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All the tie-dye and Teslas descending on Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View could mean only one thing:
Dead & Company were back in Silicon Valley.
The phenomenally popular Grateful Dead spinoff — featuring vocalist-guitarist Bob Weir, drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, vocalist-guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti — drew a packed house to witness the band open its summer tour on Friday, May 31.
And a large majority of those fans will likely return on Saturday (June 1) for Night 2. Overall, the band will sell some 40,000 tickets for the two-night stand.
That’s impressive, showing just how great a market still exists for Grateful Dead songs.
Even when they aren’t delivered in memorable fashion.
That was the case on Friday, as the group basically limped through one uninspired effort after another on what was also opening night of the 2019 Shoreline season.
Maybe you had too much too fast. #shakedownstreet @deadandcompany pic.twitter.com/Gn5euXaHfb
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 1, 2019
Unfortunately, the lack of energy proved contagious, quickly spreading to the fans and turning this tour opener into a jam-band snooze fest.
On the upside, however, it’s pretty safe to say the tour can only get better from here, likely starting with what fans will witness on Night 2 at Shoreline.
The first song played on the Dead & Company 2019 summer tour was “Playing in the Band,” a once-rowdy crowd favorite, which the group crawled through at an uncomfortably slow pace. It sounded nothing like the revved-up versions of “Playing in the Band” performed on Aug. 6, 1974 at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey; Sept. 21, 1972 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; or — please pause for a moment of silent reverence — Aug. 27, 1972 at Old Renaissance Faire Grounds in Veneta, Oregon.
It's @JohnMayer time @deadandcompany pic.twitter.com/QYzItCdGpH
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 1, 2019
OK, that’s enough of that. I won’t go all Deadhead taper nerd on you again. I realize that Dead & Company aren’t the Grateful Dead — and especially not the Grateful Dead circa 1972-1974. This band has got its own thing.
It’s just that its own thing proved so unsatisfying on Friday night.
There were a few decent moments in the roughly 70-minute first set, including, let’s say, about five minutes of interesting blues guitar work by Mayer, mainly on “It Hurts Me Too.” And it’s always good to hear a Merle Haggard cover (“Mama Tried”) and certainly the “Casey Jones” closer sent fans off to the set break feeling pretty good.
. @deadandcompany cover one of the greatest songwriters of all time pic.twitter.com/T9hmMBSapK
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 1, 2019
But all of that was outweighed by safe, calculated takes on “Brown Eyed Women,” “Shakedown Street” and others. It just felt like Dead & Company was cruising through the songs with one foot on the brake, like a jam band that really wasn’t in the mood to jam.
A below average first set can sometimes translate to good things for the nightcap. But the second set also disappointed, delivering cumbersome versions of “Fire on the Mountain,” “Eyes of the World” and other favorites.
. @deadandcompany open 2nd set with Scarlet Begonias pic.twitter.com/uhPkwKBptW
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 1, 2019
It wasn’t a bad night of music. It was a forgettable one, which might be even worse.
More mellow @deadandcompany … estimated prophet. pic.twitter.com/RiJzzBKDRh
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 1, 2019
