Sphere Run

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Day 1 poster and tickets are $50. Scalpers are getting absolutely screwed.

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Nice poster

Tickets on the ground 

Emek

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Will it never end?

 

this is the "last tour", mark...

 

50 dollar Tix on stubhub...

Cool  blessed are the miracles on the ground.. Taper Rob stream it if you can lol


fuck stubhub

lot cheaper on the set

if that's your cup of tea

 

What's the "SET"


the place to be

your movie

 

Holy cow the cringe factor around every turn in these vids

Which audemars do you guys think John will wear tonight?

phish already played there...


il y a 7 min

Dead & Company | 05/16/2024 Sphere at The Venetian Resort - Las Vegas, Nevada, US Set 1: Feel Like a Stranger, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Jack Straw, Bird Song, Me and My Uncle, Brown-Eyed Women, Cold Rain and Snow Set 2: Uncle John's Band, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower, He's Gone > Drums > Space > Standing on the Moon St Stephen....

just tuned in from Remulak. this sounds fun, Bobby's singing well

 

Why would they show video of themselves in the sphere?  Did phish break it and that's why tix are 50 bucks? 

Maybe they can play the Veneta ,72 dvd set for video in there..  Pole guy all over the screen would be a lot more interesting than mayo. Plus Jerry.

50 buck seams real fair to me

'cant wait for BMFS and his light shoe

 

 

I'll stay home and watch my screensaver, looks just like that 

 

and this? The Disney era has arrived... I feel like Charlie Brown walking around the Christmas lights and signs wondering how it fits into what it all meant to me 

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The Facebook video looked like a travel video at an IMAX theater. Can they borrow the Pink Floyd videos? 

We really need all Baby Boomer Deadheads to stop wearing cargo pant shorts. It's just too tragic.

At the end it looks like 85% of the people are sitting down.    Maybe they had too much too fast. 

 

um St Stephen》 Hell in a Bucket.

I would of left early to avoid the Traffic ...even if I was walkin back to the room. no to be fair for me it was a fun wake up

 

From the last remnants of a living, breathing Band

To a robotic Mechanism that prints money

In less than a decade

...

What is real?

What is human?

How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later

Philip K. Dick, 1978

 

 

>>>We really need all Baby Boomer Deadheads to stop wearing cargo pant shorts. It's just too tragic.
 

Should we wear tennis shorts, gym shorts, biker shorts or just forget it's hot and wear long pants all the time.  
 

If you're lucky, you get to be old enough to look less than ideal regardless of what you wear.   Not getting older is what is tragic.  

and those cargo shorts are mighty handy when your carrying beers..

Encore: Heaven's Door   NFA

From Billboard:

The first visual stunner of the night was when the scaffolding on the screen split in two (in a lightning-bolt configuration, no less) to reveal a Victorian house in San Francisco.  As Dead & Co. played the jangly “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo,” the camera view got wider and wider, transforming from cars driving in front of the house to the full city grid of San Fran to the Golden Gate Bridge to amid the clouds to floating above Earth itself.

The band’s commitment to the music is very serious, but it wouldn’t be a Dead show without some fun too. One of the major differences between how U2 used the Sphere screen and how Dead & Co. used it was the amount of silly, colorful animations deployed on Thursday night. During “Uncle John’s Band” – which was also the sing-along moment of the night – the backdrop started out as a blank paint-by-numbers drawing before progressively filling in every color of the rainbow (including a literal rainbow arching above the band).

In honor of the fans, Vibee created Dead Forever Experience at the Venetian Resort. It will be open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., throughout the residency.    Honor? It's 1 more place in Las Vegas to drop some $$$$

Just last year, Dead & Company embarked on what was billed as their “final tour,” which wrapped up in their home base of San Francisco, and while fans have now been gifted this 24-date residency, it remains to be seen what the future might hold for the band beyond that.      "Gifted?"

  

 

 

from what i can tell in the videos ive seen, the type of visuals that were playing during drums are pretty much what ive been expecting going back to when this/phish was announced for the sphere - visuals that genuinely sync up with the music. id heard from someone,  i think here, that the tech for real time manipulated visuals of this size simply isnt there yet, but it seems like they pulled off a simple version of this during drums last night -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWWOrClWP5Q (the part im referring to starts about halfway thru this vid)

this is a simplified version of what ive been imagining as ideal visuals for a band like phish or the dead at the sphere. so far, phish's best visuals were much cooler than what i saw from deadco, but regardless, phish fell short of my expectation that some of the visuals would be more in sync with the music, and this segment of drums seems to sync up pretty decently.

as for the rest of the vids ive been able to see, it seems a bit underwhelming, but so did phish night 1, and in general im not expecting the visuals at these shows to be better. hoping they keep it light on the cartoonish dead iconography.

> The Disney era has arrived

Looks more like a day at the mall in Anytown, USA.


looks like they used some rainforest cafe footage

 

 At the end it looks like 85% of the people are sitting down.<<<<<<

It turns out that on your ass is the correct answer to the Where is the best place to sit at  the Sohere quesion.

Does the Bear's Den sell raw steak?  Is there a dunking booth?

Well I'm sure this will change the minds of the doubters here.

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“Now off the escalator and into the casino, big crowds still tight around the crap tables. Who are these people? These faces! Where do they come from? They look like caricatures of used-car dealers from Dallas. But they’re real. And, sweet Jesus, there are a hell of a lot of them – still screaming around these desert-city crap tables at four-thirty on a Sunday morning. Still humping the American Dream, that vision of the Big Winner somehow emerging from the last- minute pre-dawn chaos of a stale Vegas casino.”

― Hunter S. Thompson

 "There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . .

And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .

So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

- Hunter S Thompson

>>>looks like they used some rainforest cafe footage

Ha!  Noticed that framing of John Mayer  - how low can we go 

"John Mayer & Dead & Company."

 

All I can say is that I know a lot of people that have been at this game for the last 45 years and more and were absolutely blown away last night.....I'm very much looking forward to going next weekend.

im sure its a great experience. i dont really understand the idea that the presence of a video element somehow detracts from the music. as far as i can tell, the band does not have much to focus on outside what they'd normally be focusing on when playing a normal show, so the quality of the music should be equivalent to a normal show, plus you have this giant sphere screen, cool sound effects in your seat, etc etc. it certainly seemed that way for all 4 nights of phish. their playing was excellent, jams were long and high energy...if you dont consider the visual aspect and just listen to the music, it seems like all 4 nights were musically equivalent to any number of above average phish 4.0 shows. it not as if the musicians are needing to do anything to control the visuals or need to adjust their playing to fit the visuals, it seems like 100% added bonus.

from what ive seen of deadco's visuals, id probably prefer to see a future phish run at the sphere. last night looked a bit to heavy on the cartoony dead iconography stuff, nostalgia images etc.

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.Are they repeating video already? 

Dead & Co.

May 17, 2024

The Sphere

Las Vegas, Nevada 

 

First Set


Samson & Delilah

Shakedown Street

Bertha

Crazy Fingers

Big River

Good Lovin'

Deal

 

2nd Set

China Cat Sunflower>
I Know You Rider

Estimated Prophet>
Cumberland Blues>
Other One>
Drums

Never miss a Sunday show... oh wait

Space
Black Peter
Althea
U.S. Blues
Morning Dew

Old News Broadcast Of The Grateful Dead

Turn On Your Love Light


poster integrity is being called into question

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"If these T-shirts are AI, I'm gonna have to kick this dude in the pecker" - Billy Strings.

The screen is a machine. 

Art must be hand made except the digital moving art for the sphere. 

its a bit hard for me to tell, im just checking out a few posts on d+c reddit and watching little bits of the videos that have been posted from last night...

but it seems like they are just using the exact same visuals they had on night 1, playing behind a different setlist. so far i cant find even one song from last night that has any kind of different visuals from night 1. i expected repeat visuals and i expected the visuals here to underwhelm compared to phish, who obviously put more effort into making cool, unique visuals, but to have every visual on night 2 be a repeat of night 1 seems lame in the extreme.

Integrity and DeadCo have never gone hand in hand. 

where's the 3m overhead projectors, a glass dish and some colored dye? 

 

^^ on Nick Mason tour

How architecture helped music evolve

As his career grew, David Byrne went from playing CBGB to Carnegie Hall. He asks: Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation.

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evol...

>>>where's the 3m overhead projectors, a glass dish and some colored dye? 

This!   Don't need palm framed Mayer

I was fortunate enough to catch the opening night and it was fucking awesome!. Far exceeded expectations.   I invited Tatters but he declined.  The music sounded great but being completely  emersed  in the sound and visuals was very intense.  

Daylight - get a ticket and go.  Giving a review by watching YouTube  videos is pretty lame.  I haven't seen all the visuals from the last night but there were several at least that were not used on night 1.

 

 

 

 

 


^ did you eat the family medicine 

or

you just glad to be there

 

Did Russia or Ukraine win?


^ robert ate the acid

had no support 

 


also sucked at hockey

 

3rd Night From Ratdog.org

Good Times
Truckin' (>)
Smokestack Lightning
Sugaree
Loose Lucy
Ship of Fools
Tennessee Jed
Casey Jones

Set 2:
Scarlet Begonias (>)
Fire on the Mountain
Eyes of the World (>)
Terrapin Station (>)
Drums (>)
Space(>)
Stella Blue(>)
The Wheel(>)
Going Down the Road Feeling Bad (>)
Throwing Stones


Old News Broadcast Of The Grateful Dead
One More Saturday Night

Daylight - get a ticket and go.  Giving a review by watching YouTube  videos is pretty lame.  I haven't seen all the visuals from the last night but there were several at least that were not used on night 1.

nah. a vegas trip is to much time and money to invest into this band for me, at least ATM. i dont need to be there to understand that the style of visuals presented isnt really my thing or that there are enough repeated visuals to negatively effect the experience if going multiple nights in a row, which i would do if im gonna travel.

so far, it seems like the visuals presented during drums and space are by far the best, with second place going to the various "in space" visuals played during songs like dew or jack straw. it seems like the shows and visuals that phish put on are much more my style, and ill probably be making an effort to see phish here at some point rather than the dead. im happy getting my GD music fix with JRAD this fall.

Heaing to Vegas on Thursday. Starting the weekend with Santana at HOB followed by three at the Sphere. Psyched!

Did Jerry make it to the BIG screen?

> im happy getting my GD music fix with JRAD this fall.<

I just saw them in Balto on Thursday and although speed-metal Dead isn't my cup of tea, I had fun. They do what they do well, I'll say that. 

Even songs like Mission in the Rain and Second that Emotion were given the full-on constant-climax treatment, which was rather incongruous. They play everything with zero nuance. They don't even attempt emotional expression. 

At least the music was different than the regular Dead cover bands. Maybe the oddity factor kept me amused. And It was refreshing to have some youngsters (under 30) throwing down in the crowd around us.

It seems the only satisfying live fixes for me imho are with JGB offshoots and tributes.jmf Garcia project etc... even Melvin's band seems to be venturing into GD territory a bit more than I like

> JRAD...full-on constant-climax treatment...They play everything with zero nuance

Alan, I think we could argue for hours about whether JRAD plays with nuance, but "full-on constant-climax treatment" isn't an accurate representation of the dynamics JRAD brings to the music.

I'm with fishcane 

Not down with all the extra crispy guitar wanking, LED light shows, and "stylized" lyrical deliveries

Just give me the original recipe

I went Saturday and really enjoyed the show. I felt like I was in the holodeck on Deep Space 9. The band sounded good and the venue is a trip . 

Glad to hear good reviews.   I have friends who did Phish and they said that videos online didn't do it justice.  Would try to make it down there to see for myself now that tickets appear to be easier to get, but summer is booked solid at this point.

>>>>> JRAD...full-on constant-climax treatment...They play everything with zero nuance

That's Tom Hamilton.  Scott Metzger is a lot more subtle and one of the best faux Bobs on the circuit. 

My wife gave into FOMO so now I'm adding 6/14. That part is great but now friends are coming out of the wood work. Can you get us 5 tickets together. I am now a chief cat herder. So if anyone has extra 6/14 let me know. 

but "full-on constant-climax treatment" isn't an accurate representation of the dynamics JRAD brings to the music.

Don't kid yourself Mike, that is a 100% accurate assessment of JRAD LOL! Nothing breathes.  *I* get tired just listening to them. I enjoy them, but let's face it, it's 100%  Camaro crotch rock GD music.

HAHAHAHAHHA   I want to disagree but I don't.   

I do agree Scott is a little more tuned in.  

 

 

>>>speed-metal Dead isn't my cup of tea<<<

Damn, I thought I was the only one around here who didn't enjoy the Hallowed Q.

