Photos, Videos and Review by Stephen Bloch

The universe is bigger than any one person can describe. In theory, it has no boundaries and there are entities that remain unknown, at least for now. Endless possibilities. The same can be said for Dead & Company playing at the Sphere last weekend. There were no boundaries and the cosmic nature of their music and the Sphere really defied both logic and explanation. I guess the same can be said for Las Vegas itself… but that can be saved for another discussion (the place is WEIRD). The Sphere may not have been designed specifically for Dead and Co (or U2 or Phish), but it certainly seems that way. All 580,000 square feet of video space was used much of the time and the cavernous 366 ft. tall structure that could house the Statue of Liberty was always alive with sound. It’s an engineering feat.  The sound could be described as holographic sound and immersive.  Bass was generated from the very seat you sat in and the sounds seemed to come from every corner (yes, a sphere does NOT have any corners).  

Each night had its own distinct vibe and much of the accompanying visuals had equally as distinct a vibe. That said, every show got a smattering of music that has defined the Grateful Dead for 60 years. There were psychedelic tracks each night, songs that seem to want to put you in a place where you could be riding a horse into the sunset, ballads that make you weep, and Americana numbers that bring out the folksiness in everyone. There are were straight up rock n’ roll jams that are no doubt accentuated by the savant-like nature of John Mayer, who has arguably become the lynchpin of the band. In addition, each night had covers that reflected the lifelong influences that the band has drawn upon. The graphics that accompanied each song were clearly thought of at length. Cowboy songs like had a western-theme, ballads coincided with exquisitely-filmed black and white video in 16 x 9, and anything jangly and psychedelic got a full range of wild images (often in outer space… with dancing bears, Steal your Faces, skeletons, kaleidoscopes, or waves of light ending in black holes). Seeing the band up close, as I’m almost always part of, seemed almost secondary.  A 15-story tall Bob Weir, Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, Mickey Hart, or Jay Lane in high def makes being up close superfluous. Being close to the band also means you can’t take in all the visual pageantry.

The nostalgia surrounding The Grateful Dead cannot be underestimated. Each night paid homage to the venues that the band made history in. The Haight Ashbury neighborhood was the bookend images each night, but Barton Hall, Radio City, Giza, Red Rocks, and the Fillmore were all represented. 

Over the course of three nights. 45 unique songs were played in addition to Drums and Space each night. The weekend was clearly about the shows themselves, but there was plenty to do elsewhere. The Dead Experience had miniature Wall of Sound, photo expo by Jay Blakesberg (who gave me a private tour but warned that the six of us would become 60 before we knew it… he was correct), show posters and many other fun things do look at and learn about. There was also a Shakedown Street. Vendors as far as the eye can see but also a surplus of folk looking for miracle tickets.

The entire experience was beyond magical. Old, young, new, veteran, and everyone in between was represented. Everyone was having fun regardless of their history with The Grateful Dead or whether they imbibed (I did not). 

The common thread woven into the collective experience was undoubtedly love for a band that has been around in varying incarnations for three generations. Dead & Company and The Sphere demonstrated how incredible a live music experience CAN be on a massive scale when the resources and planning are there. GET TO THE SPHERE if you can.

Addendum, since I didn’t mention a song in my review…