Dead and Company

[Deadrody]

Kinda surprised there hasn't been a thread started on this, especially recently.

My wife got me tickets for SPAC - seated section, thank God - for Valentines and wow. Had to see them again, so we went this weekend at Fenway. Stadium sound blows, but John Mayer and the rest of the band was as good as SPAC.

We kinda covered this in respect to the Fare thee Well shows in Chicago, but John Mayer is (to me, at least) BY FAR the best lead they've had since Jerry passed. I really feel like the music has life again that it hasn't had since then. Really, really good. And he's still getting acclimated to the music, the band, etc.

Going out to visit my brother in October for the rumored show in Phoenix, AZ. Can't wait.

Only downside is Bob is still far too fond of singing Jerry songs that he shouldn't be singing. He's given a little ground since they started last October, but when you look at a couple set lists from back then and you see Eyes, Scarlet>Fire, Terrapin, Shakedown, Morning Dew, Wharf Rat, Franklin's Tower, Stella Blue, etc. ALL sung by Bob. Yikes. Mayer is now singing Scarlet Begonias and most of Terrapin, but Bob's voice was never exactly stellar and it hasn't improved with age.

All things considered, really great stuff. Will be a John Mayer fan forever after this.

 

[8893]

All things considered, really great stuff. Will be a John Mayer fan forever after this.

He's a great player, and Lord knows he's has his share of success with the ladies, but I can't get past the guitar face. Worst. Ever.

john mayer guitar face - Google Search

 

[Deadrody]

He's a great player, and Lord knows he's has his share of success with the ladies, but I can't get past the guitar face. Worst. Ever.

john mayer guitar face - Google Search

Oh, yeah. He's quite entertaining on stage, including the faces.

 

[Mike75]

Agree on Mayer. He's hitting his stride. Saw the Sat show at Fenway and he owned Deal and Sugaree. The rest of the show was alright, although the setlist had some clunkers (Days Between should be retired). Heard the Friday show was killer, but haven't listened to it yet. He's no Jerry (no one is) but I like him much better than Trey in this role. Also, Oteil and Chimenti are no slouches. Stronger line up than FTW, IMO.

 

[August_West]

My wife was distraught over missing Friday fenway.

Band is sounding great.

Its not just mayer although he has done an incredible job. It is the quirkiness of Mickey and Billy together that also gives it that "feel" . It is what every other band since jerry passed has been missing. The couple times they had both drummers in 03 and 09 they were using Warren and while I love warren, the Dead isnt his bag from a playing standpoint (he did a wonderful job vocally though) . Mayer has internalized Jerrys approach.

Plus Oteil is a monster , and a personal friend (shameless name drop and probably the nicest guy on the planet and is perfect in this band. Bobby and Phil simply cant work together sans Jerry.

 

[Deadrody]

Agree on Mayer. He's hitting his stride. Saw the Sat show at Fenway and he owned Deal and Sugaree. The rest of the show was alright, although the setlist had some clunkers (Days Between should be retired). Heard the Friday show was killer, but haven't listened to it yet. He's no Jerry (no one is) but I like him much better than Trey in this role. Also, Oteil and Chimenti are no slouches. Stronger line up than FTW, IMO.

Funny, they played Days Between at both shows I went to. It seems like it's a pretty cool song, I just don't know it much. And even when Jerry was playing / singing, it was never enough to get me to learn it.

The Friday setlist certainly looked killer. The novelty of how good they are is slowly wearing off. I loved the show at SPAC even though that setlist wasn't all that great, either. Now I want to hear them play a smoking hot setlist.

To be fair, I think if Trey actually toured with them and played 30+ shows, we'd be saying the same thing about him. But only John Mayer has made that committment.

 

[Deadrody]

Band is sounding great.

Its not just mayer although he has done an incredible job. It is the quirkiness of Mickey and Billy together that also gives it that "feel" . It is what every other band since jerry passed has been missing. The couple times they had both drummers in 03 and 09 they were using Warren and while I love warren, the Dead isnt his bag from a playing standpoint (he did a wonderful job vocally though) . Mayer has internalized Jerrys approach.

My wife was distraught that they skipped Scarlet Begonias on Saturday and just played Fire on the Mountain.

It's funny you mention Mickey and Billy. At SPAC, I caught one sequence where Mayer was just off the hook and Mickey was grinning ear to ear like they all knew this was the real deal and they were in on the joke.

 

[phillionaire]

Saw them in Hartford and Detroit this tour and Columbus last tour. They sound better after each show.