Woz, having seen a whole bunch of JRAD shows, that's definitely not my experience.
I agree they have some full throttle energy sometimes, but I find plenty of nuance withing those jams.
But jesus, when you compare them to the flaccid-ass pathetic drivel that Bob eeks out these days, I can see how that energy would be intimidating.
Sometimes they bring things down to a literal whisper, when the moment warrants it.
And yes, Hamilton is a way more agressive player than Scott, but he doesn't dominate every song.
Maybe try this track...vocals are not their prowess, but I don't feel a rushed, unbreathingness:

https://archive.org/details/jrad2022-12-03.cmc621.cmc64.sbd.matrix.flac2...

You picked a Pink Floyd track? LOL, yes it "breathes" for sure.....but I still do find their take on GD music pretty much as described above. It's different, and I've enjoyed every time I've seen them but "dynamics" are generally not in their musical vocabulary. I'm not comparing them to Bob, they are their own stand alone statement LOL!

And LOL, good one Tom!

Lol, I do really like their take on Floyd.
Ok, how about this:

https://archive.org/details/jrad2023-01-29.cmc621.cmc65xt.sbd.matrix.fla...

And my comparison to Bob was only due to this being a deadco sphere thread.
I (maybe wrongly) assumed that folks on here that were not enjoying jrad, probably liked Bro & Slow.

Neither of em really do it for me

Look all I'm saying is that Mission in the Rain was played at, like, 180 beats per minute and when Jerry played it at, like 12 bpm, most nights it could make your limbic system weep. You ain't gonna get all teary-eyed heartbroken during the JRAD version. Or during any other of their tunes.

They certainly can turn songs inside out. But there was no subtlety or emotional dynamics the night I saw them - it was all in-your-face jammin. Scott Metzger was doin full on Rockstar Bobby (Good Lovin teases throughout the night). And Russo can drum like a mutherfker. Don't they get tired?

I was enjoying myself the entire show. Didn't stop moving. We had a whole row to ourselves, as the place (outside, under a Shoreline-like tent, on a pier in Baltimore Habor) wasn't sold out. Lots of dads with their teen and young-adult kids in the audience. And quite a few other, younger, non-wookie post Jerry Deadheads, many of the female variety. I guess a lot of Deadco fans. (I was very impressed and surprised when a twenty something hipster looking dude complimented my Zero tee-shirt.)  Everybody, including the band, seemed to be having fun. They sure do what they do well. Well enough that I looked to see where they were playing the next night, just for curiosity. But it's not mood music.

> Mission in the Rain was played at, like, 180 beats per minute

Here's the MITR from Baltimore the other night. It's more like 90 BPM, I'd say.

https://archive.org/details/jrad2024-05-16/14+Mission+In+The+Rain+with+P...

90 BPM for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slcdchaRQaw

And here's the Esau from that same show. Not what I'd call Camaro crotch rock GD.

https://archive.org/details/jrad2024-05-16/09+My+Brother+Esau.flac

Time for some actual science. My estimate of 90 BPM above was a bit low. I found an online tool that detects BPM, and it estimated JRAD's version to be 109 BPM. I also checked JGB's version of MITR from 03/01/1980 and it came in at 110 BPM. Maybe you guys are just listening to JRAD too damn fast.

An HONEST Review from a NON FAN of Dead & Company at The Sphere OPENING WEEKEND - 5/17/24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQkILo4rNAM

 

This guy gives it a "9.8 out of 10"

He is not a Dead Head and has limited knowledge of their music and their songs, and especially the history of the band.

It felt like I had slipped into an alternate reality when I heard him explain how after Jerry died they continued on as "Dead & Company," and luckily found John Mayer whom he called a "worthy" successor to Jerry Garcia.

Another example of the era of "alternative facts."

 

Mike you know I love the science. There's just no moment in a JRAD show when time stops and you can hear a pin drop and your mind wanders to pondering your first love in elementary school. Maybe I'm referencing dynamics, not speed. Maybe I was distractted by the local eye candy twirling next to us. But I think we can all agree that a JRAD "ballad" is a far cry from a GD /Jerry ballad.

According to your tool, what's the slowest GD song? Comes a Time? Row Jimmy? High Time? Stella Blue? (Knowing it's era dependent). Which is still faster than Bobby's version of, well practically anything nowadays. 

To get it back to the Sphere, maybe run some Deadco metrics. 

little-girl-watching-hourglass-c1940s-h-armstrong-robertsclassicstock.jpg

and back to the Sphere -- my brother-in-law (not a Deadhead) had a layover in Vegas the other night and when he flew over the city skyline he was quite surprised to see a giant Steal Your Face peering up at him. He was amazed that the hippie cult band playing hockey arenas that his sister and her derelict friends used to follow around 40 years ago (driving his parents crazy) was now was an official American cultural artifact. Funny. 

> a JRAD "ballad" is a far cry from a GD /Jerry ballad

I totally agree, but at the same time, JRAD's not just balls-to-the-wall all the time. On the tension and release spectrum, they spend a lot of time whipping things into a frenzy, no doubt, but they don't crank it to eleven all night long. That would just suck, and be near impossible to listen to.

> what's the slowest GD song?

High Time, Black Peter (depending on the era), and Blues for Allah come to mind. I need to get on the road for LA this morning, but I'll check out some other GD tunes later, and some D&C too.

Good gosh, Stonesculptor, I def was not holding up Mission to be compared w Jerry.
Never, Jerry will always be it, re: the cannon.

My meager point was simply that not all JRAD is balls-to-the-wall wanky wank.
I get folks who don't like it, for various reasons. I enjoy the different direction & tratment.
There are various reasons that deadco will never do it for me.
It just feels like dwelling in the shadow of what used to be, or something.
Of course I would love to check out the sphere, just not for this band.
 

OK, we went Sat night and here's teh review:

We went over the the Venetian around 3-4 pm as we had an ulterior motive for buying some swag before the show, more on that later...the Dead and Co experience was fine enough, it was a swag mart downstairs but if you made it up the staircase you'd find a bunch of art and highly curated photos and bits...we met Big Steve up there and he was super kind and it was cool...now, onto the experience. We made it over the Bridge to the Sphere quite easily and the people and security were as pleasant and pleasant could be...getting over and getting thru security was a piece of cake. We each had a small fanny pack ( later ) and the guard went thru my bag, saw my pre-rolls and flower and said ' no smoking in the sphere , son ' and i said ' yes sir ' and that was that...

Made it up to our seats and we were near the top of 405 and the seats were fucking great...the venue is pretty easy to navigate and there are people everywhere to guide you. Bathrooms are clean and plentiful. The food and drink are expensive but you can bring in an empty water bottle and fill them up inside. 

The visuals were good and not, thankfully, relentless but effective. The AUDIO is beyond the pale. This is the 21st century realization of the Wall of Sound...

the singly most crystal clear audio i have ever heard in my 40+ years of being a stagehand and Technical Director. Just outstanding. My wife's comment was ' i never heard the vocals and music so clearly and yet not so loud at all.'

I saw some comments around ' at the end everyone was sitting down. meh ' - well, the seat haptics were BANGING and slamming...Mickey rattled our bones and the drums/space was not to be missed, visually and audio spatially indescribable, everything was synced up.

lastly, we had to escape a bit early due to catching the redeye back to the east coast...hence the fanny packs as i wouldn't let my wife bring any luggage for the return trip...we packed a duffle we were willing to part with and for the flight out we wore clothes from our donate pile and we only brought limited amenities that we could part with at the end of the day.  We ended up filling up the duffle with snacks and water and amenities and gave it away to someone who was obviously less fortunate than us.We bought some of our swag in the Venetian ( we like hoodies/sweat shirts ) so we got a hoodie each and packed the pockets with our travel blanket and neck pillow...to escape, we took the elevators straight to the 2nd floor and boogied down to the ride share area and made it to the airport and to our gate with minutes to spare...we missed the encore - OMSN and im fine with that overall though if we didnt have to book out, we'd a stayed...

Overall, id say go and HEAR what is essentially a 21st century wall of sound....you may never get this chance again

Yep no venue like it. I'm a Sphere head and would go see just about anyone there I'm even considering going to the Eagles if they are up next but I really hope they aren't. King Crimson would be mind blowing. I would also prefer to be seeing any other flavor of 2024 live dead than Dead & Co but you go with what you got. 

Mike you're a pro. Very impressive outing. Sounds hectic, but worthwhile.

I'm still curious to hear if/how the new venue affects the music (not the sound or the entertainment value). Until then I'm going back to the original Sphere:

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>>>if/how the new venue affects the music

That will happen. Right now we are shoe horning arena rock into this new venue and no one has done a purpose built show for it yet which we will start to see in a few years as the costs come down. I would be interested to hear if anyone has been to the Beacon that has the new directional speakers to see if it works in a venue that isn't set up like the Sphere. The clarity of these speakers will be as big a game changer as the microphone was for singing. So much of amplified music is being loud to fill the room and you don't have to be loud anymore. I've seen more than one person who always wear earplugs say they didn't need them in the Sphere. 

When are they gonna bust out the drones in the sphere?, boy they could have some big fun with that. 
 

and the bees made honey in the lions head!

It felt like I had slipped into an alternate reality when I heard him explain how after Jerry died they continued on as "Dead & Company," and luckily found John Mayer whom he called a "worthy" successor to Jerry Garcia.

Another example of the era of "alternative facts."

I'll see that,

And raise you:

Discovered at last, the legendary lost manuscript of Grateful Dead co-founder and primary lyricist Robert Hunter, written in the early 1960s—a wry, richly observed, and enlightening remembrance of “the scene” in Palo Alto that gave rise to an incredible partnership of Hunter and Jerry Garcia, and then to the Grateful Dead itself—with a Foreword by John Mayer...

 It's all according to plan.

 

IMG_4699.jpeg
 

 

I'm holding out for one of these with Jerry's bod

Screen Shot 2024-05-22 at 11.23.38 AM.png

There's gotta be one there


more interested with the sound

like to hear if the sound was different or same quality between phish and deadco 

hopefully d/treeflo can shed some light on both runs 

thanks in advance

- tod

 

^ I was hoping it would sound like this Alligator I'm listening to from 05-18-1968.

There's an idea. Ditch the DeadCo, play old tapes, and have AI generate synched visuals. A Sphere time machine. 

i like the idea of a sphere time machine.  If I could go and listen to a 1968 Grateful Dead show (my favorite year) and have the band somehow recreated on that Sphere stage with that sound system, why I do believe I would go. 

Tod-

I would be glad to compare and contrast. Not going until the 12th of July run though. 

^^There's an idea. Ditch the DeadCo, play old tapes, and have AI generate synched visuals. A Sphere time machine.^^

Getting Charlie Miller on the horn now.  He would be the one with the audio, unless Lemieux wants to unleash the vault.

Would be so great, seriously!

>>>Sphere time machine

Sounds like the original plan for the Terrapin Station Project.

Have you ever had the feeling that even though you were listening to a recording of a show from 30-60 years ago, that you were actually affecting the music as much as it was affecting you? As if the making of the music is an eternal process, not something that is ever completed. Every time someone perceives it, it grows and changes, no matter future or past. Extra dimensions are folded up in something that appears finite. 

Time is strange. A Sphere Time Machine would be the perfect place to study this phenomenon.

 

 

I'm headed down tomorrow for Saturday only 

seat in 300's

whatcha got?!

Floor tomorrow night.

Right on!

Please report back, as so many views to explore!

 

~I'd travel multiple hours and cross state lines to see Vorty and Dark Star Orchestra crush a run in The Sphere!... 


Until then, as a Never-Mayer [Deadhead] im still looking forward to Bob & Mickey's post-Dead Co project:  Rat Planet? Dog Drum?
Glad everyone is enjoying their experience, regardless of who is Playin In The Band....  Live music has an amazing healing/restorative/celebratory gift given to those who attend.
 

Still rather see Phil in a li'l old park in Marin. No sphere, no light show, no custom stereo sound for each seat.

Just the music, please.

"Have you ever had the feeling that even though you were listening to a recording of a show from 30-60 years ago, that you were actually affecting the music as much as it was affecting you? As if the making of the music is an eternal process, not something that is ever completed."

I had more than a few times back in the day when I could distinctly feel the presence of many time travelers listening into the show from far in the future. That was part of what made it sometimes seem so crowded in there (along with Bill Graham selling the same tickets twice). 

