As Dead & Co. return to Vegas for the 2025 incarnation of their Dead Forever residency at the Sphere, founding member Bob Weir is praising the technological new standard for concert venues.
During an interview recently with Rolling Stone, the 74-year-old musician and singer gushed over the $2 billion marvel while admitting that its mere presence made it "impossibly attractive" in his decision to un-retire the Grateful Dead spinoff which includes John Mayer on lead guitar.
He also gave fans clues on which songs from the Dead's deep songbook they should forget about seeing in any setlists.
It was just 14 months after Dead & Co. wrapped up their "Final Tour" in San Francisco when they found themselves on the Strip in Sin City blowing people's minds at the Sphere.
Weir told the magazine in a very-1960s style that even though some Deadheads may have been surprised the band changed their minds about continuing to go on the road as Dead & Co., "every day, things change. You can’t overlook an opportunity like that."
That, of course being The Sphere, where a group like Weir's can rake in millions of dollars a show and give their audience - many of whom sport more than a touch of grey - a unique concert experience without having to schlep from city to city.
"The opportunities for storytelling from onstage are at some point going to surpass opera in that environment," Weir said of the dome adjacent to the Venetian Resort.
"I can’t think of anything you can’t do [there]," he said, adding, "I’m not sure that you can get a better sound system anywhere."
The Sphere's massive audio setup hides in plain sight behind the venue's immersive 160,000 square foot LED display. The sound is created from 1,586 fixed and 300 mobile HOLOPLOT X1 Matrix Array loudspeakers.
Each of these cutting-edge modules houses either 96 or 80 drivers, depending on the setup, bringing the total to an awe-inspiring 167k individually powered speakers.
For Bobby, who has played pretty much everywhere, to say this sound is tops, you'd be nuts not to take his word for it.
Unlike Tool earlier this month, Dead & Company performed three unique sets on 3/20, 3/21, and 3/22, the first weekend of their 18-show residency.
No song was repeated. Thus super fans with the means (or miracles) to attend each gig last weekend were blessed with 45 different tunes delivered by Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed the sets taken as a whole were bookended by two "Phil" songs, as a tribute to the Grateful Dead's longtime bassist who passed away last year.
The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" (which Phil often sang with the Dead, and others) kicked off night one and the Lesh-co-penned "Box of Rain" closed out night three.
“We did have our differences. But the last phone call I had from him was when the news came out that we were being honored at the Kennedy Center,” Weir told the magazine about the bassist.
“He called me just simply to congratulate me and us, and that was his entire reason for calling. And when we were done talking about that, I was spun out, he was spun out. We tried to make sense of it for a little bit. And then said, ‘Well, OK, see you there,’ basically. I guess that wasn’t to be.”
What is also not to be is Bobby singing "Beat it Down the Line" again. The last time the Dead did the tune which he sang was over 20 years ago.
In the interview he said he's not able to sing both that one anymore or "Monkey and the Engineer," which were both Jeff Fuller covers.
The gents go back at it next weekend. Will they add even more songs to the set? Will there be guest appearances? Find out first hand by getting tickets via the Dead & Company website.
