Dead And Company Put Their Spin On Motown As Final Tour Winds Down

Nearly 60 years removed from their start, The Grateful Dead stand today as one of the all time great American bands, having carved out a uniquely influential niche thanks to their virtually unparalleled incorporation of rock, psychedelia, folk, country, bluegrass, blues and so much more.

Their 30 years together are responsible for 16 gold and six platinum records, a timeless embrace of studio projects, live albums, compilation records, retrospectives and box sets driven by arguably the most fervent fanbase in rock and roll history, with the group selling countless concert tickets along the way.

While surviving members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Phil Lesh have regrouped in various forms over the years, with projects like The Other Ones, The Dead and Furthur featuring some or all of the surviving members, Dead & Company is the most recent and most successful incarnation, skipping only 2020 amidst pandemic while staging massive, annual, sold out tours since 2015.

In the midst of what’s being billed as their final tour, one set to wrap up over three nights July 14-16, 2023 in San Francisco, Dead & Company returned to Chicago earlier this month for two performances at Wrigley Field.

While Kreutzmann opted to sit this run out, Weir and Hart are joined again by singer and guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboard player Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane.

Chimenti took part in the Other Ones and The Dead, with Lane joining him for Furthur, and the duo have performed alongside Weir since the 90s in acts like RatDog and Wolf Bros.

Needless to say, the level of musicianship is high amongst the uber-tight six piece ensemble – but Mayer takes things to a whole other level, approaching his role with a reverence and attention to detail that Deadheads seem to relish.

Wearing headphones on stage at Wrigley, he closed his eyes early, zoning in as he traversed the group’s vast stylings, delivering a captivating performance that ran anywhere between scorching improvised blues and more measured, contemplative moments.

“Chicago has always been great to us, as it’s been to me my whole career,” Mayer tweeted last week following the Wrigley concerts. “I’ll simply say this for now: thank you, Chicago.”

If it looms large for Mayer, the Windy City has also historically played a large role for the Dead.

Following the death of co-founding vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, and the group’s final concert together at Chicago’s Soldier Field one month earlier, Weir, Hart, Kreutzmann and Lesh returned to the venue in July 2015, looking back on the group’s legacy via a trio of concerts dubbed “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead,” with then President Barack Obama saluting “an iconic American band that embodies the creativity, passion and ability to bring people together that makes American music so great.”

On night one at “the friendly confines,” Mayer noodled a bit upon taking the stage, Dead & Company settling in during “Playing in the Band.” Fans stumbled in late, the sun still up, as Chimenti’s keys sparkled at dusk, the keyboard player melding with the bass of Burbridge to drive the song late.

Fans in the general admission pit, situated about shallow center field, began jumping as Mayer tackled the vocal on Garcia’s “Deal.” Chimenti conjured up a bluesy feel and Mayer, seemingly inspired, responded with an incendiary solo, hopping in place as the crowd roared in approval.

The opening set in Chicago continued to take on a bluesy feel, probably no coincidence with Chicago Blues Fest going on concurrently about five miles south, downtown in Chicago’s Millennium Park in the home of the electric blues.

Weir moved to vocal for “Tennessee Jed” before handing it back to Mayer. Putting his spin upon “It Hurts Me Too,” by Chicago bluesman Tampa Red, Chimenti’s soulful playing took the Wrigley crowd to church, a slow simmer which felt poised to boil over at any moment. Weir leaned back and to his right, facing Hart, before ambling back early, Mayer and Chimenti driving the scorching performance.

On stage barefoot, Weir harmonized with Mayer during “Crazy Fingers,” slowing things down out of “Brown-Eyed Women.”

Following a 40 minute break, the group returned for set two with Garcia’s “Sugaree,” Burbridge smiling wide as Mayer soared during a late solo, serious guitar face displayed in high def on a pair of massive video screens bringing the capacity crowd back to its feet.

If the first half was bluesy, the second was a decidedly psychedelic affair, Chimenti getting downright jazzy during the latter portion of “Terrapin Station,” with the duel drumming of Lane and Hart soon giving way to “Drums,” a percussion clinic which would find Hart moving to mallets.

Mayer grinned, smirking as he looked to his right during “Sugar Magnolia,” clearly impressed as Dead & Company rounded third and headed for home on stage at Wrigley.

But the creative highlight on night one actually came during the first set’s closing moments, as the ensemble whipped up an incredibly unique live take on the Motown sound of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, a disco shuffle beat driving a reworked “Dancing in the Street.”

Burbridge turned, stomping to his left, and the crowd roared, with Chicago, as always, the first city called out in the classic Marvin Gaye-penned cut.

“They’re dancing in Chicago!” Weir declared with a smile. “All we need is music, sweet music,” he continued, seemingly summing up a Dead mission statement that now spans nearly six decades. “There’ll be music everywhere.”