IMG_2410.jpegu

 

 


^ south gets the finger all the time

JMF, don't forget us

 

Night 4 per Ratdog.org   Bob does not sing Bob on his 83rd B Day

I Need a Miracle
The Music Never Stopped
They Love Each Other
The Weight
Cassidy
Mama Tried
Althea

Playing in the Band (>)
Dark Star (>)
St. Stephen (>)
Let It Grow (>)
Drums (>)
Space (>)
Days Between (>)
Dear Mr. Fantasy(>)
Hey Jude (>)
Sugar Magnolia

Brokedown Palace
Touch of Grey

setlist from 5/25/24 Sphere show, as reported in the chat on Toph's Mixlr audio stream... I only listened to the last part of the show and it sounded OK

 

Dead & Company | May 25, 2024 (Saturday) | The Sphere | Las Vegas, NV

1st Set 
Bertha
Mississippi Half Step > 
Dancing in the Street > 
Maggie’s Farm
Deal

2nd Set 
Shakedown Street 
China Cat Sunflower > 
I Know You Rider 
Eyes of the World > 
Drums > Space > 
Black Peter
Brown Eyed Women
Hell in a Bucket
Throwing Stones 

E - Casey Jones

Toph announced, before signing off following tonight's Sphere show, that he was gonna hurry over to catch Jerry's Middle Finger playing their after-party gig... if Toph streams it, I'll try and post the link here

Review from Reddit no place to hide the drama in the sphere. 

Obviously you had to be at the show to notice this, and most people at the show probably didn’t notice. But at the end of Eyes, John and Jeff started going into the little riff they play at the end. Bobby suddenly waved them off, like “Stop!” and they finished the song and went into Drums and walked off. Bob stood at the side of the stage talking to Jeff for a few moments, and then John walked over. Bob stayed there for another moment a said something to John and then walked away. Then Jeff gave John a big hug. Not like an end of show pat on the back kind of hug, but like a long, real hug, like an “I’m sorry, man” hug. More weird vibes happening from Bob? Or maybe it was nothing. Hopefully the latter.

Maybe Bob was watching the clock. They probably have a hard curfew at the venue.

Since Jerry died, I've been to numerous shows where I felt Bobby wanted to control things to a fault.  Two that immediately come to mind are The Rex benefit in Marin with Bruce - who actually had someone respond to me when I wrote him and called it out.  He acknowledged but wouldn't share the details.  The other was Fair the well - Fire on the mountain when Trey was trying to go into the final part and bobby cut him off,   But beyond that, I feel like most shows I've been to with Bobby in the past two decades, that he doesn't allow for things to drift where ever they may want to go.  There was a video from one of the first two nights of the sphere where Mayer wanted to jam out a bit and you could see how uncomfortable bobby was with this.   Who knows if it's control or age or just being booby.    Just my take...

 

 

Maybe he really had to pee.

I saw Jerry give Bob a dirty look for cutting him off during Estimated at Shoreline 88, I think.

a little late to the party here... with a link to a live Mixrl audio stream of marginal quality:

https://toph-mac-dhuibhshithe.mixlr.com/events/3444437

setlist so far:

Dead & Co. | May 26, 2024 | The Sphere | Las Vegas, NV

Set 1 - Samson & Delilah, Franklins Tower, Jack Straw, Friend of the Devil, Ramble on Rose, Feel Like a Stranger

Set 2 -Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain, All Along the Watchtower

video/audio quality is pretty darn good, thanks for link

Dead & Company | May 26, 2024 (Sunday) | The Sphere | Las Vegas, NV

Set 1 
Samson & Delilah
Franklins Tower
Jack Straw
Friend of the Devil
Ramble on Rose
Feel Like a Stranger

Set 2
Scarlet Begonias > 
Fire on the Mountain
All Along the Watchtower >
Terrapin Station >
Drums > Space >
Wharf Rat >
Cold Rain and Snow >
U.S. Blues >
Morning Dew

[Old News Clips of the Haight & the GD]

E - Not Fade Away

Bobby's starting to realize that he's not really in charge, anymore. The guy who owns the controlling share of the band is. The guy who fired Bill Kreutzmann.

 

Pretty sure if the internet was there in the 60's, 70's and 80's, Grateful Dead would not have had their remarkable 30 year run.  

Looks like they have about 4 shows worth of songs. 1st Set songs out of space isn't really "mixing it up".

First sets have shrunk down to 6 songs at least twice on this run....

1st Set songs out of space isn't really "mixing it up">>>that's where the missing tune(s) are going?

What an epic weekend and experience! 

"The guy who fired Bill Kreutzmann."

How is that even possible?!

Must not be selling as many tickets as they hoped... as predicted, more dates through 8/10

Ticket sales are low for every act out there now. I really hope the coming Eagles residency crashes and burns on ticket sales. A little poetic justice for the band that started all of this. 

Nino^

For discussion sake, and this may  be nothing new to anyone:

Maybe things have slowed down since the post covid rush with lots of shows and festivals competing. Im sure alot of sales are down and could possibly result in Skull and Roses type implosions.

 "Low sales for every act", wasn't my experience for Phish. Tickemaster sold out instantly, then prices jumped to the $500-$800 range on Stubhub and never dipped. Subsequently prices went through the roof, the week of.  I was monitoring Cash or trade constantly and it was commonplace to see over 500, almost instantaneous offers on not optimum seats, for over $1400 a pair during the week leading up to the show. Conversely, one can get below face value tix for any D & C show on Cash or Trade, right up to doors, and Ticketbastard still has original, never sold seats for every show.  Just sayin' & that being said; im glad D&C is playing an extended run and it was easy and "cheap", comparatively, to get good seats for D&C  July 11-13. Looks like a fun time and happy to be going. The Sphere is next level and just getting started.

Not sure how you define " not selling as many tickets as they hoped" it seems every show is just about sold out with I believe the exception  late release of " package tickets"  .  I would say the opposite, it is highly successful .   The Sphere holds 18,600 so even if the sold only 15K per night, 85% of the seats each night  that is still 360,000 tickets.   It's safe to say that they will probably sell close to 500,000 tickets, that translates to about $125,000,000 gross with the additional August shows with and average first ticket cost of $250.  Also the relative cost of doing these shows is much lower than traveling from city to city.  I think by every metric starting from ticket sales to overwhelming positive reviews its been a great success and they can settle into the Sphere once a year .

 

 

 

It's hard to know what's a sell out and what isn't as they hold tickets, pull tickets to increase demand and push up prices. The late drops  before the shows have demonstrated that they are undersold to me

Not sure how you define " not selling as many tickets as they hoped" it seems every show is just about sold out with I believe the exception  late release of " package tickets"  .  I would say the opposite, it is highly successful .   The Sphere holds 18,600 so even if the sold only 15K per night, 85% of the seats each night  that is still 360,000 tickets.   It's safe to say that they will probably sell close to 500,000 tickets, that translates to about $125,000,000 gross with the additional August shows with and average first ticket cost of $250.  Also the relative cost of doing these shows is much lower than traveling from city to city.  I think by every metric starting from ticket sales to overwhelming positive reviews its been a great success and they can settle into the Sphere once a year .<<<<

Fluffer.

 

I would say this D & C residency is financially very successful, but that said they sold out stadiums across the country last year and the year before. We aren't seeing that kind of demand for The Sphere even accounting for travel costs. 

Yes Phish at the Sphere was a really difficult ticket but they are the #1 most consistent touring act over the last 5 years and if they decide to do a residency at the Sphere it won't be nearly as difficult a ticket as four shows. 

This years concert revenue will be way down compared to last year because no Swift tour but even if you take that out we aren't seeing growth this year and I would say some real contraction. That doesn't mean the industry is imploding but we are starting to see the top end limit of what people will pay. The Stones are the only stadium act touring this year and it's not like we see a whole bunch of bands waiting to take that spot over when they stop touring. 

Yes overall, your are correct concert revenues will be down, mostly because of Taylor Swift.   I think the Sphere and and the Dead and Co residency has a different set of metrics than traditional touring from stadium to stadium.  Had it only be 4 nights, I am sure it would have sold out.  Extended residencies are about long term consistent minimum box office not necessarily selling out.  The Vegas destination makes it even a bit trickier. In the end if they sell 85-95% of their seats its pretty remarkable.  

Festivals seem to be struggling as well, which is a shame.  

"The guy who fired Bill Kreutzmann."

How is that even possible?!

It shouldn't be.

A bit like when Roger Waters canned Rick Wright and then rehired him as a sideman in his own Band. 

Everything's done under the sun.

Money

It's a crime

Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie

>>>The Vegas destination makes it even a bit trickier.

Yes Vegas residency when your audience is primarily East Coast is tricky. I could do $75 on Spirit and power through and not stay in a hotel and hit a show, but with Spirit it's 50/50 on getting there. 

"The guy who fired Bill Kreutzmann."

How is that even possible?!

Billy was once one of the greatest rock Drummers ever, But he can no longer play worth a damn, nor can he be relied on to by physically capable of playing. His playing with Billy and the kids was awful. "Firing" him was the right move as at least Jay can play. And the dude is still getting paid....


c'mon, billy's body couldn't handle much more

billy did what billy does

 

is the music good or what?

i just can't do bobby or mayo. the tempos are up? or is it still plodding and shaternized?

i mean pretty lights are cool but is the engine running or what?

I just went to three at the Sphere and thought the music was fantastic and the entire presentation was mind blowing. That band is tight as a drum and very good at what they do. Beats the half assed bands that Phil fields for $150 a throw.

Bobby hasn't "Shatnerized" in years, and IMO Mayer is a great guitar player and has really grown into the roll. DeadCo is for my money by light years the best post Jerry band, period.

c'mon, billy's body couldn't handle much more

Exactly and it is why he should enjoy Hawaii, retirement and his hot young wife

I thought Dead and Co. really hit a stride last summer tour. I thought their tempos were fine. I don't know if they can continue what they accomplished in the summer of '23 , but sounds like folks are having fun at the Sphere. My favorite post Jerry is still the Q from the early 2000's. If you are not a Warren fan then I could see thinking otherwise, but for me nobody can do the Jerry ballads as good as Warren. 

im not really a warren fan, but the Q has a special synergy and he works well in that group. everyone melds together like peanut butter and jelly. IMO gripes about the playing or style of individual band members are a bit silly in the face of such undeniable group chemistry. i feel similar about JRAD - the complaints about the music being to amped up or not enough nuance just fall flat for me because those 5 guys gel together as a band perfectly, and regardless of tempo or how much climax the band offers, the improvisations are more creative and more exiting than the vast majority of bands playing GD music, especially now in 2024.\

overall i feel like deadco gets a bit to much hate here on the zone, just like furthur did before them, but to call them the best post jerry band is getting pretty out there imo. i feel like even furthur threw down harder than deadco most nights. it was enjoyable to poke fun at JK and there were very clear issues to criticize with furthur, but overall thats another group that just happened to gel very well together from the get go. it seemed like they kept JK turned down a bit to highlight phil and bob, and tone down the "fake jerry" vibes, and unwittingly ended up with a sort of ensamble sound that really upended the tyraditional mix for a rock band  and lent itself extremely well to improvisation. phil, russo and chimenti are just incredible, incredible players.

>>>i just can't do bobby or mayo<<<

That's the thing Turtle. You don't have to DO them, you just have to LISTEN to them.

And they just added six more shows to the run and people think the shows aren't selling well?

The Dead & Company hate is starting to get desperate.


^ dead co

the wayne newton of dirt

 


btw, I will see this

just gotta figure it out when

24 shows left

vegas, middle of summer, hot as fuck

odds are in my favor

 

 

has Deadco ever written or played an original tune? If no, why not? (asking for a friend)


^ that's all they do homie

play written original tunes

 

'it was enjoyable to poke fun at JK and there were very clear issues to criticize with Furthur, but overall that's another group that just happened to gel very well together from the get go. it seemed like they kept JK turned down a bit to highlight Phil and Bob, and tone down the "fake Jerry" vibes

I agree, and that was to the band's detriment. I recall the last three shows I saw them play at the Greek in Berkeley that JK was finally "unchained" and tis were the best three shows I saw thm play, and I saw well over 50 Furthur shows.

It is also why I think DeadCo is better, the band allows JM to play lead and lead the band the way ot should be and the results are better. Phil is really missing as nobody plays bass like him, but that shipped sailed a log time ago.....

I'm going to try and go back in August. The totality of the experience from the sound to the visuals is something every person that loves live music should experience. It's mind blowing.

I don't think JK was chained in Furthur. His best schtick was fake Jerry. Haven't heard anything from him since that would qualify as improv or indicate that he was held back. However, for my ear, Furthur had a much better sound than D&C because of the Phil, Chementi, Russo combo with the added fake Jerry Jk.  Song selection and slightly faster tempo ( much slower than average  JRAD) was more to my taste as well. I agree, the Berkely shows were very good Furthur esp the Franklin's Tower.  Just my .02 cents. Not hating just comparing and contrasing for discussion sake, ymmv

The Dead & Company hate is starting to get desperate.<<<

I disagree on the hate part. It's more of a disdainful indifference, mixed with morbid curiosity.

