company show with a certain set of expectations, you might ignore an impulse to just enjoy – to have the proverbial good time – and give in to a more cynical, disappointed point of view.
You’re not going to find a primal, hard-charging, furiously energetic interpretation of Grateful Dead music; if you’ve been nourished by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, this sounds maddeningly slow. You’re not going to find the same experimental jones that can make Phil Lesh & Friends a “will the magic visit tonight” kind of wild card. You’re not going stroll through a lot scene like the one at Citi Field and be able to ignore that this all might be as tired-looking as the greybeards who’ve been working that scene for decades.
Here’s what you will find, though: a buoyant band, with a welcoming spirit, that, judged on its own merits and aware of its strengths and how to play to them, is a pretty damn good experience with Grateful Dead music.
We caught the Saturday show and pictures from that one are in this post. Check out more, with videos and the setlists from both nights, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyhHQw0cEDI
Dead & Co. at Citi Field – 6/25/16 Setlist (via)
Set 1:
Shakedown Street (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals)
Jack Straw (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals)
Althea (John Mayer lead vocals)
Loose Lucy (with Donna Jean Godchaux)
Ramble On Rose (Grateful Dead cover)
Sugaree (Jerry Garcia cover) (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (John Mayer lead vocals)
Passenger (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (Bob Weir and Donna Godchaux shared vocals)
Casey Jones (John Mayer lead vocals)
Set 2:
Dark Star (preceded by brief baseball park ‘Charge!’ tag on keyboard)
Friend of the Devil (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (John Mayer and Bob Weir… more )
Scarlet Begonias (with Donna Jean Godchaux)
Fire on the Mountain (with Donna Jean Godchaux)
Drums (with Oteil Burbridge on marimba)
Space (Grateful Dead cover)
The Other One (Grateful Dead cover)
Wharf Rat (Grateful Dead cover)
Throwing Stones (live debut by Dead & Company)
Encore:
Ripple (acoustic) (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals)
One More Saturday Night (Bob Weir cover)
—
Dead & Co. at Citi Field – 6/26/16 Setlist (via)
Set 1:
St. Stephen (with “The Eleven” jam)
The Music Never Stopped (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals)
Bertha (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (John Mayer lead vocals)
Black-Throated Wind (Bob Weir cover)
Peggy-O ([traditional] cover) (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals)
Box of Rain (John Mayer lead vocals)
Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Henry Whitter cover) (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (Bob, John, Oteil and Donna shared vocals)
Set 2:
Truckin’ (preceded by extended jam) (>)
He’s Gone (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (John Mayer and Bob Weir shared vocals)
Help on the Way (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (Bob Weir and John Mayer shared vocals) (>)
Slipknot! (>)
Franklin’s Tower (with Donna Jean Godchaux) (>)
Drums (>)
Space (>)
Days Between (preceded by long keyboard solo)
China Cat Sunflower (John Mayer and Bob Weir shared vocals) (>)
I Know You Rider ([traditional] cover) (with Donna Jean Godchaux)
Encore:
Samson and Delilah ([traditional] cover) (with Donna Jean Godchaux)
