Dead & Company deliver all-American masterpiece in Indiana

The members of Dead & Company were at their most collaborative, comfortable and crowd-pleasing Wednesday night at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center.

The evening was satisfying enough to stand as a farewell performance, but let’s not even entertain that possibility. Let’s instead root for these musicians to play together for as long as they can.

Three people onstage — Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart — have experienced nearly everything an artist can experience. For perspective, they played Woodstock 50 years ago this summer.

Vocalist-guitarist Weir and drummers Kreutzmann and Hart lovingly upheld the U.S. legacy of the Grateful Dead at a venue they first visited in its debut season 30 summers ago, back when it was known as good ol’ Deer Creek.

Wednesday’s performance began with “Cold Rain and Snow,” a 100-year-old folk song, and 95-year-old folk song “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” served as the final tune played before the encore. “Cold Rain and Snow” and “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” share similar bluesy laments: “I ain’t gonna be treated this ol’ way” for the former and “I don’t want to be treated this a-way” for the latter.

In between, San Francisco-based Dead & Company interpreted vintage jug-band song “New Minglewood Blues,” New Orleans classic “Iko Iko” (paying unspoken tribute to the late Dr. John) and “Smokestack Lightning” — the haunting, slow-burn calling card of Chicago’s Howlin’ Wolf.

A cover of “All Along the Watchtower” pulled together more red, white and blue greatness by evoking its author, Bob Dylan, and its igniter, Jimi Hendrix. For Dead & Company’s John Mayer, “Watchtower” supplied the chance to play four guitar solos in a single song.

Check out three more ways Dead & Company delivered an all-American masterpiece:

1. Teamwork makes it happen

Wednesday's show distinguished itself from earlier Indiana visits by Dead & Company (2016 and 2018) by being something other than guitar hero Mayer propping up his band mates. Weir, 71, was notably spry during renditions of "Saint of Circumstance" and "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." "Circumstance" provided a graspable mantra for all who have accompanied the Dead's long, strange trip: "I sure don't know what I'm going for, but I'm gonna go for it, that's for sure."

Keyboard player Jeff Chimenti, relegated to a minor role during the 2016 and 2018 local performances, had a spectacular showing Wednesday. He executed piano licks to ramp up the energy of "Tennessee Jed," offered cascading notes to counter Mayer's work on "Let It Grow" and let loose juke-joint theatrics on "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." Bass player Oteil Burbridge, meanwhile, made the most of his chance to sing "Fire on the Mountain" and he added muscular percussion to Hart-Kreutzmann collaboration "Drums/Space" (in which Kreutzmann shared a broad smile of enjoyment).

2. Make room for Mayer

Although Mayer's playing didn't dominate the program, the pop-rock hitmaker seized multiple chances to wow the estimated audience of 20,000. During a pre-intermission version of "Sugaree," Mayer let a guitar solo pick up where the song's plea ("Just don't tell them that you know me") left off. Recursive notes resembled a high-wire thrill ride until cresting in a sonic wave featuring all six members of the band. 

The show's second set unfolded with many songs seguing into the next, highlighted by an epic trilogy of "He's Gone," "Truckin' " and "Smokestack Lightning." Mayer employed sophisticated blues picking during "He's Gone" (an important song in Grateful Dead mythology thanks to its "steal your face" imagery), giving way to a roadhouse groove for "Truckin' " and measured jamming on "Smokestack Lightning." 

3. Indiana connections

Intended or not, Wednesday's show included a few Indiana references. "New Minglewood Blues" was written by Noah Lewis, a country-blues harmonica player who worked extensively with Yank Rachell — the blues mandolin icon who lived in Indianapolis from 1958 until his death in 1997.

An image of Jerry Garcia's "Tiger" guitar, purchased in 2002 by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, was shown on a video screen during a moving rendition of "Stella Blue." Weir paid heartfelt tribute to his late band mate when singing, "Dust off those rusty strings just one more time." To complete the picture, Mayer replicated Garcia's signature liquid guitar tone.

And while it's not groundbreaking to shout out a city within a song, everyone appeared to get a kick out of Weir singing "right here in Noblesville" during "New Minglewood Blues."

Wednesday's set list

1. “Cold Rain and Snow” (traditional folk song credited to Obray Ramsey)

2. “Iko Iko” (Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutters cover)

3. “New Minglewood Blues” (Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover)

4. “Tennessee Jed”

5. “Sugaree”

6. “Looks Like Rain”

7. “Row Jimmy”

8. “ Let It Grow”

Intermission

9. “Fire On the Mountain”

10. “Lost Sailor” > “Saint of Circumstance”

11. “He’s Gone” > “Truckin’ ” > “Smokestack Lighting” (Howlin’ Wolf cover)

12. “Drums/Space”

13. “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan cover) > “Stella Blue” > “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” (traditional folk song credited to Henry Whitter)

Encore

14. “Black Muddy River”

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Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.