 

 

Let's ask Mr Peabody and Sherman to fire up the the WayBac machine and revisit the year 2010:

Untitled (2).jpg

from crackbook:

In an over saturated market

 

Only one man was brave enough to go for the ultimate cash grab

simultaneously pawning not only his own soul but Jerry Garcia's too

Bob Sphere

 

Dead Forever

> disdainful indifference

That's D&C's business model, isn't it? For the community, for the music, for their legacy?

I'm just happy no one is saying, "These are the last shows Weir doing."  It sounds like everyone who has gone has thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and that's all that matters. Jerry once said something regarding Licorice ;)

I'm a stubborn fuck who misses Jerry. And although i don't really care for Mr. Mayonnaise's love for excessively expensive trinkets, he is talented and has dedicated himself to the songbook, and many like him. I just feel like adding him to the roster was designed to specifically attract a younger crowd, and he did.  It's nice to read of older heads enjoying the experience.  TETO.

 

just asked a question...

 

put on some Sphere vids on the you tube Television, watched the cool vids, then had to go to the kitchen where I had no view of the vids, after a while my you tube shuffled to Gd 5/8/79...my wife said.." Now This Sounds Good!" I understand completely I think The August 1st show should be something Special though Have Fun

Interesting take that keeping JK low in the mix opened up the music in new ways. For me it was the thing I really disliked about Furthur and the thing I liked most about D&C when they started out and had lead guitar front and center again. I’ve said it before but will say it again JK got fucked by Bob and Phil who brought him in because he sounded like Jerry and then seemingly after Bill’s comment told him not to sound like Jerry which was what he was best at. I also felt like it was an attempt to kill DSO.

There are many things I don’t like about D&C and none of them have anything to do with the people they brought in. The tempos suck and that is on Bob and it’s not just because my era was the coke tempo era which was also out of whack, and Jay Lane is a huge improvement over Bill. You just have to be young to play drums. That said the tempos have gotten much better.

Mayer was brought in because he is an incredible get. He is one of the most talented guitarists of his era and he has completely put his ego to the side to play these songs.

Finally, don’t listen to D&C. It’s fun live but I would never spend any time listening to those tapes. That said this is a beautiful version and a great use of The Sphere, and as Mayer said he still can’t sing the song without tearing up a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0cC_5HZrBQ&list=RDT0cC_5HZrBQ&start_rad...

Something just feels right about Bobby winding up a Vegas act.

Really miss Phil's bass in the mix.  It's that whole contrapuntal improvisatory style of playing that adds another lead voice to the music.  Maybe Dave Schools or Les Claypool could bring it?  I've seen Oteil solo and he sounds fine.  I haven't heard him turned up that much in D $ Co.

I'm still trying to figure out what Mickey does

and they'd better not fuck up he's gone tomorrow night!

>>I'm still trying to figure out what Mickey does<<

well, he is back to rapping FOTM so there is that ....laugh

Please tell me he isn't really rapping Friend of the Devil again.  

I mean Fire On the Mountain

>>>he is back to rapping FOTM so there is that

Shit...don't say that.  Between Booby's ending and Mickeys talking, they sure butchered a great jam

>>>well, he is back to rapping FOTM so there is that

I had drifted away from the Dead in the 90's and into the electronica scene. I found the other dead heads in that scene and headed to my first post Jerry show - The Other Ones at the Kaiser in 2002. So many things wrong with that show but Mickey singing FOTM was such a shock to the system and then the PA went out almost in sympathy. The D&C kids love when Mickey raps so there is that. 

What Mickey is doing during drums is one of the reasons I'm really excited for the Sphere shows I'm going to, but I hope to be spared the Mickey rap. 

>>>Something just feels right about Bobby winding up a Vegas act.

Nahnahnah I know where to go...

Las Vegas! A profit in the burning sand.

Las Vegas! Like the Grateful Dead in Disneyland.

I think Billy Shears just won the thread.

Every time I see this title, I wanna jump into a verse from Todd Snider's "Beer Run".

B double E double R U N.

$5 and a sober driver!

 

LOLOLOL

In terms of payment in Dead Co. someone told me the order is

1- Mayer

2- Manager

3- Bobby 

 

 

that can't be true can it? 

I actually think it is:

Azoff

Mayer

Bobby

But yes, Mayer has been getting a larger cut than Bob for awhile now.


break out tonight

 

i fought the law

 

.a spere.jpg

Bobby- a slave to the grind 

It's Alright Ma.....

well shit this is all too long to read lol

props to GaryFish for the DNB stuff

is all i got to say

5/30 from Ratdog.org.....   Added August 1,2,3 & 8,9,10  On sale today via Ticketbastard

Iko Iko
Eyes
Bertha
Loser 
El Paso
Cold Rain

Ripple
Estimated >
Mr Charlie
Help>
Slipknot>
Franklin>
Drumz>
SOTM >
Althea
GDTRFB >
Knockin On Heaven's Door

E: Fire

Estimated >
Mr Charlie

 

No spot taken.  But I  am curious about that ">".

^   S-P-H-E-R-E, Sphere Run.  Nice Mark. 

All you need is a grand for the scene

See slowed down bears dancin' on that screen 

Why isn't  Oteil singing lead at the Sphere?  Great voice on ballads.....

Note to Bobby: Put China Doll, High Time, World to Give & Comes a Time back in the rotation.

So far I have been to 4 of the 6 and enjoyed each one a lot. They are playing great, the venue is a trip, literally, and San Diego to Las Vegas is easy peasy. 

I have been going with my son or my wife and Sunday I went solo. I will be back in three weeks to go with my dad and son that'll be awesome. 

Woz I am on the exact same page as you including the comment on my last three Furthur shows when JK was truly unchained and those shows were great but I do not think Furthur holds a candle to Dead & Co. That said my favorite post Jerry band was The Q. 

Many who bash Dead & Co have never even seen them which I find ridiculous. Just don't go but no need to bash the band as that is WEAK SAUCE. 

So far I have been to 4 of the 6 and enjoyed each one a lot. They are playing great, the venue is a trip, literally, and San Diego to Las Vegas is easy peasy. 

I have been going with my son or my wife and Sunday I went solo. I will be back in three weeks to go with my dad and son that'll be awesome. 

Woz I am on the exact same page as you including the comment on my last three Furthur shows when JK was truly unchained and those shows were great but I do not think Furthur holds a candle to Dead & Co. That said my favorite post Jerry band was The Q. 

Many who bash Dead & Co have never even seen them which I find ridiculous. Just don't go but no need to bash the band as that is WEAK SAUCE. 

Last Saturday's Sphere show for me was the best post GD show I've been to, and that's not counting the visuals.   There's an amazing lift off from the Haight (since the visual field is about 210 degrees, you feel as though you are hanging out in space) and the Sphere appears to go up into space where all sorts of things happen.  I mean just zooming through the universe is amazing if you buy into it, but then there's a lot of other stuff that happens.  There are some beautiful nature and mountain scenes, some strange and beautiful organic morphing shapes, other much more complicated things.  There was a really lovely pyramids and moon scene that was so realistic.  Does it all fit with the music? No but it doesn't really detract from it either.  Too many bears?  Well if 20% bears is too much for you then yes.  If you like the psycle Sam from the GD movie there is an expanded version of that.   If you don't like Mayer then don't go, but for me, he's more in the GD song groove than ever.  Just plain psychedelic, I'd say.  Tempos are up.  Also hard to believe but his voice is less affected.   Plane flights round trip from Boston were $200 and hotels totaled about $100 a night.   There are some pretty affordable food options off the strip. Ticket prices are down.  

That said my favorite post Jerry band was The Q. 

From the start to Red Rocks 2001 they had something super special. After that it became like summer reruns, that band was only able to catch lightning ina bottle once. Still Phil's best ban by a country a mile, but that initial run was really special.

I'm plotting my return to Sphere. A weekend in August for sure, and when I think about it I could do an overnight on a Thursday and not get a hotel, buy a cheap ticket last minute and leave on the 6:00am flight Friday morning. No hotel, just a couple of hours hanging blazed in a casino post show LOL!

 

but for me, he's more in the GD song groove than ever.  Just plain psychedelic, I'd say. 

Yup. Totally agree.

Nice one

Screen Shot 2024-05-31 at 4.04.13 PM.png

>Why isn't  Oteil singing lead at the Sphere?  Great voice on ballads.....<

Corporate Rock -- it's the Meyer / Weir show -- Oteil is (now more than ever) a hired hand on a short leash and Don Was is waiting in the wings.

I wouldn't invest in the Sphere concept right now.  It's almost outdated. Currently Ii's  basically Taylor Swift for baby boomers wrapped in the Vegas package. Another multi-million dollar dancing water fountain on the Strip. Disguised as a concert hall to do what Vegas does best --- take your money in return for glitter and pretty colors and a shot of dopamine.  (Need a drink? A robot will deliver it to your seat just the way you like it --- it's in your Live Nation profile -- if you order the silver premium ticket package.) But really, why build a venue at all?

If you want to take the next step in the "sit-in-your-seat-and-watch-amazing-visuals-and-hear-superimpressive-sound," just wait til the entertainment industry markets disposable virtual reality headsets with holographic audio. Buy your ticket and Amazon Prime delivers them to your door the next day. A one-shot deal so you have to buy them again for the next concert.

At first concerts will be "streaming" to attract the couch tour audience who will gladly pay to be part of live shows in real time.  Your friends on social media will appear to be in your row -- but they will be in their own homes, miles away.

Eventually  AI will be added to personalize the experience -- Bob Weir will give a shout out just to you, while he plays your chosen set list.

It's a logical progression in individualized entertainment. (Modern venues have already gotten rid of communal dancing, the essence of the ballroom experience that the Grateful Dead embraced at the start. Sure there were always people that were content to watch the show from their seats, or were too stoned to move, but people passed joints around and mingled. In other words, a Grateful Dead concert was a social experience. Even Deadco stadium shows provided that.) Getting large groups of humans together under one roof is just not all that efficient.

Corporate rock is intent on maximizing profits and infrastructure is the next big expense to go. See ya Mr Sphere.

Enjoy it while it's here.

 

 

Setlist FM 5/31

Shakedown   J Straw   Speedway   Row Jimmy   T Jed   Playin'   Don't Ease

UJB   China   Rider   Dark Star   Drums/Space   Stella   Terrapin   Bucket   Black Muddy   E: Casey Jones

"John of the Dead"

Wild to see the divisiveness on John at this point. He is IT guys. This thing doesn't move forward without him, and we want it to move forward. He doesn't miss a note. He is the one. He is chosen.

Let's pass the torch peacefully when the time comes. Do yourself a favor and get on board.

 https://old.reddit.com/r/deadandcompany/comments/1d4p1nu/john_of_the_dead/

just in case anyone wants a little chuckle. john mayer is the chosen one guys, better get on board before the official torch passing. apparently GD music can not move forward without him.

Kinda surprised ^that^ post isn't from r/deadheadcirclejerk/

I think all the Shoreline like out door sheds are more corporate rock than the Sphere. Cheap to build and they provided a sanitized experience with plenty of parking, clean, safe, almost all suburban, lots of bathrooms, and a ton of concessions - you can even get a margarita in tall funny looking plastic cup that you can bring home. 

For me the Sphere is the first purpose built amplified music venue that has up until now been shoe horned into vaudeville theaters, hockey rinks, and stadiums. It was a $3 billion gamble so not exactly a money grab. 

After I saw U2 there a started following the U2 subreddit and there was almost zero talk about the sound system because their fans don't really care. Phish and Dead fans have been non-stop talking about the sound with some high praise and some people saying it's not working, but mostly praise. Really seems strange to me that even this weekends run that most people say the sound is way better in the second set, and a ton of complaints about the chompers because the Sphere sound isn't loud like we are used to. 

My overall feeling is that we are at the beginning of an new way to do sound at venues that may or may not change live amplified music. That said you gotta go to the show - nothing you see on your screen is like being there. 

>>>E: Fire

Assume that one was for Bill Walton.  Just learned that it was his favorite song.  RIP.   

 

 

 

^ As mentioned,  I think once they get the googles / headsets comfortable enough to wear, and cheap enough, places like the Sphere are doomed. Since all the social interaction at such places is already being subtracted (no dancing in the hallways anymore) --- why have a super-expensive building at all? I hear Apple's units are pretty amazing and can recreate looking around a room with high res trippy visuals. If it's exactly like "being there", why travel to Vegas? Perhaps Deadheads have an innate need to physically congregate with like-minded souls, but does the next generation of music fans? 

