Scene Report day of - weather peaking at around 100-104 degrees during the day, with the stage reportedly being above 90 when they first took the stage. Lot was quaint but fun, with wooks moving to the shade and hopping in and out of their vehicles as they waited for the day to pass. Being a Tuesday show in Phoenix, it definitely seemed most guests came much closer to the time of the show. Crowd was mild with no drama, but a fair bit of chompers who clearly came just to hang out. I noticed a fair amount of people taking their kids to a Dead show for the first time which was absolutely heartwarming and delightful. It is always nice to see clearly devoted and caring parents who want to expose their kids to new music.

Absolutely wonderful show from the get go. What's so wonderful about the sound of the band this year is that it really seems John has stopped emulating Jerry like so many other musicians and instead added his own distinct flavor. The Stranger is a good example of this, where his long jam early on is nothing like a classic Jerry take, but still hot. The My Favorite Things jam leading up to Cumberland was absolutely spectacular and the highlight of the night for me personally. Don't sleep on Casey Jones either, this one packs a punch and is a mighty fine set closer.

Second set sees another powerful opener with Here Comes Sunshine, a song I had bet would be played considering the 104 degree weather earlier in the day. John again plays wonderfully with lots of Jeff interplay, including a Good Lovin tease from the former. Scarlet contains a nice jazz breakdown before reprising to the main theme, Viola is filled with John/Jeff catch and call, and the Dark Star contains a beautiful Spanish Jam courtesy of Jeff. Death Dont really caps off the evening with arguably Bob's finest performance of the night. I should also mention Oteils banjo during drums which was so much fun!

Looking forward to seeing them back home to close it all out in SF with even more friends and family. Even if this was the last show I saw, I would not be disappointed. This was very much worth the flight. Thank you to Ben, his sister and Noah for the ride to the venue + shoutout to Joseph, Daniel, George and Andrew.

Loved this show, setlist is stunning, Jeff comes alive on the keys and is a true counterpart to John's guitar work with incredible support from the guys!

Great overall performance... untill the first few notes of Death Don't Have No Mercy! That has been a long time favorite song since I first heard it with Hot Tuna. This version is in a realm few songs enter into... played from the heart with layers of emotion and beauty... until it reaches up into the night sky over the stadium and kisses the Heavens!!

Bucket list fulfilled!!!!!