AN EONS SPECIAL REPORT
Mitch and CJ see Dead & Co. at Fenway Park-6.24.23
CJ’s Review
October 31, 1990. Wembley Stadium, London, England.
That was the last time I saw the Grateful Dead in concert. So, when Mitch said he had an extra (free!) ticket to Dead & Co. at Fenway Park this past Saturday night, I accepted. I like visiting other countries in the musical world and I thought it would be interesting to see how much had changed in 30+ years.
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I meet Mitch on the stroke of 5:30pm at the McDonald’s in Kenmore Square where dozens of aging Deadheads with enlarged prostates have stopped to pee. The last time Mitch and I went to a concert together where one of us was completely out of his element, it was AC/DC at Gillette Stadium back in 2015. I knew ALL the songs. Mitch knew where to find the best parking.
Tonight, Mitch is wearing standard issue deadhead gear—a concert t-shirt from one of the last seventeen times Dead & Co. played at Fenway. I considered wearing a Black Sabbath t-shirt, but I didn’t want to antagonize anyone. Instead, I’ve gone with jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Mitch declares it a “metalhead” outfit anyway. Ah well.
As we wind our way over to Shakedown Street–a makeshift shanty town where ersatz hippies sell food, drinks and Dead-related stuff–I notice that many people in the crowd have chosen sweat and cat piss as their hygiene regimen for the day. I went with Irish Spring and Degree Cool Rush. But again, I'm a stranger in a strange land.
Speaking of which, we pass a guy wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt. I resist the urge to envelop him in a full-body hug. It is enough for me to know that another one of us has somehow infiltrated the system.
Shakedown Street is actually a lot of fun. In addition to all the merchandise, many people are selling “snacks”. Many more people are enjoying these snacks right out in the open as if snacking was totally cool with the local authorities. Mitch has brought a snack from home which he thoughtfully shares with me. Once we’re done snacking, it’s time to head inside.
Tonight, I am seeing Dead & Co. as the Good Lord intended–in a luxury box. The climate-controlled air is a welcome relief from the heat, humidity and cat piss of Shakedown Street. We are also pleased to discover a refrigerator stocked with beer, a delicious spread of food and, get this, more snacks. I love Dead & Co.!
At approximately 6:50pm, the band goes on. Wait a minute! Where's Jerry Garcia? What the hell!
Just kidding. Mitch told me that he went to live on a farm in upstate New York years ago so he could run and play with the other rock stars.
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The show opens with “Cassidy”, a Bob Weir song that I’ve never heard before. Vaunted Connecticut bluesman John Mayer plays approximately 4,000 notes before Bob sings a word. Our suite mates all gather in the outdoor part of the luxury box to cheer on the band. I take the opportunity to attack the buffet. Apparently all this snacking has made me hungry.
The band does a few more songs or maybe one or maybe a dozen (it’s very hard to tell) before they get to a song that I recognize, “I Need a Miracle”. At this point, I’ve eaten my weight in tortilla chips and chicken wings (buffalo and BBQ). Wiping the last of the guacamole off my hands, I make my way outside to sing along.
Looking down into the crowd, I notice two people dancing on the perimeter. One is a young man dressed head-to-toe in tie-dye and sporting the requisite dreadlocks. He is spinning at a rpm roughly equivalent to the number of notes coming out of Mayer’s guitar. I expect him to fall into a dizzy heap at any moment. But, he doesn’t. If anything, he speeds up with the music. Is he a figure skater in real life? I’m in awe of this guy.
The other dancer is a tall fellow with dark sunglasses and a heavy beard who is also spinning, but doing the robot at the same time. He, too, seems to have mastered centrifugal force and does not seem at all phased by his repeated revolutions. I wonder what kind of snacks he’s had this evening.
The first set comes to an end with me recognizing only one other song, “Tennessee Jed”. I alternately sing the chorus and stuff tomato and fresh mozzarella into my face. It’s quite a display. By my count, John Mayer has played 23 million notes thus far.
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During intermission, we find our friend Ryan who is enjoying the concert from the Pesky Pole in right field. We meet some more people and have some more snacks. The content of our conversation has, for some reason, escaped me.
Suddenly, the music starts again and we race, meander, stumble back to the suite. The second set opens strong with “New Speedway Boogie”, “Dark Star” and later, “Terrapin Station”. “Now we’re talking!” I exclaim around a mouthful of carrot sticks. Mitch encourages me to speculate which song will emerge out of the “Drums/Space” instrumental. I guess “War Pigs”, but that makes him mad so I pretend to be engaged when he guarantees it will be “Stella Blue”. Was he right? I honestly couldn’t say.
By the way, John Mayer has switched guitars now because the first one he was using has run out of notes.
The night ends with two songs I know–”Casey Jones” and “One More Saturday Night”, which I feel like I could’ve guessed if I wasn’t wrestling the chicken wings away from the waitress as she tried to clean up.
As we made our way out into the steamy Boston night, I reflected on the evening. The music was joyful and the crowd was appreciative. It was the kind of thing I don’t get to do very often anymore and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. So I highly recommend that you go see Dead and Co. when they come to your town.
And if you’re fortunate enough to score luxury box tickets, hide the guacamole when you get there. It goes fast.
If you enjoyed this special report, please check out our discussion on the Grateful Dead’s In The Dark.
Factual error CJ . .this is the "LAST" tour of Dead and Company. So if you missed this one you are out of luck for this iteration. However, I hear from inside sources that next summer RATT DEAD will be touring. This is the same lineup of Dead and Company performers with John Mayer replaced by Stephen Pearcy of . . .you guessed it Ratt. As as a special treat, no other than Donna Jean Godchaux will depart her double wide to help with the "harmonies". Good times!
I think the Sabbath t-shirt would have been just fine - more fandom crossover than you'd think between these two legendary bands. Also highly recommend 'Ace' which is Bobby's record that has "Cassidy" on it (if you feel the need for anymore Dead-related things). Great second set and that buffet sounds like it was a good one!