SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Dead & Company played a sold-out show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Friday during the band’s long-awaited return to the local stage after a canceled 2020 tour.
A legacy act, Dead & Company was formed in 2015 when the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir joined forces with younger musician John Mayer, Allman Brothers’ bassist Oteil Burbridge, and Fare Thee Well and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The result was one of the most successful touring bands of the decade.
Since its formation, the group has completed several tours, playing to millions of fans, and has become a record-breaking stadium act.
During its recent visit to SPAC, Dead & Company performed two sets for a venue full of about 25,000 Deadheads, who were surely enjoying their ideal version a summer night.
The concert took place on an especially busy weekend in the Spa City, the eve of the Travers Stakes taking place just a few miles away at Saratoga Race Course.
With such a large number of people gathered at SPAC, Dead & Company aimed to ensure safety for all attendees amid the COVID-19 pandemic by requiring ticketholders to provide proof of full vaccination or negative diagnostic test within 48 hours prior to entry. For anyone seated in the pit, closest to the artists, full vaccination was a must.
Though this tour required extra logistics, fans who came out for Friday’s show were definitely ready for some fun.
The colorful crowd – many wearing tie-dye merch with dancing bears and lightning skulls – sang and danced along with each groovy tune of the total three-hour performance.
Dead & Company opened with the funky “Shakedown Street” off of the 1978 record of the same name. The band went on to play “Bertha,” “Peggy-O,” “Me and My Uncle,” “They Love Each Other,” and “West L.A. Fadeaway,” closing out set one with “Bird Song” from late bandleader Jerry Garcia’s first solo album.
Throughout the evening Weir and Mayer shared the responsibility of singing lead vocals, while Mayer served as the band’s lead guitarist, showing off his talents in numerous solos.
After an intermission, the gang kept the good vibes going for a second set that kicked off with a cover of “Good Times,” followed by “Scarlet Begonias,” “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot” and fan favorite “Fire On The Mountain” featuring Burbridge on lead vocals.
Then the group’s dual percussionists, Hart and Kreutzmann, had their time to shine on “Drums” and “Space.”
Toward the end of the show, Dead & Company jammed on with a folksy “Cumberland Blues,” the dark “Days Between” and Buddy Holly number “Not Fade Away.”
An encore of “Black Muddy River” from the Grateful Dead’s 1987 release In the Dark sent the audience off into the night.
Whether SPAC concertgoers went on to spend their Saturday traveling to catch the next Dead show or betting on the big horse race right across town, those who found themselves watching Dead & Company play live on Friday certainly started the weekend off well-entertained.
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August 28, 2021 at 09:50PM
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Dead & Company rocks SPAC in return to local stage - The Saratogian
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