Virtual-reality concerts could redefine the live-music experience — but it'll take more time

"The market for immersive concerts and live experiences in VR will be a massive shift in the paradigm of performance."...For fans, skirting painful concert-ticket prices, avoiding large crowds at venues, and experiencing their favorite musicians in an alternate world are convincing perks....

The company is using visual-effect modules and a custom renderer — used to generate an image from a 2D or 3D model — powered by artificial intelligence and Unreal Engine, a real-time 3D-creation tool. With the help of a top engineering team, the company's technologies allow it to capture immersive concert footage in 8K resolution, creating sharp visuals.

"These technologies empower us to produce hyperrealistic VR concerts that make attendees feel as though they are face-to-face with the artists," Lee said.

https://www.businessinsider.com/extended-reality-meta-quest-vr-music-art...

Goose and Umphreys are already in on it -

TUNE IN FROM HOME. VIBE OUT IN PERSON. - A creator portal designed for Artists that enables the broadcast of live concerts, VR music video, and 360-degree music visualization. Produce, host, and perform live in VR from anywhere.

https://www.soundscapeuniverse.com/vr-concerts/

Screenshot 2024-06-01 231749.jpg


big hair night

 


who got that audio

 


ol' skool 

chinger action

 

 

kinda scary 

i know

 

dig deep

post


 

One More Saturday List

Alabama    Music    TLEO    Ramble On    Hurts Me Too    Sailor   Saint

Sugaree    Stephen    Brown Eyed    Cumberland    Drums/Space    Prudence    Sugar Mag    Begonias    SSDD     Brokedown    E: Saturday Nite

Second set sequence is a bit all over the map but sometimes that's the fun of it.  

Went to Saturday 6/1, WOW!

In addition to the outrageous video aspect of the venue, the sound scape was amazing. Super clear vocals, nuances that I've never heard before at a live show. I could pick out every drum location, every pinpoint of the sound's origin was in the mix. Drums was the most detailed sound, the highest resolution that I have ever experienced audibly, during it there were drums all around me, in front, in back, at one point I could locate a drum that appeared to be about 5 feet away to my front right perspective. There were 3D points of sound origin all around, floating in space and sometimes panning anywhere around in the venue, left, right, front, back, up down.

I got the sensation a lot that the stage was still and the seating area was rotating inside the venue, any slowly rotating video produced that oddness and I loved it. Also, the video was modulated in real time, they were not just playing in front of canned video running in the background, I believe that the video was controlled in the moment to accommodate the music, not the other way as was feared.

I do not care what reservations might be holding you back, please just go. GO. You have a chance to experience something very special here, Mayernaise or not, you will be happy you did.

madbonger.jpg

If a platter of finger lickin' chicken wasn't immediately proffered to the bongers neighbors upon said rip, then a golden opportunity was missed.

Note: No more recreational smoking in venues that steal your face when you walk in the door. 

Keep giving your money to the security state

How does being banned at all of their venues work?  Are they using facial recognition technology?

Makes it damn near impossible to go out. You can't even go to a bar in Sacramento without them running your ID through a private company security app. 

Security going into The Sphere is actually really lax, but they do have big signs up going in that they are doing facial recognition. I mean it is a Dolan venue. We all saw the Lauren Boebert hand job and that was a random theater in Denver. You have to know you are being watched in The Sphere like you are on the floor of a casino. Bong guy is a fucking idiot. 

It does remind me of my first Dead show at Shoreline in 91 and there was a guy on the lawn smoking out of a four foot bong. As an eastie who had just moved to SF it blew my mind. 

> How does being banned at all of their venues work?  Are they using facial recognition technology?

Yep. There was a lawyer who works for a law firm that was involved in a lawsuit against MSG Entertainment, who was recognized by facial recognition tech at an event at RCMH, and then escorted out of the building.

Madison Square Garden Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Its Owner’s Enemies

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial...

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Kelly Conlon, 44, a personal injury lawyer from Bergen County, N.J., was chaperoning her 9-year-old daughter’s Girl Scout troop on a trip into Manhattan to see the “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall.

Before she could even glimpse the Rockettes, however, security guards pulled Ms. Conlon aside and her New York jaunt took an Orwellian turn.

“They told me that they knew I was Kelly Conlon and that I was an attorney,” she said this week. “They knew the name of my law firm.”

The guards had identified her using a facial recognition system.

Stole dat face 

Five names that I can hardly stand to hear
Including yours and mine and one more Schimpf who isn't here

 

So much for stealth.  Bad sneaker.

"Keep giving your money to the security state"

BIG MONEY too.

It will continue like this until big $ artists refuse to participate anymore.

 


as of this morning

here's available tickets for august 1st

oof

 

4AA889FD-F605-41C9-B9B2-A96B7B867757.jpeg

Hmm I'm going Friday and Saturday that run maybe I'll add Thursday.

We have nothing to sphere but sphere itself.

Oh, very good, Mike


paraphernalia? 

it's some tortillas and marshmallows

i'm bi-coastal

it's different 

 

They'll probably ban apples from the Sphere.


yea I smoke grass

no need to taze

i spent a shitload of $ here

thanks for the dox

 

 

Fuck James Dolan


sound and visuals

 

Setlist FM  June 6 & 7

Minglewood    Playin'    Stranger    T Jed    The Weight    Peggy O    Sugaree

HC Sunshine    China    Rider    Estimated    Other 1    Drums/Space    Death Don't    Brown Eyed    US   Dew    E: JB Goode

 

Uncle John    Franklin's    Loose Lucy    Ship Of Fools    Help    Slip    Eyes

Stephen    Begonias    He's Gone    Dark Star    Drums/Space    LL Rain    Truckin'    T Stones    E: Casey Jones

 

 

So, to the folks who have actually been to this 11th Wonder Of The World, what's the word on "security" at The Sphere?

What's the search like at the doors, and what's the scene like once inside? Are people able to have a puff semi-freely, or are the ushers & security roaming smoke nazi's?

We've heard from the one guy who got screwed, but he was an idiot who ultimately created his own problems.

So people who have been there, what say you? Is this shiny Vegas bauble generally chill (as long as you're not an idiot) or is it a bust?

Las Vegas has legal pot sold in dispensaries. But if you get busted smoking inside you get banned for life. I guess the same would be true for anyone caught lighting up a tobacco cigarette?

I remember people smoking their heads off at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium during Phil shows and the staff did not bat an eye, but anyone who lit a cigarette they were all over immediately telling them to put it out. At Hardly Strictly Blue Grass they regularly announce from the stage that tobacco smoking is prohibited (and if you are smoking weed, try and be considerate of your neighbors who may not want to partake).

Remember when Terrapin Crossroads opened there was a strict no smoking rule inside the Grate Room. There was one young and very aggressive security guy tasked with swooping across the floor looking for scofflaws. I remember every time he went by the guy in front of me would spark his lighter behind the guy's back. During the first Q show in the Grate Room, hedspace handed me a one hitter. I took a hit and the security guy was immediately behind me with a hand on my shoulder (hedspace could get away with smoking inside, but not me). He hauled me outside and gave me a lecture about how they had asked us not to smoke inside. He said, "I am not going to kick you out this time since you paid so much for tickets, but DON'T DO IT AGAIN!" So I made a point thereafter only to smoke in the designated area outside, and that worked out fine over the next decade at TXR,

Even when pot was totally illegal there was an understanding that once we got inside we could smoke freely (at least at Bay Area shows), and we did. The inside of a Grateful Dead show was a free space where the normal rules were relaxed. I know that was not the same situation at other places that they played, but at least at home we were afforded a certain laissez-faire attitude as regarded toking.

 

Place would give me vertigo .

....at Phish, there was alot of smoking inside. Myself and everyone around me was smoking. Huge clouds were billowing from all sections. Just don't post pictures of yourself with wild claims and have a small bit of stealth and i suspect you won't have a problem. Security at the doors was typical and not invasive. I used same tactics as usual. A bong may be a bit much. 
 

Security going in was as lax as I have seen at any arena I've been to. No one was smoking at U2 because U2, but from all accounts online it is a complete free for all for Phish and Dead Co. Occasionally people have been asked to stop smoking flower, but no one I know has been kicked out, and you could vape all day and no one would bat an eye. The reviews about staff have been nothing but glowing - super nice and helpful. The biggest complaints are about spun out attendees trying to relive glory days and falling on people or straight up needing EMT's. 

Remember the only reason Vegas exists is as a place to party. No other city looks harder the other way than Vegas as long as you have money and show a little common sense. 

I am at the Venetian now. Amazing experience. No problem with smoking or searches. They are looking for weapons at the screening points. I had some button giveaways in my pockets and set off the magnetometer, showed them the buttons, no problem. The ushers have been very kind and helpful. We are in 406 all weekend. Wonderful view, sometimes feels like you are moving or spinning, and occasionally something unexpected (like a spaceship) swoops overhead. The seat haptics were noticeable only during Drums, but very effective there. The sound was good everywhere. Although it has been about 110 degrees here, the AC is cranking and inside sphere is a little chilly.

Thanks for the on-site reports. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for The Sphere (I have never liked overt visual stimulation from overwrought lighting or video screens at musical events, and this place sounds like the next level of that) I figure I'll probably make it to one or two of these shows, if for no other reason than to have an informed opinion about it when discussing it.

Overall, the security there sounds like what I've experienced at Vegas shows in the past. As with most situations, a little common sense goes a long way. It's funny how often people don't understand that, including myself.

I remember when my friend and I pulled into our 12th row center floor seats for the GD at Madison Square Garden in 1990. We had just arrived and basically raced straight from the airport to the venue and got to our seats just before the show started.

I had never traveled remotely that far for a show before and I was FIRED UP to be there. I barely had time to glance at a little flyer on my seat before the lights went down, and as the band broke into Jack Straw I lit one up.

The guy next to me immediately dragged me down into my seat and said, "Are you crazy!?! Didn't you read the flyer? They will bust your ass for smoking in here! You have to stealth it dude!"

Being a Bay Area boy the thought of getting harassed for smoking weed at a Grateful Dead show was beyond me, which I told my neighbor, to which he replied, you ain't in Kansas anymore Toto.

After that I've always been cautious when in a new venue or out of my comfort zone.

 

>>>There was one young and very aggressive security guy tasked with swooping across the floor looking for scofflaws<<<

That guy didn't last long. He was well-meaning but not experienced and didn't understand the crowd he was dealing with. He burned out on it all quickly and stepped aside. It took a while for the Grate Room to settle into it's rhythm, and I think it's fair to say that once everything/everyone relaxed it developed a very kind, low-key vibe, but the no smoking rule always had to be enforced.

Given how small that room was with it's antiquated air filtration system that barely worked, if smoking had been allowed in there the entire room would have been a thick blue cloud and no one would have been able to breathe.

Again, a little common sense made it all work.

BTW Roarshock, you get a bonus point for using the word 'scofflaws'.

That's a great word.

Do they have full screen closeups of Mayo shedding tears?  

<<Just don't post pictures of yourself with wild claims and have a small bit of stealth and i suspect you won't have a problem. >>
Like this now Sphere-infamous guy??? ;-)

IMG_2522.jpeg

 

 

In a remarkable twist of fate the Phish Bong Dude has been Unbanned!!

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sphere-rescinds-ban-phish-fan-bong-hit-1235036100/

Also I saw the show on 5/30 - just the one show, it was a fun time, the best part of the show was the Haptics drums.

I see the Sphere as a novelty and I like the normal way better.  Perhaps I'm the only one but this was fun for a change but music is meant to me to mostly be HEARD.

The band looking down from uptop of the Sphere mountain look like tiny ants and almost seemed like an afterthought to me.

Music is the most important, visuals...eh.

 

I'm glad the fellow gets to go to shows again, and I hope he didn't miss D & Co.

Still, it's tough watching somebody destroy their social media career like that. 

^^^^ Ha ha, so true... the loss of a social media influencer is a sad thing.... NOT!

Anyone else going this weekend

“The most dazzling visual show in Grateful Dead history.”

Perhaps, but maybe not.

lf.jpeg

The Eagles have long been known as the most incorporated band in America.

It's pretty unbelievable that an offshoot of the Grateful Dead is giving them a run for their money.

Strange days indeed.

 

The Suits came by

and I got off 

that's when it self-destruct 

Glenn Frey kicked Don Felder out the band but at least Felder wasn't a founding member.

John Mayer kicked Kreutzmann out the band, despite Billy having about 51 years of GD related seniority. Quite impressive work by Johny Boy and Azoff. 

Saw the Eagles play at Oakland Arena in 2005.

