Dead & Company illuminate the second night of the Dead Forever Sphere Residency

Photo credit: Rich Fury

On Friday, May 17, Dead & Company continued with the second night of its long-awaited 24-show Dead Forever residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. After the first night set the bar high with a stunning selection of classic tracks and breathtaking visuals, the second night continued with the band’s greatest hits and fan favorites, accompanied by a nostalgic panorama full of memories of the Dead’s heyday. While some recycled images came as a surprise, new content pushed the technologically advanced venue to its highest capacity as the band delivered one-off performances to create a true high point in Dead & Company history.

Kicking off their second performance, Dead & Company unleashed a rousing, funky rendition of “Samson and Delilah,” where the massive Sphere screens descended over the sacred space of San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury neighborhood, setting the stage for the band’s formation like on the first evening. After a steadily groovy “Shakedown Street,” the band – consisting of Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – melted into the upbeat rhythm Skull & Roses Classic “Bertha,” as the band performed in front of a vivid technicolor cloud of smoke.

Other images of the evening returned with “Crazy Fingers,” which brought forth the same rainforest scene previously seen in “Bird Song,” and the band’s popular rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” which featured the same retro westerns title cards billed Weir as “Ace” the night before. For the exuberant “Good Lovin’,” the spherical screen transformed into a tie-dye spiral, blushing with new cover and spiraling into infinity as the band segued into set closer “Deal,” which saw the richly storied wall return from Dead- Tickets, posters, merchandise and other material mementos that were a definite highlight of the first night.

With “China Cat Sunflower,” the band returned to the stage with a slow hit, leaning into the essential track’s stripped-back blues-funk undertones with a novel treatment. This essential cut means the band contrasts with the iconic Stealie emblem, shimmering in silver and decorated with a billowing bouquet of roses. Next, as always, the band merged into “I Know You Rider,” bringing with it the show’s most impressive new visual sequence as the Sphere periphery moved toward the Winterland Arena building, the long-lost Bay Area staple that served as defining stage for the Dead, who famously performed at the venue’s final show. The story continued as Sphere went through two more classic locations, first showing off Cornell University’s Barton Hall – the place where the band performed their legendary performances Cornell 05/08/77 Performance – then transition to simulations of The Fillmore and Morrison, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, among others.

Dead & Co. kept the fire burning with “timated Prophet,” which saw the return of the virtual wall of sound that made headlines on the first night. As the massive trademark melted into a psychedelic mush, the band launched into an advanced jam, bringing the energy to a peak when they invited Santana Band drummer Karl Perazzo to the stage – the first guest of the series. Perazzo supported performances of “Cumberland Blues,” “The Other One,” and finally “Drums,” where Burbridge drew on Lane’s kit to deliver some heady polyrhythms. The set ended in a distant moment as Hart took to The Beam, bringing the energy to a tight boiling point that suited a bluesy “Space,” which in turn paved the way for the relatively rare “Black Peter.”

The energy erupted again as Dead & Company segued into “Althea,” a catalog cornerstone that notably spawned the first-ever duet between Weir and Mayer years ago. This fan favorite, set before the amazing drip of a giant lava lamp, opened an impressive medley that brought the venue back to the famous facades of Haight Ashbury with “US Blues” and a stunning “Mountain Dew.” After a resumption of the TV broadcast from the first evening, the band finally closed the show with a truly spectacular “Turn On Your Love Light”.

Dead and Company will return to the Sphere tonight to complete the first weekend of its summer residency. For tickets and more information, visit deadandcompany.com.

Read on for the full setlist from night two.

Dead & Society
Ball – Las Vegas
05/18/24

Set I: Samson and Delilah, Shakedown Street > Bertha, Crazy Fingers, Big River, Good Lovin’, Deal
Set II: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Estimated Prophet, Cumberland Blues*, The Other One*, Drums* > Space, Black Peter, Althea > US Blues > Morning Dew, Turn On Your Love Light

Remarks:
* with Karl Perazzo on drums.