It was like night and day.
After opening their three-night stand at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park with a mostly pedestrian offering on Friday, Dead & Company did a complete 180 and delivered a truly triumphant performance in front of 50,000-plus fans on Saturday.
And that’s why we go see multiple shows, since it’s not at all uncommon for this band to be so-so on one night and then absolutely super on the next.
Dead & Company certainly ranked as the latter as it ran through two diversely appealing sets in San Francisco, consisting of 20 songs that stretched across some three hours.
There were many highlights of the show, but none bigger or better than when psychedelic-country-rocker Sturgill Simpson (who had performed an opening set under his “Johnny Blue Skies” moniker) joined Dead & Company for a moving take on the Grateful Dead favorite “Morning Dew.” It was the best moment of the stand thus far — and it won’t be surprising if that holds up through the Sunday finale as well. (Although having Trey Anastasio of Phish — aka, the world’s greatest jam band — as the opener on Sunday certainly opens up some incredibly tantalizing options.)
Following Simpson’s incredibly enjoyable 75-minute opening set, Dead & Company took the stage and kicked off the second night of this Grateful Dead 60th anniversary celebration with a by-the-numbers take on Wilson Picket R&B classic “In the Midnight Hour.”
Based solely on that number, which was akin to what you might expect to hear from a random bar band during a Tuesday night half-price beer special, it seemed like the group might be on its way to its second consecutive ho-hum evening.
Instead, Dead & Company — the massively popular Grateful Dead offshoot featuring longtime Dead members Bob Weir on vocals and guitar and Mickey Hart on drums, as well as guitarist-vocalist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane — would immediately crank up the intensity for a rip-roaring “Bertha,” one that delivered more energy, enthusiasm and, most certainly, excitement than the entire first set on Friday.
Mayer, the former pop idol turned jam-band icon, was at the heart of all of it, laying down one blistering run after another on his guitar and on the hunt for cool new ways to bring the music to life. He also sounded strong on the microphone, divvying up the vocal duties almost equally with Weir (who had handled the lion’s share during Friday’s first set).
Dead & Company continued to roll along at an incredibly high level for “Jack Straw,” which benefitted from some mesmerizing exchanges and leads from Mayer and Chimenti (the most consistently excellent player in the band), before blowing thousands of minds with the psychedelic marriage of Traffic’s iconic “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and the Beatles’ legendary “Hey Jude.”
This review will be updated shortly. Please check back.
Dead & Company Aug. 2, 2025 setlist
1. “In the Midnight Hour”
2. “Bertha”
3. “Jack Straw”
4. “Dear Mr. Fantasy”
5. “Hey Jude”
6. “Passenger”
7. “Brown-Eyed Women”
8. “Morning Dew”
Set 2:
9. “Uncle John’s Band”
10. “Help on the Way”
11. “Slipknot!”
12. “Franklin’s Tower”
13. “St. Stephen”
14. “Drums”
15. “Space”
16. “Spanish Jam”
17. “Days Between”
18. “Truckin’”
19. “Cold Rain and Snow”
20. “Brokedown Palace”
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