The band is basically the opposite of the Grateful Dead, every note played perfectly like listening to the albums - NO VARIATION.

Also noone stood up and noone was smoking weed, save me.

Very strange show indeed! I'm glad i did get to see them play once.

They will do VERY well in Las Vegas and the sphere.

I'm the opposite of Lebwoski, I think they are one of the greatest bands ever.

 

 

Out on the road today
I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said
“Don't look back, you can never look back”
I thought I knew what love was, what did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but...

From Ratdog.org 6/13/24

Alabama Getaway
Truckin'
Ramble On Rose
Mr. Charlie
Jack Straw
Big River
Althea

St. Stephen (>)
Scarlet Begonias (>)
Franklin's Tower (>)
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Hey Jude Reprise (>)
Drums (>) Space (>)
I'll Remember You (Bob Dylan cover) (>)    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLL5p6EAFYo
Fire on the Mountain
Brown-Eyed Women
Black Muddy River

Not Fade Away

 

"John Mayer kicked Kreutzmann out the band"

How does that even work? Bill K. was tired and retired, right?

The hired gun guitar player has enough pull to fire the founding drummer? That does not compute.

 

The hired gun and the Poison Dwarf own >51% of Deadco. The former members of the Grateful Dead are the real hired hands in this band. Bill thought that wasn't the case, but it turned out it was John's way or the highway.

The milking of this turkey will go on for years to come. What was fantasized in Bobby Weir's 115th dream will soon enough come to pass. The only "original" member of "the Dead" will be Mr. Mayer. Like at the Overlook Hotel, he's always been the caretaker here. Right? Right?!?

ooo, who's the poison dwarf?

Guess there won't be a poster at the show tonight...

IMG_7870.jpeg

 

 

IMG_7869.jpeg

While I have no real information, I've always assumed Billy the Drummer became uninsurable.   So the Mayer business model might have done Bill in, but I really doubt it was Mayer saying "it's you or me Bill."  I've always loved Billy,  but drumming is not an ideal role for the 70 plus folks.  

So Mayer didn't really have Kreutzmann fired from the band so much as he had him erased.

the "Grateful Dead" led by a gen x pop singer who dismisses original members while playing ticketmaster residency gigs in Las Vegas in a cashless venue with facial recognition 

The whole thing has basically become a real life 3D meme of itself

lol and a Grateful Dead shopping mall 

insanity

 

Saw the Eagles play at Oakland Arena in 2005.

The band is basically the opposite of the Grateful Dead, every note played perfectly like listening to the albums - NO VARIATION.

Also noone stood up and noone was smoking weed, save me.

Very strange show indeed! I'm glad i did get to see them play once.<<<

I was also there Jay. My only Eagles show. A pretty boring and sterile experience filled with the few highlights. 

> the "Grateful Dead" led by a gen x pop singer

About a year ago, someone on Reddit referred to Mayer as "the least psychedelic person ever". I still find that to be sadly funny and all too true.

hey look, lights!

Edited version LOL

IMG_7871.jpeg


>>> the least psychedelic person ever

nah


mark karan 

robben ford

shecky 

cryin' ryan

 

Here's more guessing from another who has absolutely no idea what actually went down, like everyone else here.

I think it's very reasonable to believe that Billy was nudged out for two valid reasons...

One, because his skills have eroded to a bad amateurs level. He's sloppy and can barely play a simple beat with very few fills now, and he often lags just a bit behind the beat, even with the dreaded slower tempos.

Two, the fact that he had become unreliable, either completely missing multiple shows or having to bow out in the middle of shows, which forced the band to carry an extra drummer on tour for when Billy couldn't finish shows or play at all.

The former is enough to get booted from almost any working band, the latter is a final nail in any professional situation.

Basic professionalism in the Grateful Dead world? How unpsychedelic.

Anyway, if it was just Mayer & Azoff who forced BK out and Weir and the others disagreed/were upset by it they could have formed another band without Mayer but with Billy. Oh wait, they did do that and called it Dead Ahead. But then, Billy didn't play in that band either. Mayer must have used his evil pop superpowers from afar to exclude Kreutzmann.

And since I've decided to join this silly conversation here are a couple of personal opinions...

D$C is significantly better with Jay Lane. They're cleaner, sharper and the tempos are generally closer to traditional; the tempos that real dead heads demand are "The RIGHT tempos! The way the songs are SUPPOSED to be played!!" (Very similar to what Eagles fans expect from their favorite band).

And that opinion isn't nearly as much praise for Lane as it is a condemnation of how bad Billy had become.

Also, to my ear Mayer's guitar playing has been really good to excellent in this music right from the beginning, when I was certain he would be awful, especially with the spacier, improvisational aspects. At least for me, my expectations turned out to be wrong.

But then I don't care what he looks like, how he dresses or what his history is.

YMMV.

Nailed it Tom.


hittin' dingers for sure

 


big steve ever make it in?


 

" we could smoke freely (at least at Bay Area shows), and we did. The inside of a Grateful Dead show was a free space where the normal rules were relaxed. I know that was not the same situation at other places that they played, but at least at home we were afforded a certain laissez-faire attitude as regarded toking."...Jerry Shows at The Warfield were epic in this regard, we had a friend that lived like right near the place, show days he'd be first in, always grabbed the 2cnd table from the right just above the floor We almost always had the same cocktail waitress that ripped Bong hits with us.. it was like normal .. on the other hand got booted from MSG for lighting up a kind kgb joint they were on us in like 3 seconds

I never remember being hassled by cops for smoking in Cleveland, they let everything go. Even fights they would treat it like a Hockey fight, they would let them go until they wore themselves out and then the cops would come in and take them away. They were probably just grateful to be somewhere other than the east side of Cleveland. Outside of the city it was a bit different at Blossom and Richfield Coliseum, they had undercover and groups walking around outside, but even inside those venues it was pretty relaxed and not many hassles 

deadtothecore2:

^^^" we could smoke freely (at least at Bay Area shows), and we did. The inside of a Grateful Dead show was a free space where the normal rules were relaxed. I know that was not the same situation at other places that they played, but at least at home we were afforded a certain laissez-faire attitude as regarded toking."..^^

100% anything goes vibe at the Grateful Dead shows in California for sure which made it like EDEN to me.  Alpine Valley was like that too, total mini woodstock free for all raging Shakedown like i haven't seen before or since.

I seem to remember seeing guys getting busted smoking weed (lights were on pre-show) at Hartford Civic in 1988.  Cops tapping guys on the shoulder 'come with me' and saw them get up.  Dunno if they ever returned or not.

Or i could have been too high but Hartford and especially Brendan Byrne (outside big time) were not at all Friendly to the Deadheads.

And this was BEFORE Brent kicked off.

Any corroborate this? Feel free.

ooo, who's the poison dwarf? 

Irving Azoff, Manager of John Mayer, Deadco, and not coincidentally, the Eagles

Bane of Modern Music and Harvester of Souls

  

Also, to my ear Mayer's guitar playing has been really good to excellent

Mayer's playing has none of the grace and beauty of Garcia's guitar. They are not even in the same dimension.

Flat, soulless mimicry mixed with a heaping helping of blues wanking really does it for you? Fine, if that's what floats your boat.

But, please don't pretend like it is the Grateful Dead. Call it Ratsob. Call it Cash, Inc.

They shouldn't piss in our ears and tell us it's raining. This is the process by which Brawndo replaces water.

One more Friday & Saturday Setlist: Dead & Co. featuring Bob Sphere

Good Lovin'    Music    Row Jimmy    BT Wind    Speedway    Deal

Shakedown    Help    Slip    Cold Rain    China Doll    Terrapin   Drums/Space    Prudence    Bertha    Bucket    AM Dew    E: Ripple

 

Miracle    Eyes    Dancin'    Hurts Me Too    Cassidy    Sugaree

China    Rider    Playin'    Estimated    Cumberland    Drums/Space    Daze Between    Viola    US Blues    Dark Star    E: Saturday Nite

>>>>>
 

Or i could have been too high but Hartford and especially Brendan Byrne (outside big time) were not at all Friendly to the Deadheads.

And this was BEFORE Brent kicked off.

Any corroborate this? Feel free.

<<<<<<

That kid probably got killed by security at Brendan Byrne after he walked out of the show too high, so yeah.

Nassau Coliseum was a bust, as they would arrest 200 people a night.  The band stoppped playing there for a few years until they ditched the quota.   Jerry said he didn't want to set up the Deadheads.

 

The Capital Centre had police on horseback checking things out outside, although you could get stoned inside.

At MSG it was funny how the NYPD would show up in force at 4 pm to secure the premises for Rush Hour at Penn Station.   Heads smoking weed on the sidewalk didn't seem that important to them in the greater scheme of things.

Greensboro had plainclothes policemen in the lots and busts on the highway getting there.

Soon after I moved to California from Virginia, I saw my first Warfield show, JGB in early '94.  I was standing about midway back in the orchestra pit before the show with the lights still up and someone had just passed me a fatty.   As I was toking on the joint and checking the stage out, I heard a persistent voice from behind me, a woman saying "Excuse me, sir.  Excuse me, sir."  I turned around thinking she was going to tell me to put out the joint or take it, when she asked if I wanted a drink.  Cocktail waitresses!   I'd died and gone to heaven.

> Hartford Civic

I always thought the Hartford CC and New Haven Coliseum were pretty uptight about smoking, and especially when the house lights were still on. Once the show started, things got better, but neither were the most bud-friendly venues I've been to.

>>>>They shouldn't piss in our ears and tell us it's raining. This is the process by which Brawndo replaces water.

best line in this thread. 

Plenty of people already drinking Brawndo.  Again, he was chosen for the draw of the younger molly/ vape pen/ alcohol crowd.  Vegas is metaphorically the perfect place for this current concoction.

 

had a buddy that hit all three shoes this week end... stayed at the venitian suite overlooking that sphere thingie.. said he'd strayed from D And C since 2017.. but ha restored his Faith he had an amazingly Awesome week end , but yeah probably Dropped a few grand. setlists look purdy

Mark Karan smoked doors with Dave Alvin's Third Mind.I thought he was fantastic, I hadn't heard him play like that before...

Again, he was chosen for the draw of the younger molly/ vape pen/ alcohol crowd.

thinking that john mayer draws a younger "vape pen" crowd is perhaps the most boomer thought that has ever been thunk 

^Thanks for noticing ;)

My wife had the best time last night. She's going back next month. 

Hartford was always a Nazi hell hole for security and if you don't think security at the Meadowlands killed that kid you weren't paying attention. Probably only wanted to beat the shit out of him but killed him none the less. There were mounted horses at both Landover and Nassau that would plow through the crowd. East shows had an air of danger to them in most places with Maine being the exception. Got busted by a long hair cop in tie dye in Providence, but once the lights went down you could pretty much smoke out any where in the east just had to be a little discrete. Also saw one guy get busted in Oakland for smoking after NYE. Everyone noticed because he stood on the steps outside of the Kaiser and lit a joint of horrible dirt weed that everyone noticed and then promptly got busted it was all very strange.

I get that people don't like D&C they do have a way of sucking the life out of Grateful Dead music more than any other band playing the music these days, but they are what we got in 2024 and sometimes can be really beautiful. The Dear Prudence and the China Doll were amazing last weekend, and if you can't have fun in Vegas at the Sphere I don't know what would do it for you. My biggest complaint was the sound system is turned down too much in the 300 and 400's and it's a choice because it is bone shaking during drums which I would pay to see a whole night of. I've heard it's better lower and I'll be in the pit when I go back so I'll see then. I love this new play house and will be back for more. 

On Friday night got back to the Aria which took forever and was looking for food which is actually way harder than it should be in a 24 hour town. Finally gave up and found this tiny bar tucked away and decided to get a drink. My wife struck up a conversation with this girl in her 20's which was just pure Vegas. She flies out every year for two weeks from the Philippines to take care of her 80 year old grandma and her 80 year old friends who have been coming for two weeks every year for 20 years. Grandma and her friends play high stakes Baccarat every day till at least 6 am while they are there and have a $1.5M credit line while she sits at the bar and checks in on them ever now and then to make sure they are hydrated. She said they couldn't come for four years because grandma made a promise to god when her sister was sick that if she lived she would quit gambling and the sister lived, but then grandma said fuck it four years later and is back playing. She wouldn't let us pay for any drinks because it all went on grandma's tab which the casino picked up and insisted we only drink top shelf. She said she mostly only gets to talk to the staff while she is there and doesn't like to watch them play because they can loose here yearly salary in one hand. Then she walked us to the only place serving food and made us peek in at the little old lady with the bandanna intensely playing cards as we walked by. Would not have taken her for a whale. I love Vegas serendipity.

