Set 2:

Dead and Company turned the wagon around and headed back west to Chicago for their final two shows of the summer tour. Lucky for Cleveland, Blossom Music Center is just a few miles away from route 80 and a perfect pit stop en route to Wrigley. Lucky for everyone not in Cleveland, Dead and Company and Nugs.tv tossed up a free last minute livestream of the entire show!

There really isn’t more to write about this band other than they have totally gelled and become their own band. Their dedication to their craft and the Grateful Dead cannon is evident in every show they play. Just read what John Mayer posted on Instagram the night before the Cleveland show:

Every night I pick up the guitar, I play in hopes of making that perfect statement. I can feel it in my heart, and I can hear it in my head. But I usually find that my playing falls just short of my intentions. It's that space between the intention and the expression that I'm trying to close distance on. Looking back, I know I haven't played that show yet. But tomorrow? Tomorrow might be the day I get it right. #ijustwannahelpbuildthebridge #oteilyourhonestyisinspiring @deadandcompany (📸lifted from @beccapurtell)

A post shared by johnmayer (@johnmayer) on Jun 28, 2017 at 12:24am PDT

I feel like the very essence of the Grateful Dead is that the perfect show is right around the corner and tonight’s show could be it. That and simply to have a good time.

One aspect of Dead and Company’s shows I’ve neglected to focus on this summer is Jeff Chimenti’s brilliant work on the keyboards. Jeff really is the unsung hero of Dead and Company.

Some of the highlights from the show include Mayer’s tasty licks on Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, the entire amphitheater and lawn rocking out to “Big River,” a Johnny Cash tune that is nearly 60 years old, an especially weird and far our “Drums” and a gorgeous “Black Muddy River” encore.

Set 1:
Hell in a Bucket
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Black-Throated Wind
Row Jimmy
Big River
Cassidy
Big Railroad Blues

Set 2:
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
He’s Gone
Truckin’
Drums
Space
I Need a Miracle
Wharf Rat
Good Lovin’

Encore:
Black Muddy River