Dead & Company perform at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 9, 2023.
The Grateful Dead’s Chicago run in 1995 marked the band’s final shows with Jerry Garcia. Since the legendary musician’s death, the music never stopped – and the fanbase continued to grow – as the surviving founders of the group kept on keeping on performing as The Other Ones, The Dead, Further, and many other incarnations.
Since 2015, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann (who sat out this 2023 tour), John Mayer and Bob Weir, with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti have honored the music and spirit of the Dead as Dead & Company. It’s once again the end of an era as Dead & Company brought The Final Tour to Wrigley Field in Chicago to perform the first of two sold-out shows on Friday, June 9.
Dead & Company celebrated this occasion just as fans hoped they would, with a night full of great music and festive vibes. The musicians – including Jay Lane (RatDog, Wolf Bros, Further) filling in for Kreutzmann – did what they do best on the show opener, “Playing in the Band.” Weir took the lead vocals while Burbridge held it down with some tight bass licks. The punchy percussion of Hart and Lane laid the foundation for Mayer to drop a mellow solo before Chimenti closed things out with some soft keys.
Tonally, Dead & Company took fans on a trip through a kaleidoscope of sounds throughout the first set. Twangy rock was the name of the game on “Deal” and “It Hurts Me Too” began as a bluesy slow-burner perfect for Mayer to unleash sweet solos as an appetizer for Chimenti’s bold organ sounds. “Brown-Eyed Women” featured another Mayer-Chimenti one-two punch, this time of the funky variety, which gave Burbridge a chance to work his fast fingers. Big sing-alongs were also a staple during Set One with “Tennessee Jed,” “Ramble On Rose” and the closer, “Dancing in the Street.”
Set Two was nothing short of colossal. Each moment found Dead & Company reaching further into the stratosphere. From Mayer’s obliterating solo during the set opener, “Sugaree,” to “Drums” – which found Hart, Lane, and Burbridge creating percussive rhythms typically associated with electronic groups like The Chemical Brothers, albeit with analog instruments – to the downbeat, resetting time spent in an extra-spacey addition of “Space,” every element was heightened.
Dead & Company perform at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 9, 2023.
Weir, Mayer and company lived up to their reputation as a great American jam band throughout the second set. “Estimated Prophet,” “The Other One” and “Lady with a Fan” flowed effortlessly into each other before the band returned to a terrestrial plane – bathed in rainbow lights – for a powerful take on “Terrapin Station.” Later, fans were ready to rise to the momentous occasion of this final run by giving Dead & Company all the love they shared, and more, during the Set Two ending dance party that was “Sugar Magnolia,” “Scarlet Begonias” and “Sunshine Daydream.”
While this may be The Final Tour, it isn’t the last chance that fans will have to see the individual members of Dead & Company on the road. Mayer is set to resume his Solo Tour – which stopped at the United Center back in April – this September and Weir has shown that he has no plans to slow down.
“Well it looks like that’s it for this outfit; but don’t worry we will all be out there in one form or another until we drop…,” he tweeted after The Final Tour was announced.
Dead fans know that goodbye doesn’t mean goodbye forever. This may be the end of the Dead & Company era, but as the surviving Grateful Dead founders – Weir, Kreutzmann, and Phil Lesh – have proven time and time again, the names of the musicians “playing in the band” may change, but the music of the Dead is eternal.
Check out photos from Dead & Company’s Friday night show in Chicago below and click here to learn more about The Final Tour. A full list of upcoming events at Wrigley Field can be found at LiveNation.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