>>>>and if you can't have fun in Vegas at the Sphere I don't know what would do it for you.

That's what i feel is so much of the hoopla is about is the sphere itself and not the band,  but again, TETO. For 2.3 billion, it had better be good. I appreciate your stories about and love for Vegas, it is simply too much for me. The constant lights and sounds are too much input. If i were to ever go into a casino, i guarantee i would need ear plugs to tame things down a bit. But, in all obviousness, it attracts millions from around the world. Just not my bag. Actually, with the exception of Madison, WI., just about any city is not my bag. 

I went with jazfish a few years ago to see D$C in Dallas. And of all the places in the continental US anyone could pick to go to a concert, it was pretty much my last pick, but i wanted to meet jaz, and thanks to jaz, thc and lsd, I had a great time.  That's also where i saw the $14 hot dogs. Strangely enough, none of the security had a problem with us smoking joints right out in the open. In Dallas, Tx!  And they would look right at us.  We weren't hiding shit. Fuck'em if they can't take a toke. It's cbd, officer, and I'll have seizures without it.

Mayo can hit the guitar notes, he's a talented guitarist, but he's the most fucked up choice, imo, to be fake Jerry, and his voice is absolutely nauseating to me, I can't stand that nasally whatever the F anyone wants to call it sound emanating from that hole in the front of his face. YMMV.  I can tolerate the richest, deepest alkaloid content of ayahuasca, but Mayo's voice makes my stomach absolutely churn.  Off topic a bit, I think Billy K could play drums as well as anyone on any given day. He could do that in his sleep. He's drummed to each of the GD's songs, several thousand times, He was there from the beginning, and has been through the deaths of Pigpen, Keith, Brent, Jerry and Vince. He's watched the band fragment after Jerry's death and played on as he saw fit.  His outing, however it may have happened, imo, was because he didn't give  a shit anymore, not bc he isn't skilled enough. How many reincarnations of the same hamster wheel does a person have to go through before they say, Fuck it. It's time to get off."?   Like someone else said here, he's made his money, he has a beautiful home on the Islands, a loving wife and he's started a new chapter.  Good for Bill for getting out of what has turned into a caricature of something that was once special.  I find it interesting that many here hark back to '01 when Phil and the Q were on fire. I doubt anyone here will be doing that with D$C.

I'm pretty sure a Marie Osmond concert would be a treat inside of the Sphere.

 

^^^That's what i feel is so much of the hoopla is about is the sphere itself and not the band,^^^

I feel what Joe said 100%.  It's a novelty to me and I like the 'normal' way much better.  

Honestly doubt i'd make any effort to go back after being all bummed out about getting shut out of Phish.

Have fun paying more for less (at least to me).

peace.

ps - everyone remembers this 30 years ago today.  I feel OJ could have been a perfect fit for the current state of the GOP.  I wish I was kidding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRD3TQEoeY&rco=1


was gifted dfc 400's for this upcoming weekend 

I tried like fuck to get stoked for it

airfare too f'n high

hotey doable

just can't do it

 

that being said, if the party was doing sheds

i'd be making my 2-3k a night plus free/trade tickets we're never a problem

even on the last tour

and lovin' this grand music/experiment warts and all


setting up in this sterile ass taxed fuckin' insta ho fakedown 

fuck that

and that being said...

 

billy is toast

no hyperbole 

body can't do it

mind still sharp

long live billy

he deserves it

 

setting up in this sterile ass taxed fuckin' insta ho fakedown

the permit required d+c "shakedown" is really leaning into the "used to be" part of "used to be the heart of town"

 


last summer we paid a fee

shit for the most part worked

it was fine 

pay it roll in

this sphere shit is sign a contract and taxed af 

have to commit to all 3 days or more

 

still have ptsd from people and their cameras bitd 

but penned up in a casino

cameras watching your every movement above

and all the custies with their phones


hope you ig ho's have good time

 

just not my thing

 

 

It's been my observation that, in general, people who GO TO THE SPHERE have [mostly] all positive things to say, and all the shit talking is coming from people who haven't been.  And I do feel bad that it costs so fucking much and not everyone can afford it...  hopefully one day it will be more affordable for everyone, but unfortunately, that day may not come in time for some of the older-than-dirt players to be able to play a single show, much less a residency. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, here are some observations from my experience from the 6-13 show...

First, I never saw Deadco mainly because of Mayer and no Phil, but also from seeing videos where they were way too slow and tired sounding (and I didn't bother paying attention when they installed Jay Lane, who imo has brought the tempos back to acceptable levels).

But after having my mind blown by the Sphere visuals AND sound system at the 2 Phish Sphere shows I saw there, I decided I wanted to go back soon just to experience the venue again, and DeadCo seemed like a band that could at least bring some decent acid test like visuals along with a long show at least filled with music I like.  And I can't imagine what non- psychedelic/jammy bands (like the Eagles or U2) could possible put on the screen that would be visually mind blowing AND go with the songs.

So I ended up going with 2 old friends who saw the Grateful Dead many times back in the day and have also been totally on board with DeadCo, as well as 2 old friends who were total noobs to GD live shows. 

I fully expected to be underwhelmed musically, but I figured it would just be a fun time with old friends at a totally far out venue.

I was wrong.  It was damn good musically with excellent sound quality and the visuals at times were absolutely mind bending.

And no, of course Mayer can't play like Jerry.  But you know what, neither could Warren or Herring or Campbell, or Scofield or Karan or even Sless or Kimmock, (and nobody ever will) yet there were many instances where those players helped take us to a sweet spot where we felt the old feelings that only GD music, being played with intent, earnestness, enthusiasm and love for the music, can take us. 

And that's what I felt!  Ok, yes, I might have been tripping balls, and I was in the middle of the 200 section where it's nice and loud, but my noob friends who were not tripping couldn't stop raving about it being one of the best show experiences of their lives (one has seen a LOT of killer shows, including the Dark Side of the Moon tour back in the day).

And like Klexa mentioned, the drums/space alone were worth the price of admission. I too could have listened to hours of it alone.  The Sphere is the perfect vehicle for some Mickey madness!

The place was super quiet when Bobby sang I Will Remember You and I was not the only one who had some tears well up.  Dude is still pouring out it his soul for the music.

I didn't see any security in our area, and people were definitely vaping on the downlow (and searches on the way in were less intrusive than they were at the April Phish shows).  I've now seen shows from the 400s, 300's and 200's, and the lower middle 300's or anywhere in the middle 200's is where I want to be.

So to all who may be on the fence, don't listen to all the outside noise or worry about the cost compared to other shows.  Like one zoner's wife said on FB, every Deadhead owes it to themselves to go experience this music at the Sphere at least once.  Nothing can come close to conveying the experience of being there, nothing.

I got up the morning after the show and bought tickets for my wife and I to see them on the Fourth Day of July!

GTTSphere!!!!

 

Dude is still pouring out it his soul for the music.

^ This says it all


i feel that hall

 

 

Poster from lasts night HPE show.

Screen Shot 2024-06-19 at 9.26.08 AM.png

I also went to the Sphere, June 13-15 and had a wonderful time. Going into it I was angry with the ticket price, and I hated Vegas itself.  The slot machines were in tune together to a mellow note, but there was crappy music playing super loud over it. We found a restaurant with cool music but it was so loud you couldn't have a conversation unless the person was right next to you.

However, the shows were so wonderful! My highlight was Bobby playing I'll Remember You, I had tears the entire song for Jerry and my husband Vern (Leper Van Atom on the Zone). John Mayer had some nice moments, I'm starting to like him more, Morning Dew was really nice. Drums was great, I wish they would spend more time in Space, but I guess you need Jerry for that. The shows were played really well, night 2 was slower but the slower songs were played beautifully and that's what great musicians do.

The sphere video/graphics were phenomenal, you're taken to another time, underwater, outer space, and the humor is hilarious. It took me a long time to acclimate to the 400 section. The escalator is really steep, so are the steps. At first I didn't think I could dance but once the show started and it's dark your fear is gone and we boogied all night. I hope no one ever takes a stupid, drunken fall, but kudos to the venue for building something so steep and taking that chance. It really adds to the magic. When I was in the 100 section, a few times I felt myself getting a little nauseous so I had to close my eyes and sit down. Kudos to the venue though, again, for making you feel like you're moving. I only closed my eyes for a minute and the nausea feeling was gone, you just need to stay aware if you're someone who gets motion sickness like me.

I didn't read all of this thread, but does anyone know if Phil may show up? I love Oteil, when he sings he can really be present in a song, just like Jerry, and it's always beautiful. I love his jamming too, the Cumberland was a great version and he had a fantastic solo. I wish they would let him sing and solo more, but I guess that's not going to happen. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had opinions on Phil popping in.

 

 

About as likely as Jerry popping in.wink

I would say now that Bill is no longer in the band it is slightly higher than Jerry showing up, but wouldn't count on it. I am kind of surprised there have been no surprise guests with the proximity to LA but has D&C ever had a sit in?

Slot machine music is almost always programmed in C major

it's a pleasant enough key

and this way no one machine is any more (or less) distracting of your attention than any other

I might happen to be in Vegas on 7/13 due to work.  Is every show sold out?  Are there any good deals out there?

Thanks for the feedback Zoners!


lots of squares in town

take on the big show

be heroic

 

Really liked this weekends run. Especially Saturday which was Grate from from Shakedown on. Was not thrilled w Minglewood but it was never at the top of my list.

Uncle Johns-St. Steven-Morning Dew-Terrapin to open the second set was AWESOME and I love Drums at The Sphere. I was very happy for my son on Saturday as he wanted to see NFA and when they finished Brokedown and they were coming back visually to Haight Ashbury my son said I guess it will be OMSN but it was NFA instead it was so cool seeing his face and him have that experience of thinking "Oh well no NFA" and then they go into it. So cool experiencing this w my dad and son all weekend. All 3 shows were really nice. 

Good interview with Mayer on how it all came together, and he said the shows announced are the final shows of this run. 

You do have to give them an email address to read it.

https://www.gq.com/story/john-mayer-and-mickey-hart-of-dead-and-company?...

There were also, at the same time, a number of things that I saw that made me want to throw up. I donated my stomach to science for a few months. A lot of people are light-sensitive or sensitive to movement. There were some things that I think some people would've really loved and other people would have left the building if it had stuck. I really got to learn how the Sphere works, and got into its mind a little bit. There's certain motions—if you turn on a certain axis, it's fine. Other axes you turn on, it's like, "Nope, uh-uh." And it was very interesting to test my equilibrium. I think it was the first time I'd ever been nauseous but not anxious because I knew what was going on. It was the most utilitarian nausea I've ever had. It was like, "Yeah, I'm nauseous, but I am almost just testing this on my own stomach."

That was another thing too—getting the show to be exciting, but not to the point where, neurologically, you would rather leave. There are some people I know could take even more, but you kind of have to average it out. There were a couple things we smoothed the edges on—a couple moments where you come to the edge of whether you think you can handle it, but the trust with the show is that you're going to be fine. We're taking care of you, we got you. Someone someday will be in there and their whole MO is going to make people think they're upside down, and that will be very easy to do, and maybe if you're 17 years old, that would be cool

 

  If i were ever allowed to, by some serious managerial mistake, my entire MO would be to get people to puke up everything  they've eaten in the past 3 days. Maybe a 30 minute concert. Stomachs should be empty by then. Probably specific wavelengths and nonstop, intensely disorienting graphics. So if you see tickets go on sale for 'Hurl Fest 24, 5 or 6' , you've been warned. Tickets no more than 20 bucks, all donated to clean up services.  ;)


bro, you're being real insensitive 

 

herpes

1

Or 

2?


knew it

 

it's the water

 

 

It would be cool if they webcast the final weekend 

Anyone have any recent experiences during this run at the Tuscany Suites and Casino, and it's associated pool scene? 
Thank you in advance.

I just got a tix for 7/13.  Bringing along a friend who hasn't seen the band since Watkins Glen.  Should be fun.  
Looking for a cheap hotel recommendation.  Will not have a car.

>>>>>hasn't seen the band since Watkins Glen.

Why did he stop then?

 

 

That band and this one have only one player in common,and he's 76 years old. 

I hope your friend isn't too disappointed.

See you there 7/13,  Joe Buck.

Tuscany Suites was half the price of hotels on the strip and one of the closest to the Sphere. 
Also the location of shakedown street.

 

We stayed at Tuscany Suites, it was perfectly fine and about a 25 minute walk to Sphere.

Thanks.  Looks to be sold out for the dates I'm in town.  Must be the spot for the heads.

>>Why did he stop then?

