Dead & Company began Las Vegas Sphere residency (pics, video, setlist)

A few months shy of a year after what was to have been their final show, Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company began their Las Vegas Sphere residency on Thursday night (5/16). It was the first of 24 shows they have lined up at the venue through July, and they made ample use of its mammoth video screens. From East Bay Times:

As the band played on, fans were transported — via the incredible hi-def video imagery that fills the 366-foot-tall dome-shaped venue — from the starting point of San Francisco right into space (which, we realize, some will contest is actually close to being the same thing). From there, fans chilled out in a gorgeous tropical garden, moseyed over into a old-school Western flick, hit a concert in the desert and somehow found themselves as part of a massive paint-by-number picture. They watched giant terrapins play instruments, road about with a skeleton in patriotic garb and matched moves Dancing Bears.

See pictures and attendee-taken video from night one at the Sphere, and the setlist, below. Dead & Company are the third band to play the Vegas venue, following U2’s opening residency, which started in September of 2023, and four Phish shows (which got a rave review from Drew Carey). Their residency runs through July 13, and you can see all upcoming dates below and get tickets here. SETLIST: DEAD & COMPANY @ THE SPHERE, 5/16/2024 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 Hell in a Bucket Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door Not Fade Away DEAD & COMPANY: 2024 SPHERE RESIDENCY May 18 Sat May 24 Fri May 25 Sat May 26 Sun May 30 Thu May 31 Fri Jun 1 Sat Jun 6 Thu Jun 7 Fri Jun 8 Sat Jun 13 Thu Jun 14 Fri Jun 15 Sat Jun 20 Thu Jun 21 Fri Jun 22 Sat Jul 4 Thu Jul 5 Fri Jul 6 Sat Jul 11 Thu Jul 12 Fri Jul 13 Sat