 

[Brian M]

Agree with everything posted thus far. I've seen them 6 times including this past Saturday at Fenway and each show makes me walk away wanting to go to more. I'm in my early 20s so I never got to see the Dead with Jerry or anything but Mayer's chemistry with the band is sublime. He's the best guitarist of my generation in my opinion. I've been a Mayer fan all my life and seen him solo and I'm not sure I've ever seen any artist have as much fun on stage as he has alongside Bobby and the rest of the band. His youth and energy perfectly compliments their jam expertise and wisdom and their need for a true jam guitarist that can double as a frontman allows him to take his career in a new direction with a new genre. I'm really glad someone posted about this because I was going to do it myself but it's great to see other people appreciate it as much.

 

[intlzncster]

Agree with everything posted thus far. I've seen them 6 times including this past Saturday at Fenway and each show makes me walk away wanting to go to more. I'm in my early 20s so I never got to see the Dead with Jerry or anything but Mayer's chemistry with the band is sublime. He's the best guitarist of my generation in my opinion. I've been a Mayer fan all my life and seen him solo and I'm not sure I've ever seen any artist have as much fun on stage as he has alongside Bobby and the rest of the band. His youth and energy perfectly compliments their jam expertise and wisdom and their need for a true jam guitarist that can double as a frontman allows him to take his career in a new direction with a new genre. I'm really glad someone posted about this because I was going to do it myself but it's great to see other people appreciate it as much.

I'm not into most of Mayer's commercial stuff, but when I hear him play the blues.....damn. From what I've read, that's the type of music he's really into, but did the pop stuff for commercial success/reasons.

 

[Deadrody]

I'm not into most of Mayer's commercial stuff, but when I hear him play the blues.....damn. From what I've read, that's the type of music he's really into, but did the pop stuff for commercial success/reasons.

Can you blame him ? The resulting success - in many areas - has paid off in a big way.

 

[intlzncster]

Can you blame him ? The resulting success - in many areas - has paid off in a big way.

Oh, I don't blame him at all. I'm not one of those 'sellout' guys. Make your money however you can, especially these days. Guy dropped out of Berkley in Boston, and started working at a gas station, just so he could play a small club in Southern CT a couple times a week. Good for him to be where he is now.

I just think he's far, far better at doing the things he loves (and just so happens to be more tuned to my tastes).

 

[boba]

Agree on Mayer. He's hitting his stride. Saw the Sat show at Fenway and he owned Deal and Sugaree. The rest of the show was alright, although the setlist had some clunkers (Days Between should be retired). Heard the Friday show was killer, but haven't listened to it yet. He's no Jerry (no one is) but I like him much better than Trey in this role. Also, Oteil and Chimenti are no slouches. Stronger line up than FTW, IMO.

It's killer, especially H>S>FT. Heard it on YouTube. Going to Shoreline next weekend, happy happy.

 

[August_West]

It's killer, especially H>S>FT. Heard it on YouTube. Going to Shoreline next weekend, happy happy.

Boba do you go to Txr?

 

[boba]

Shoreline was phenomenal - Help > Slip > Shakedown opener, Dark Star > St Stephen, oh boy. I'm ready to go back on tour with them.

 

[boba]

 

[August_West]

I like Dead and Company but its Jerry day, Brah.(Happy Bday, big man). And an especially good one considering quite a few SBD master reels of shows never in circulation have just been unearthed. Im listening to the only known version of Jerry and Merle covering Stevie Wonders "Sunshine of our Life" which was never even known that it was covered until today from 10/11/73 as I type this. Epic.

Jerry and Merl
9 6 73 First Source - Master Reel
11 5 73 First Known Source Master Reel
10 11 73 Master Reel
2 16 74 Master Reel
10 12 73 Master Reel


Grateful Dead
12 26 1969 MR >Cas>DAT
4 26 72 MR >DAT
7 2 71 Beta Mania Pre FM REEL
7 12 69 Cass Master
9 12 68 Clementine Practise Session MR
1966 Owsley's House
5 14 70 Master Reel

Go grab some!!

the Jer/Merle shows are especially tasty!!

bt.etree.org | Community Tracker

 

[Jimdish255]

Nice video hope it stays up. Definite capture material. Yes I do pay for live shows and you should too!

 

[August_West]

 

[Brian M]

@August_West where can I get the Husky Stealie shirt from your picture? A few buddies and I have been looking for one for a while without much luck.

 

[August_West]

@August_West where can I get the Husky Stealie shirt from your picture? A few buddies and I have been looking for one for a while without much luck.

That was custom made and given to me for my bday.

I'll see if he saved the screen template.