Dead & Company Continue Summer Tour in Hartford
Photo via Dead & Company’s Official Instagram
Dead & Company continued their summer tour last night at XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Conn. The six-piece–Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane, who filled in for the Grateful Dead’s founding drummer, Bill Kreutzmann–performed two lively sets sans encores. The show included a summer tour debut of Robert Hunter’s “Liberty,” which the band initially played in 2016 at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C.
The show got underway with the Blues for Allah classic, “The Music Never Stopped,” with Weir and Mayer trading off the iconic lyrics. Next, they moved into “Liberty,” before working their way into the Jerry Garcia penned, “They Love Each Other.”
“Loser” arrived ahead of a jammed-out take on “Alabama Getaway.” Then, Weir led the ensemble on a classic cover of Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutter’s “Iko Iko.” For their next tune, Dead & Company played the Workingman’s Dead favorite, “High Times,” before the first set closer, a take on Weir’s 1972 tune, “Cassidy,” which initially appeared on his debut LP, Ace.
Dead & Company’s second set began with “Jack Straw,” with Weir and Mayer once again trading off lines. “Jack Straw” segued into “Scarlet Begonias,” then the band dug into a cover of Cannon’s Jug Stompers’ “Viola Lee Blues,” which preluded “Fire on the Mountain” and a partial take on “The Other One.”
“Drums” and “Space” came midway through the second set, with Hart unleashing the groove during the beat-heavy display. Next, the rest of the band reemerged for “The Wheel,” which was capped with a continuation of “The Other One.” Another tune off Workingman’s Dead came next, this time “Black Peter,” led by Weir. Finally, for the last song of the night, Dead & Company treated fans to “Sugar Magnolia.”
Sadly, tonight’s show at the fabled Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Read the breaking story here.
Scroll down to view the complete setlist.
Dead & Company
XFINITY Theatre – Hartford, Conn.
July 5, 2022
Set I: The Music Never Stopped, Liberty*, They Love Each Other, Loser, Alabama Getaway, Iko Iko, High Time, Cassidy
Set II: Jack Straw > Scarlet Begonias > Viola Lee Blues > Fire on the Mountain > The Other One > Drums > Space > The Wheel > The Other One > Black Peter > Sugar Magnolia
Notes:
* Tour debut
