I went to the storied and beloved home of the Chicago Cubs to see John Mayer shuffle around in the rain! This was one of the wildest weeks of my life, and I’m happy to say I got a chance to see some of my favorite musicians in the second-oldest baseball stadium in the league, behind Boston’s Fenway Park.

A Little History

Wrigley Field was built in 1914, although it was called Weeghman Park at the time; the name Wrigley Field came later, in 1925. This stadium has been home to various bits of baseball history, probably the most famous being Babe Ruth’s called shot home in game 3 of the 1932 World Series. It’s also been host to plenty of live shows over the years, and this was Dead & Company’s fifth appearance here since Summer Tour 2017. The other four shows here were apparently bangers, earning a minimum of 4.55 on http://www.deadandcodb.com.

Set One

1. Rain Delay
2. Let The Good Times Roll
3. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo
4. Bertha
5. Ramble On Rose (unfinished)
6. Rain Delay

This was a bit of a roller coaster, weather-wise. The main reason there was a delay was the thunder and lightning. It was actually raining pretty much the entire set, but the people in the lawn kept on dancing! I would expect no less from a bunch of Deadheads. We were safely ensconced in the stands just left field of Home Plate, so no complaints about the rain! As far as the music goes, I was happy to hear Mississippi Half-Step, but everything else left me wanting. Bertha is one of my least favorite Dead songs, and I can’t recall a Good Times that ever thrilled me, but the Ramble was nice until they had to skip the last verse. This set was a dud for me.

Set Two

1. Dancing In The Streets
2. Playing In The Band
3. Scarlet Begonias
4. Deal
5. Fire On The Mountain
6. Drums
7. Space
8. Playing (Reprise)
9. All Along The Watchtower
10. Morning Dew
11. Not Fade Away
12. Ripple (Encore)

Musically, this set was much more my speed! We got a tour debut of Dancing, followed by a decent Playing In The Band. The whole Deal/Fire/Drums/Space sequence was cool as well, although the Space wasn’t anything to write home about necessarily. Always love to hear Bobby do the Dylan songs he loves so much, and Morning Dew was perfectly executed. NFA is a classic show closer, complete with the crowd chanting the last line of the chorus right up to the encore. Set list-wise, this set was a great success.

My Love Did Very Quickly Fade Away Though

Sound-wise, I can’t say it was as much of a success. This was the first time I’ve seen a band in a baseball stadium, and I have to say it was a huge let down. I couldn’t hear the piano at all, the vocals were unintelligible, and the bass was lost in the mix. I could only tell Kimock was playing because I would see his hands move on the screen occasionally. I’m not sure if it was the rain, or if this is usually how shows in stadiums like this are, but it felt like a wast of money at the end of the day. I’m willing to go see one more stadium show in good weather to compare, but there’s a good chance that’ll be my last!

Despite all that, I’m happy we got to see DCO play, this was a kind of surprise for us, as we were driving across the country and happened to be in Chicago the same night. I wish we could have stayed for the second night, I hear the weather was much better, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to add this notch to my bed post either way!

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