Dead & Co. takes SPAC crowd out for a summertime stroll
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » At the end of Monday’s Dead & Company show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, there was really nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.
A neat thing about hitting a Dead show — whether it was the original lineup or the current version — is you never know what you’re going to get. A unique part of the Grateful Dead experience is no two shows are exactly the same. In many instances, performances tend to take a life of their own and wind up going to unexpected places. It’s best to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Monday’s performance was no exception. The band — featuring original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and guitarist John Mayer — kicked off the festivites with a slow-building “Jack Straw” that allowed these musicians to find their groove. The song closed with scorching guitar work by Mayer, who took over lead vocals on a hot “Easy Wind.”
The band stumbled a bit through a slow-but-steady “Friend of the Devil,” with Weir appearing to get lost at certain points. Thankfully, it allowed Chimenti to show off his chops on a drop-dead gorgeous piano solo and saved a song in danger of falling flat on its back. Then again, there really is no such thing as a perfect performance.
But Weir — the crafty, grizzled veteran of the scene that he is — recovered nicely on “New Minglewood Blues,” followed by a gorgeous rendition of the always slower “Ship of Fools.”
The fans then got a real treat as the band dropped a “Corrina” that was well-received by the crowd before capping off the first set with a fantastic “Cassidy.” Mayer especially took his guitar-playing to new heights as he closed act one with scorching solo work.
If set one was just the warmup, however, the second act was clearly the main event.
Right out of the gate, the band started things off with a fantastic cover of The Band’s “The Weight,” where Weir, Mayer, Burbridge and Chimenti each taking turns on lead vocals. Burbridge’s verse got a wonderful reaction from the crowd — “Let Oteil Sing” — and Weir tickled everyone’s musical bones when he came in singing falsetto.
At this point, things got real hot despite the chill in the air.
A playful “Other One” jam served as a bridge between “The Weight” and “Truckin’,” which was the point of the performance where every single man on stage was totally in sync with each other, bringing the fan-favorite to a massive and fiery close. A steady “He’s Gone” was next as Weir and Mayer took verses out for a walk and was built around powerful crescendos and masterful musicianship.
A strong “New Speedway Boogie” that followed led into a big “Uncle John’s Band” that again featured great harmony work by the entire band. It was at this point when Weir, Mayer, Burbridge and Chimenti took a break to let Hart and Kreutzmann show off their percussion skills on “Drums/Space,” which normally sends people for a quick bathroom break and had a similar effect Monday.
The rest of the band came in for a noodling session before launching back into “Uncle John’s Band” to bring that song to a close.
“Black Peter” was next, which led into an upbeat and fun cover of The Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” to close the second set, which always gets the crowd on its feet.
Dead & Company’s encore was a solid take on the very radio-friendly “Touch of Grey,” closing on a big note that everyone in attendance appreciated.