Watch Dead & Company Play A Bunch Of Songs On Kimmel
It’s weird to see various old Grateful Dead members promoting things on late-night TV; it’s not a format that would seem very well-suited to what they do. Earlier this year, for instance, the Grateful Dead quasi-reunion Dead & Company — which features John Mayer standing in for Jerry Garcia — played two songs on The Tonight Show, and it only barely made sense. But last night, the band was on Kimmel, and this time, the show found a way to accommodate them. On the show proper, they took over Kimmel’s outdoor festival stage, playing the Dead oldie “Bertha.” And thanks to the magic of online-only bonuses, they also played four other songs, stretching them out to loose, jammy lengths. They got time to do “Fire On The Mountain,” their version of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” and their version of Sublime’s “Scarlet Begonias.” (Just kidding.) (They did play “Scarlet Begonias,” though.) Watch all four performances below.
John Mayer really likes playing guitar. You have to hand him that, I guess.