Dead & Company opened up the East Coast leg of their 2019 Fall Fun Run on All Hallows' Eve at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The night took a special turn when the band - featuring OG Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti - made a setlist of only songs written by Hunter/Garcia and Hunger/Weir in honor of their fallen brother, musician and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, who passed away just last month. Weir wore a funeral kilt in honor as well.
And with that, they decidedly opened up with the tender "Ripple" acoustically as Mayer and Weir shared vocals and an image of Hunter and Jerry Garcia illuminated on the screens. After the tribute, they got the Halloween festivities started by going into the groovy "Shakedown Street."
Other songs they played in the first set included "Bertha," "Loser," "They Love Each Other," "Tennessee Jed," and then ended with "Terrapin Station." Before the break, Hart jumped up to the mic, wearing a red devil suit, and him and Kreutzmann initiated Burbridge into The Rhythm Devil. They led a "horning" ceremony where the bassist was given a mask featuring the Rhythm Devil horns, which Burbridge continued to don.
The second set fired off with Weir'd "Playing in the Band" and then led into "Truckin'," "Uncle John's Band" and a heartfelt performance of "China Doll" with Oteil on lead vocals.
Mickey and Bill did their classic "Drums" and "Space" segment where things got real spooky. Oteil, being the newest Rhythm Devil, joined in of course.
The set ended on fan favorite "Sugar Magnolia" before they came out to encore their traditional Halloween lick - Warron Zevon's "Werewolves of London."
See the full setlist right here:
D&C return to MSG tonight so make sure to check back with setlist.fm to see what they played!
Dead & Company: 2019-2020 Tour
11/01 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
11/05 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11/06 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11/08 – Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
11/09 – Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
12/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
12/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
12/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
12/31 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
01/16-19 – Cancun, MX @ Moon Palace