He joined the Navy and escaped from New York City.  He did 24 years in the navy then drove a cab in Vegas for a few years and since then has been living and working on an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean while his family resides in the Philippines.  I think he'll enjoy it.  He knows the music and is always up for a good time but I'm sure he'll have jokes about the band.  (Plus I'm buying his ticket!)

He used to tell me stories about him helping the Allmans schlepp their equipment in and out of the Fillmore East when he was a kid. 
He talks fondly about seeing the Dead at Gaelic Park.

I am going to lost Vegas for the last August shows. Anyone else?

This stupid shit pisses me off.

 

"During Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live guest hosted by Hahn, Rogen recounted a memorable evening spent tripping on acid while watching The Grateful Dead at the all-mighty Sphere."

https://uproxx.com/indie/seth-rogen-the-grateful-dead-las-vegas/

 

The Grateful Dead's last show was 28 years ago. I am glad that new generations of kiddos are embracing their hippie dead head selves, but quit calling Dead & Co. The Grateful Dead. They are NOT the Grateful Fucking Dead!

 

There is a woman that I only know because she pets my dog when I'm out on walks. She got tickets for her husband for fathers day and for her kid and his fiance. The husband was the only person who had seen the Dead pre or post Jerry. This week she asked me I heard about the July 5 show because it was amazing. She went on to tell me that the band had played all the really old songs that they don't play anymore. I just nodded along nice that people are excited. 

Dead Co July 5

Set 1:

Cold Rain and Snow

Truckin'

Bertha

Good Lovin'

Next Time You See Me

Cassidy

Deal

Set 2:

China Cat Sunflower

I Know You Rider

Playing in the Band

Dark Star

Drums

Space

Looks Like Rain

Brown-Eyed Women

Fire on the Mountain

Throwing Stones

Not Fade Away

The Grateful Dead's last show was 28 years ago. I am glad that new generations of kiddos are embracing their hippie dead head selves, but quit calling Dead & Co. The Grateful Dead. They are NOT the Grateful Fucking Dead!<<<

Hear, hear Roarshock. It all started by in 2003 when they finally caved to using the Dead name. Fare Thee Well then put this gross misrepresentation into overdrive (The Grateful Dead are playing their final shows, OMG!) but at least those bands had the most important piece, that being Mr. Phil Lesh. When someone uses the GD name in vain when referring to Irving Azoff's test tube baby, it's a smackable offense.

n the vernacular, talking at concerts is known as “chomping.” To go by my own recent experience, there are more chompers than ever, and more people complaining about them.

Night one, set two: Behind me, two young women, thirtyish, were talking, not quietly, about a recent wedding. I noticed it most during the more delicate songs—“China Doll,” “Terrapin Station,” “Dear Prudence.” They kept it up during the Mickey Hart segment known as “Drums”-“Space,” which was arguably the most mesmerizing stretch of the night, owing to the brawn of the subwoofers, the haptic vibrations in the seats, the primal percussive fury, and the spinning fractal kaleidoscopes on the giant screen. It was during “Drums” that I learned a few things from my neighbors about sandals. Near the end of the show, during the quietest part of “Morning Dew,” the Bonnie Dobson post-nuclear-apocalypse folk song that was Garcia’s most formidable showstopper, the two talkers sketched out their summer plans. Who were these barbarians?

“I guess it doesn’t matter anyway,” Weir was singing, with his goofy phrasing and without the Garcia gravitas. Still, it did matter. The guy sitting next to me turned toward the talkers and gently asked them if they’d keep it down. I turned halfway around, too, and made a dad gesture, a tamping down of the air with my palm.

“We can’t hear you!” one of them shouted.

“We’re trying to enjoy the show!” the other said.

“What are you, the concert police?”

“This isn’t the opera, dude!”

For the rest of the set, as our vantage descended from space back down to Earth, the Bay Area, and 710 Ashbury, they hissed insults at the backs of our heads. I could feel their scorn scorching my bald spot, like the equatorial sun. Vibe: not good.

The next night, the offenders were drunken dudes: different register and subject matter—golf, blackjack, the scene at the pool at the Wynn—but just as hard to tune out or counteract. Was it the dome’s ambient twilight? Or the clean, near-perfect sound, which provided enough sonic white space for conversation?

If chomping is an epidemic, is there a lab-leak hypothesis? Might it be the edibles? Or have manners slipped? One thinks of the people watching videos in public on their screens with the sound turned up. Everyone is listening when they shouldn’t be, and not listening when they should.

people are so reactionary to anyone asking them to do anything differently that when you address them, you immediately have another problem, people are so triggered anymore that they see any request as a personal affront and then it becomes a confrontation. The trick to avoiding responsibility for anything anymore is just to counterattack. I’ve seen it first hand MANY times recently and one person standing at a recent show almost turned into a full section brawl because someone dared speak up.

They should have gone to security - they have removed people. According to reviews on Reddit it does work. 

My favorite one was the person who loudly sang Brown Eyed Women in Red Limousines. 

I can only say if you are working for a small company on Long Island that has about $8M in EBIDA the owner of your company is getting ready to sell it. I assume this is public info since him and his friends spent most of the night talking about it. 

Finally I don't think the Sphere crowd is any worse than just about any concert I've been to lately, and the second night we were surrounded by people who had never been before and were mostly there for The Sphere. They were way more respectful than the entitled old dead heads I was around the first night.

I think the directional sound makes it easier to hear the chompers, but don't know that for sure. Anyway that is why I'm in GA when I go back. Always good to be able to move. 

My flight the next morning was again full of enthusiasts, whose collective exuberance had given way to exhaustion. Hard to know who’d lost thousands at craps or knocked off a cannister of laughing gas. Costs sunk, experiences had. Our flight soon took us over the Grand Canyon—the real thing, not a simulacrum—and not a single passenger opened a window shade to catch a glimpse of it, or of New York City, hours later, as we descended at sunset.

I think it was during the encore in Orlando in '91 , 3rd night if my mind serves me , we were on the floor kinda' up front and a spun out chick who stood on her seat and woohooed here and there, in the quietest part of Brokedown, yelled at the top of her lungs ' GRATEFUL DEAD ALIVE IN ORLANDO WOOOOOOOOOOOOO ' and fucked my trip so hard i recall it visceraly to this day...did not lash out , just flustered the fuck out of me...

we didnt have talkers around us on our first Sphere experience but are going back 8/3 and hopefully wont have that problem this trip

" It was during “Drums” that I learned a few things from my neighbors about sandals. "

I have now been to 10 Sphere shows. I sat in the 100s, 200s, and 300s, loved all sections, and haven't had problems with talkers. I have really enjoyed every one of these shows. I love that they are doing 6 shows during The Days Between. I'll be at all 6. I can't wait. 

Yeah 88 Hampton I was about four people back from the rail and the women next to me spent the whole first set yelling at Jerry that she wanted to smell his farts. That said she mostly did that between songs so I guess that is more respectful than now. 

This  

Mark Karan smoked doors with Dave Alvin's Third Mind.I thought he was fantastic, I hadn't heard him play like that before...

With all due respect to "The Oracle of San Jose", I think El Niño nailed it Re: "Touch Heads."

Credits:  Published in the print edition of the July 29, 2024, issue, with the headline “Dead Reckoning.”  

Letter from Las Vegas

Reckoning with the Dead at the Sphere

A run of lost Las Vegas weekends for Deadheads prompts a longtime fan to wrestle with what the band has left behind.

By Nick Paumgarten

July 22, 2024

(Note:  Not my words.  I did not attend.) 

Ive had No Interest in going to this.... Coulda done a weekend with a Great old Zoner friend,  good flights ,Suite at The Venetian and  I passed...

Tell me more about The Third Mind 

Some older guy on July 13th really ate it hard going down the stairs in the 300s. Once he tripped he flew a long way before he crushed his ribs on the end of the center rail, then smacked his head hard on the cement stairs. He was out cold for 20 mins or so before they carried him away still out. One of the people helping him said they didn't think he was going to survive.  Emergency response there was slow and awkward.

>>>At one point, I stopped on a stair, as on a mid-stream boulder, and filmed the procession on my phone. A few people waved; one gave me the finger.

 

Zoner sighting

 

^ article is from june 7th

 

 

> Flavor flav and Martha at the shoe

I thought Martha ran with a West Coast crew.

Well that was fun and 2nd set Friday was by far the best set I've seen D&C play. That long intro into Dark Star to open the second set is where the Sphere sound system really shines. That is the first time I really want to get a good recording of one of their sets. Just a beautiful second set. 

I still don't think they do loud well but that may be a choice, but it was the same for both U2 and D&C. GA was much better than sitting in the 300's or 400's mostly because you don't have to deal with luck of the draw on who sits near you and can move away from the talkers. Also thought the sound was better on the floor. Did see someone have a psychotic break and randomly started punching strangers. Hope he got help. 

Anyway I have scratched that itch - hopefully no one plays there soon that I want to see because I need a break from Vegas. Goodbye Sphere run. It was fun. 

Loved all 3 on this run. I thought 8/1 was a very and most unique set of the 13 shows I have seen in this run with nice subtle hints to Jerry starting with How Sweet It Is and I thought Lazy River Road was fantastic and emotional and that has never been a favorite. 

Dang Zang,  wish I could unsee that 

yeah Zang, I'm going to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and think he was overcome with emotion, but if it weren't Jerry Day I'd say he was pulling a Biden on that Lazy River Road.

Rare that you see him look and act reeeeally old.

Love ya Weir!

Sorry Fabes.  A little bit of a train wreck but I'm just assuming the moment swallowed him whole.  

Got a big lump in my throat and a tear in my eye watching that.  I felt it was really pure and don't believe I've ever seen Bobby sing solo w/o anyone else onstage  with Dead and Co prior to this.

Thanks a lot for sharing Zang. I talked to a guy at the Dylan show this past Sunday who's seeing his first and only Sphere DeadCo on Friday, 8/9.  I wonder what will be in store for that.  Have your kleenex prepped and ready.

I can't believe people pay money to see / hear that bullshit anymore.

Jay, I'd think you were talking to me but I was in the front, not on the lawn. Weird. I did have that conversation

with somebody there on Sunday......

      I will be there for the show on Aug. 9, the only show I'm going to. My plane and show tickets 

are paid for, so I just need to cover the hotel. And it's only supposed to be 109 degrees that day!

     The last time I was in Vegas was for Dylan, in 2017, exactly 2 weeks after the Mandalay Bay massacre there.
 

Every cop was on high alert.

I was actually pulled out of the show by the Metro Vegas cops due to a "misunderstanding". 

   Not a fun feeling to be taken off the show floor to the lobby, where there are about 10 more cops staring at me

with their hands on their guns.....

    Thankfully the situation was cleared up quickly; I was informed the actual "perps" were kicked out of the show

and off the property....

I missed Desolation Row.

Just another fun night in Las Vegas!

   I don't anticipate a repeat of that situation this Friday....


    

 

I met people who grabbed a cab after a Dead show at Silver Stadium in Vegas. They were still tripping but where happy to have snagged a cab and where settling in for the ride when a bunch of cop cars surrounded them - they were ordered out of the cab and told to lie on the ground all at gun point. The cab driver had accidentally flipped the I'm being robed signal. 

>>>I can't believe people pay money to see / hear that bullshit anymore<<<

Damn, that brought back a memory I haven't thought of in years.

That's almost exactly word-for-word what my older brother's friend said to me in 1978 when I told him I was going to see the Grateful Dead.

Some things never change.

I can only guess your older brother's friend saw them with Pig Pen. Quite a few Deadheads back then thought the Grateful Dead ended when Pig passed away. I feel the same way about Garcia.

When they started late in '69 with acoustic sets & cowboy hats some fans said it was over. 

...

Did Kamala & the Coach stop by the Sphere tonight after their fund raiser in the desert?

 

IMG_0052.jpeg

>Did Kamala & the Coach stop by the Sphere tonight after their fund raiser in the desert?
 

Did DeadCo stop by the fundraiser before their show?

That credits screen can't be right. It doesn't list Big Steve anywhere. When I hear his show he makes it seem like he is in the band. I call shenanigans.

> Creative Director: John Mayer

Look no further for evidence that the group mind is defunct.

Great three shows at Sphere this weekend. Thursday was the best IMO. These guys are absolutely stunningly good.

Looking froward to the Kamala/Walz benefit show.

Agreed Woz grate 3 shows. I can't believe it is over. Shows that stand out that I attended 5/24, 6/22, 7/13, 8/1 I loved every one I attended. 6/20-22 and 8/1-3 were my two favorite run of shows. 

Hopefully Bobby gets The Wolf Bros back to Stanford with The Symphony Orchestra.  

> Creative Director: John Mayer

Didn't notice that. The dude sure does get "it"