Dead & Company debut cover of Bob Dylan's 'Quinn the Eskimo' along with fan favorites at San Francisco live set
Dead & Company, comprising the surviving members of the legendary jam band Grateful Dead, opened their New Year's Run in San Francisco on Monday, December 30, night at the Chase Center.
They threw up a delectable offering of Deadhead favorites as well as a live debut of Bob Dylan's 'Quinn The Eskimo' for the nostalgia-filled crowd.
After the death of their beloved guitarist Jerry Garcia, the remaining Grateful Dead members — guitarist Bob Weir, drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann formed the Dead & Company project along with famed guitarist John Mayer (yes, that John Mayer), keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge, who filled in on bass and drums after original bassist Phil Lesh declined to be a part of the new project.
Dead & Company was initially pitched as a one-off concert on October 31, 2015, at New York's Madison Square Garden, but due to popular demand, the band decided to become a full-time project.
John Mayer was particularly instrumental in making the new band a reality having become an enthusiastic Deadhead after discovering the band's music online. Mayer even said a few years ago that he "will never close the door on Dead & Company, ever."
And that appears to be the case, as Dead & Company have been successfully touring ever since that 2015 show — they played their first festival gig at Bonnaroo in 2016, with former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux also joining the band for performances that year.
They have kept the project going for every single year to date, playing summer and fall tours over 2017, 2018 and 2019. They returned to their hometown of San Francisco to play a New Year's Run of shows at the Chase Center on Dec 30 and 31, 2019.
Here are some highlights from Monday night's show, which featured some perennial Grateful Dead classics as well as a surprise cover of Bob Dylan in the live setlist.
The show started with a lengthy, groovy version of 'Shakedown Street'. The fanatical crowd's reaction even prompted Bob Weir, who was on vocal duties for the night, to later post on social media, "Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart!".
John Mayer ably supported Weir on backing vocals throughout the set. After jamming for a while like it was still 1969, Dead & Company moved into the country stylings of 'Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo' before Mayer and Weir joined forces for the stomping 'Cumberland Blues'.
Mayer then showcased his love for old-timey guitar on the Deadhead-favorite, 'It Hurts Me Too' as made famous by bluesman Elmore James. Other highlights of set one included a rendition of 'High Time' that roped in bassist Burbridge on vocal duties, and the rousing closer, 'Bird Song.'
The second half of the show featured even more funky jams, opening with 'The Music Never Stopped' that bled into 'Deal'.
And the boundless improvisation continued to flow through the eight-song-jam that comprised 'St Stephen', 'The Eleven', 'Turn On Your Love Light', 'Drums', 'Space', 'The Wheel', 'Stella Blue', and 'Casey Jones'. Needless to say, the packed crowd was thrilled and awed to see the psychedelic jam titans go at it in full flow.
The band then served up the show-stopper of the night with their show-closer, a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Quinn The Eskimo' that served as their solitary encore at the Chase Center. Dead & Company will return to the Chase Center on December 31 to ring in the New Year with their adoring fans.