I don’t have a ton of time so I’m just gonna get right to it. Dead & Company went through the nation’s capital leaving an indelible mark on the minds of all who attended or listened from home. I’d like to thank Mark Geslock, who provided a stream on Periscope, for his commitment to bringing the experience to those that weren’t able to be there. To all the folks out there that stream all this stuff, especially Taper Rob who has been doing it forever, Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!!!

When it comes to the first set, I’ll just say that Sailor-> Saint is all I have to say. Bob sounded outstanding and if you have any doubts about John you need to check that shit out. With all the forgetting of words our favorite musicians do, Bob does an uncanny job getting Lost Sailor right just about every time. The picking John was doing throughout was fantastic and you can see as some of these tunes get some repetition, they’re only going to sound better and better. Saint of Circumstance has long been a favorite Weir tune of mine and all of its complexities were handled with relative ease. It was a tremendous way to close the first set. This ain’t the real thing but it’s definitely close enough to pretend!

The first half of the second was total magic. Bertha was great! You know how Garcia would seem a little caught behind the band as they would lead the way during the jam and then, with a bolt of psychedelic energy, Jerry would begin squeezing notes together as fast as he could, completely and totally gaining momentum, until at some unknown point in the solo he would actually fly past the band and be at the finish line waiting for them all to catch up and connect for that Sonic BOOM!!!!!!!!!!! Well, that shit didn’t happen but it was good. How’s that for a run on sentence? I’ll tell you what I have to say about the Eyes in one word… WOW! If you took Phil from 77 and shot him up in the jugular with a turkey baster full of cocaine, he would sound like Oteil sounded on Eyes last night. The music was full of power and life and the sound became an absolutely consuming force seemingly drawing on itself for continued strength. The Big Ball was rolling downhill and Oteil was moving the machine to warp speeds with bass riffs that had the kind of magic to them that would cause you to look at the person next to you and say, “HOLY FUCKIN SHIT!” The momentum continued as the second Scarlet of the tour took flight. I talked about the first one having some holes in it where it seemed like music used to be. Those holes became whole this time around as the solid wave of sound came forward without any gaps or spaces that seemed empty this time around. Fire did everything that Fire does and we all know that what it does is make US smile like fat folks at cruise ship buffets! At times Oteil danced like Gene Simmons as he pounded out everything he had to express through his instrument. WE LOVE YOU OTEIL!

The Wheel came rolling out of space and found a Reggae ending that had Weir howling “Little bit more” almost resembling Stir It Up from Hampton in 88. It was a great new twist on an old favorite that melted away into Looks Like Rain. As Looks Like Rain started I instantly realized it’s the perfect position for the song within the context of the new line up. That spot has always been the place for the epic Garcia Ballads and LLR is one of Weir’s. The end gives him a chance to Weir it up and it was sung with all the passion and commitment you could hope for. Bob was stellar and in great voice all night. Several pairs of oversized cotton skivvies were thrown at him as he sang but none reached the stage due to the arthritic shoulders and absence of athleticism in the women that attempted to throw them. Midnight Hour followed and was a great addition to the line up. Once again Weir seemed to recoup vocal and showman like strength from years gone by. There have been pieces of these shows that he’s sounded as strong as he did in 90. I don’t know how he’s feeling but he’s sounding incredible!

There was an effort to do something new with the beginning of the Touch of Grey encore that worked as good as trying to screw with a soft pecker. Just didn’t work… Once the tune began however it was a bold declaration as well as a confirmation that once again, We most definitely will get by. While most of our best years may be in the rear view mirror, Dead & Company have shown us for 4 nights in a row that there’s still plenty of amazing Dead ahead! The wave continues to build and there’s a sense of impending excellence in the air again. The good thing about having limited time to prepare new musicians for a tour is that they didn’t have any time to waste learning shitty tunes. I can already feel the air in Madison Square Garden. It’s begging for St Stephen-> NFA-> Stephen-> Dew. That’s probably too much to ask for a free show. Benefits have usually gone more like Miracle-> Stella-> Throwing Stones-> NFA. I thought D.C. was the place for Throwing Stones. Why didn’t Bob drop his,”You can buy the whole damn government today!” line while he was in shouting distance of the offenders? Doesn’t matter, I’m looking forward to being at MSG anyway! This band is way more unpredictable than the Dead of old. One thing I know, WE’RE ALL GETTING IN! See ya soon! Love You Long Time!

Dead To The Core,
Dean Sottile (pronounced So Tilly)

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