[drkstrcrashes]

what is the general consensus ? Who do YOU prefer handling the leads? I thought Trey was GREAT but J.M. is blowing my mind and I think PRS guitars are the best guitars made and I love his tone. This is just awesome that he turned into a friggen' deadhead and the music never stops!

[ebick]

I think what I saw was a situation where you have a guy who appears to be having a blast, being given the freedom to do it his way, and, if he stays with it, could be the guy to lead this music to future generations when none of the original guys are around to do it. I'll be interested to see if they ever work any of John's older original material into the set.

I do think that they should stay away from certain stuff though. I don't think the space is the same without Jerry. He had a way of hitting these other worldly sounds that just pierced you. Not hearing that from John, and wondering if or why I should.

I like the energy of this band probably more than any post-Jerry band I have heard.

my $0.02

[drkstrcrashes]

Totally agree with everything you say. John Mayer IS having a BLAST! So is Otiel. here is help on the way:
https://youtu.be/hZ7OQMYqMAk

But I should add that I went to all three nights at Soldier Field and Trey wasn't exactly board. he had a cheshire cat smile the whole time. But yea, it seems like Meyer has been invited into an entire new world of music that is a level or two beyond what he ever dreamed possible.

oh and NO ONE creates "space" like Garcia did. Not even close. An entire venue full of tripping hippies could inspire Jerry to absolutely F**k with my mind and scare the hell out of us. It was glorious. I don't care if you have listened to every last show, you will never know what it was really like unless you were there. The sound, the smell, the people, the senses, the LSD......

[Lephty]

I do think you have to consider the amount of pressure that Trey must have felt at GD50. Five shows, the whole world watching. Mayer has had a lot more time than Trey did to get his sea legs under him. I think JM is doing a great job, and I give the guy a TON of props for learning the style so well. But I do think Trey has a certain something that I'm not quite feeling when I hear Mayer play. Like, maybe someone needs to sneak backstage and slip a little something into JM's punch (not that I advocate actually doing that to someone).

[aiq]

Trey.

[brbadg]

Despite Trey's lack of rehearsal time(it wasnt his fault from what I'm hearing),
his playing is much sweeter.I've only heard a couple things that Mayer has done that I've liked.
Most of what I hear from Mayer is a lot of overplaying.Whereas Jerry would weave through the music,
it sounds like Mayer just wont stop.It's exhausting to listen to.The other thing is these tempos, holy crap it
sounds like they are playing a 45 at 33 1/3 speed! I should also mention that I am not a Phish fan,but think Trey is
damn good guitar player.

[drkstrcrashes]

Hi brbadg- man you are absolutely right. Mayer over plays, doesn't he? I think you hit the nail on the head. Although you are comparing him to Jerry which is not fair when you should really just compare him to Trey.
I, like you, am not a big Phish fan. But I definitely appreciate all of their playing and talent. Trey is a one of a kind, which is what makes a great guitar player stand above the pack of hundreds of thousands of AMAZING guitar players on this globe. I also was never a John Mayer fan and am unfamiliar with his work but am really digging this new band.
That said, Trey definitely has that cosmic vibe going where as John Mayer may be even a better guitarist, but he is just busy, busy, busy. I may have heard Garcia say this, or maybe I just understood it: the notes that you don't play are just as important as the ones that you do".
While Trey has a bit of a psychedelic country vibe in him, and has influences of a pedal steel (big time) and even a banjo. JM does not and he just plays loud, hard and fast. He has impressed the heck out of me and I love him for what he is doing. Also I would not mind if he was the one to take the torch and lead this music into the mid and late 21st century.

I don't know who I'd pick if I had the privilege but neither can stand in Garcia's shadow. That's for sure. Jerry tickled our minds and his playing caused people to react in a certain way that was almost disbelief at what we were hearing. He was THAT good. Probaby why this website is here and so busy even 21 years after his passing.
I suppose while we are talking about it Kadlecheck should be mentioned as well. I am in the anti Kadlecheck camp. He sounds the most like Garcia in fact it is spooky. But I always feel that one should find their own voice. JK took Jerry's voice and emulated it almost like a photo copy machine. I know many loved it but I also know that many, like me did not. All I can say is that new dead shows are better than no dead shows.

[brbadg]

I'll just have to disagree with you on John K. He has indeed found his own voice.So has Stu Allen.
You cant BE Jerry Garcia.In order to play music in this style,you have to adapt some of these melodies.
Have you heard various people do Dead covers? They avoid those melodies (or cant play them)
and frankly a lot of it doesn't work.BTW I wasnt intentionally comparing John Mayer to Jerry Garcia.

[drkstrcrashes]

they should use a hologram of Garcia and a track or two from some shows. Space too. How easy it would be. He just stood there anyways. How people would F-R-E-A-K out!!!!! Just for one song. Encore maybe?

[Alligator]

JM isn't my thing. I don't really like him in Dead & Co but is what it is. I guess I missed the Phish thing. They don't have the songs like the dead do. I do like when they cover the dead though.

[strumminsix]

JM FTW. Not because of his playing but for what he brings to the gestalt. He energizes Bobby and the drummers while complimenting nicely with bass and keys.

[Lephty]

I do have to acknowledge that Weir looks happier onstage lately than I have ever seen him look in the almost 30 years I have been seeing him play. Perhaps JM is at least partially responsible for that (and I also have to wonder if Phil's absence is also partially responsible). He still plays too many notes, though, IMO--his tone is great, and he brings good energy to the table, but I just want to hear him let those melodies sing out a little more.

[stuco]

I enjoy both.

Trey's playing is more interesting but John is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination and has really pushed himself and adapted to the music quite well. That has been a lot of fun to watch. I also agree with the comment of him bringing good energy to the band (as did Trey).

John is a better singer, Trey's voice suits Phish perfectly and he did a fine job with FTW but he is a little limited vocally.

It would be interesting to see what Trey could do on a long term basis like Mayer has been able to do.

Dead and Company are getting better and better, I hope they keep it going.

[mrMix]

I really like them both and they each have their own unique tone and style.

Trey a bit more shred
Mayer a bit more bluesy

I do like Mayer's vocal phrasing as well...

[hieronymous7]

Been thinking about this - I am seeing Dead & Co. on 7/30 at Shoreline so withholding judgment on Mayer until then. I will say that a few years back I was in a guitar store in Tokyo with a friend, and there was some amazing blues guitar being played over the sound system. It sounded like Stevie Ray Vaughan to me. Later, I realized it was a video playing - it was John Mayer! I was pretty stunned, I wasn't aware of his playing before that - the blind-taste-test let me hear him without prejudice, and I was impressed. "Impressive" playing doesn't necessarily fit the Dead ethos, but I really want to go into this show with an open mind and open ears.

I caught the first Levi's Stadium FTW shows - the one where Bob Weir tried to cut off Trey's solo but Phil Lesh & Bill Kreutzmann egged him on - and my memory is that that was the highlight - they actually went someplace. I saw Phish the other night in San Francisco (night 2 of 3) and they went places in almost every song, but so much more intense and hyper than the Dead - Phish were my favorite band when I was in college and I saw them relatively a lot from '90-'94, but I came to love the Dead much more. But I'm into Phish again the past few years - it's a different trip. I was also into Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit so I am very psyched to see Oteil perform again.

So no opinion until next Saturday!