2019 Summer Tour: Dead & Company in Texas [Review + Set List]

Five hours is a long way to go to catch some music. Can you imagine your average spoon-fed radio listener trekking so far out of home territory for a Cardi B concert?
I can’t.

But get into jam band territory and five hours is a reasonable proposition. Many travel further, often spanning multiple states and encompassing several concerts.

Again, could you imagine the casual pop-music consumer following Cardi B around the country?
No, you can’t. Don’t lie to me.

Why do we do it, though?

Jerry Garcia once said that following the Dead around was the modern equivalent of running away with the circus. That it was the quintessential contemporary American adventure. Long after his death in the nineties, the tradition continues, because we all know, what is Dead can never die.

And the latest torchbearer of the tradition is Dead & Company.

Going on four years now, Dead & Company is composed of three of the four surviving original members of The Grateful Dead joined by Dead familiars Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti, as well as the polarizing John Mayer stepping into the role of Jerry Garcia.

Dead & Co. Do Dallas

I lit out of San Antonio with three good friends at 10AM on a Tuesday, bound for Dallas, Texas. Together, we fought the ridiculous I-35 traffic all day and dealt with the shadiest of AirBnB’s that night.

It was well worth it. For those that know the Dead, a glance at the set list said quite a lot. It was sort of an odd show, to be honest. It was less party and more pensive. The overall tempo was also slower, adding to the introspective mood of the concert.

Set One

The first set paid tribute to Texas, which was to be expected. This was the only Texas show of summer tour. We got T for Texas in “Minglewood Blues,” and of course, a version of “El Paso.” And I have to say it was pretty cool hearing “Deep Elem Blues” in Deep Ellum.

But those first set highlights were soaring deep-dives into “Sugaree” and “Jack Straw.” Listen to the audio – I’m sure it’s on YouTube by now – and tell me those weren’t epic versions. You know what? Let me save you some time:

The sun went down during set break, which lasted curiously long.

“I heard they go backstage and eat dinner,” said Johnny Murphy. It did feel about how long it takes to have a little sit-down meal – and maybe a post-dinner smoke.

Set two was where things got heavy.

Set Two

Opening with a defiantly slow “Shakedown Street,” I had a feeling things would get deep. It just felt thick. “Uncle John’s Band” provided a light respite from what would turn into a pretty deep set, followed by “St. Stephen” into “The Eleven,” connected by that rare passage we know as the “William Tell Bridge.”

Then it got dark; darker than the night above. Rusty chords from Bob Weir’s guitar, the harbinger of “Black Peter.”

Keeping with the night’s tempo, Black Peter came out slow – and it’s already a slow song to begin with. The song is about a man coming to terms with his own mortality, dying slowly in his home. Far from a buzz-kill, this was a song that shocked me when I recognized it – I had never seen the Dead or any of its spawns or tributes play it live. It easily dominates my memory of the night, standing out as the most memorable songs of the evening. It’s the single song that made me think – long after the lot had cleared.

Perhaps it’s his age. Bob Weir is the youngest original member of the band by quite a few years, but his age is plain to see. Especially during Black Peter. You could see all the years in his eyes as he sang the grim lyrics. And for a few moments, the song seemed personal.

When the Band’s All Packed and Gone…

Again, I ask: Why do we do it? Why do we trundle around the country chasing bands like Dead & Company?

Some say it’s for the party. They’re partially right.
Some say it’s for the love of the road and the adventure it invites. They’re a little closer.

The answer, of course, is much closer to the music. It’s sticking around and waiting for that otherworldly moment – that inspired moment so much greater than the sum of its parts. It’s what the Dead spent all their time searching for in all its forms.

It’s what I found during Black Peter, of all songs – an unexpected glimpse at the ravages of time magnified in profundity by the ineffable intuition of the players on stage.

I had never given much thought to that dark song in the depths of the Dead’s vast catalogue, but then…

Once in awhile, you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right

-Chris Lazaga
AudioMunk

Setlist – 07-02-2019 – Dallas, TX

Set One:
Bertha > Minglewood Blues, Row Jimmy, Deep Ellem Blues, Friend of the Devil, El Paso, Sugaree, Jack Straw

Set Two:
Shakedown Street, Uncle John’s Band, St. Stephen > William Tell Bridge > The Eleven > Drums / Space > Black Peter > Good Lovin’

Encore:
Black Muddy River