Dead & Company Revisited- 2017
Dead & Company 2017 Summer Tour
Wrigley Field Chicago
July 1st, 2017

With the reformation of former Grateful Dead band members- Under the moniker Dead & Company-
the resiliency is amazing. And since I’ve taken
the time to revisit my images from their Dead & Company 2017 Summer Tour- and we’re in the midst of a summer schedule of successful outdoor concerts and festivals- I thought it wise to expand a bit on the actual photography, with full band and also highlight individual band members and their contribution to the overall vibe and mystique and sound which makes the Deadhead culture so alive and fresh.
With the addition of John Mayer back in 2017, along with Grateful Dead stalwarts Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and along with additions Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti- have to say their setlist, their musicianship, their interplay in songs, and their emotions (all smiles), was very satisfying.
You could tell by their faithful audience as well, with most of the GA pit crowd dancing and swinging in place, circa the annual Grateful Dead shows from Soldier Field back in the eighties and early nineties.
And the sound quality- never mind the impeccable lighting which accompanies a Dead & Company-production- in the friendly confines of the infield of Wrigley Field- always amazing and intricate and sophisticated- not too loud, but sequenced in such a way that you can hear acoustic and electric equally with no bleeding and distortion between the two.
Since this was a tour back in the summer of 2017, have to say the enthusiasm between John and Bob, and between Mickey and Bill, and also between Oteil and Jeff was crazy / awesome- and not dialed in.
Have only seen this show, so cannot at this time judge other stops with their summer tours after 2017, and no offense to wanting to witness this version of the Dead & Company again- as much as I like the Dead and it’s incarnations, I can’t see how much will change with them going forward.
That- and limiting my time with outdoor / indoor shows and festivals in the middle of a pandemic, with off and on outbreaks just leads to shows in general few and far between.
As of now- in the middle of 2021- I still have good vibes about this show, and what I witnessed and photographed first hand.
Being in the middle of a large GA pit, and being communal with fellow Deadheads, watching people of all shapes and sizes and ages grooving in place, with smiles on their faces equal to the band, leaves an enduring memory of what attending concerts and witnessing live music should be like.
That said, some four years later, and getting around to expanding on this Dead & Company edit- I’m glad I took the time to patiently review the entire image catalog, and correct some things composition wise.
Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did in posting them correctly.
Cheers-  Bobby Talamine – Music Photographer