Dead & Company “Let The Good Times Roll” is nearing its first weekend at the Sphere

Photo: Alive reporting

Get going and let the good times roll

We’ll stay here until we calm our souls

If it takes all night

Last night, Saturday May 18th, Dead & Company capped off its first weekend of concerts as part of its Sin City residency at the new, technologically advanced venue called Sphere in Las Vegas. During the event, the band continued to work through the Grateful Dead songbook, repeating classics and supplementing the performance with appropriate images that took concertgoers on a visual journey from start to finish.

The 21st century offshoot, Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Otiel Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane, was a common concert opener for the Dead in the late ’80s and early ’90s, repeating the Sam Cooke original: “Good Times” as the first song of the Saturday stand. Like Google Maps, graphics of the Earth taken from space took over the screens, presenting a global topography that complemented the street dog anthem “Truckin’.” The original Howlin’ Wolf and one of the earliest covers from the Grateful Dead archives, “Smokestack Lightning”, appeared before the recognizable instrumental intro of “Sugaree”, led by Mayer.

After a selection from Jerry Garcia’s eponymous 1972 solo debut, the ensemble hit its stride From the Mars HotelShe sings “Thank you for a really good time” on “Loose Lucy.” The on-screen graphics perfectly complement the following number: a sunken ship with adjacent Dead iconography such as red roses surrounding a signature stealie on the sails and psychedelic compliments spreading across the ocean floor, including underwater mushrooms. Additionally, they cascade through two fan favorites, “Tennessee Jed” and “Casey Jones”, repeating the use of backstage passes, posters and ticket slips in the latter and continuing this with distorted coloring for an even trippier effect.

At the start of the second set, animated “Scarlet Begonias” rained down from the ceiling, paired with sister song “Fire on the Mountain,” which received special treatment from Hart, who rapped on the original. Notably, the latter felt like a nod to the historic eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, an event to which the original band paid tribute at the third in a series of subsequent volcanic eruptions on June 12, 1980. at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. A disco ball spun and created beams of light as the band worked on “Eyes of the World.” Blobs of light became miniature replica screens and eventually an animation not unlike Pacman, with skulls, peace signs and other symbols dancing across the ceiling.

Mountain imagery, similar to the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest, appeared on screen as the band worked on “Lady With a Fan”, which was hinted at on the evening’s poster as being included in the setlist (see below). As the number segued into “Terrapin,” the sky cleared to reveal two circular live shots focused on band members, with a Bertha skeleton separating the two. Fittingly, the jam vehicle merged with the second set, “Drums” and “Space,” and finally the emotional “Stella Blue.” Hypnotic swirling, almost liquefied colors emerged as the band ran through “The Wheel.”

As if on a motorcycle, the Sphere audience rode through “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” while Uncle Sam’s skeleton sat astride the motorcycle and steered the ride. More images of the cosmos consumed the screens as the band landed on “Throwing Stones,” triggering a meteor shower at one point, a simple shot of the place we all know at others home. As on the first and second nights, an old news clipping separated the second set from the encore, a homage to the day of the week on “One More Saturday Night.”

Scroll down to see last night’s setlist. Visit deadandcompany.com for tickets and more information about the band’s current residency.

Dead & Society

Ball – Las Vegas

May 18, 2024

Set I: Good Times, Truckin, Smokestack Lightning, Sugaree, Loose Lucy, Ship of Fools, Tennessee Jed, Casey Jones

Set II: Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain, Eyes of the World > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Stella Blue, The Wheel, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad, Stones Throwing

(Old Grateful Dead Newscast), One More Saturday Night