With five short days left before the looming Dead & Company tour, singer-songwriter John Mayer sat down with Andy Cohen for his SiriusXM show, Radio Andy, to talk about the preparation of finding balance just before the group's debut gig on Oct. 29 in Albany. Mayer also briefly detailed the setlists he, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kruetzmann of the Grateful Dead will be taking on alongside The Allman Brothers Band's Oteill Burbridge and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.
"It's a challenge for me to figure out how much of this gig is to be enjoyed by way of my having fun - like, shouldn't the guy who gets to play all these great songs have some drinks and hang out - but I also have to be so focused to be able to play that music that people sort of go a little blurry too," Mayer said on Radio Andy of finding a perfect balance between being a deadhead and being a key part of Dead & Company. "So I'm trying to figure out to what extent can I enjoy this to the point that I can be loose, because the music is the greatest music of celebration and elation and ecstasy. And for me to be able to do that, I need to go in the opposite of that."
The "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" singer, who recently defended the tour and teased a track via Instagram, came to the conclusion that he won't get much partying done during the tour, lending his extra stamina towards studying the Dead's extensive catalog. After each show, the guitarist will have to continue practicing the 80-plus Dead songs he's picked up for the Dead & Company trek. Although he didn't divulge too much information on the setlists, Mayer admitted that he and Weir would divide vocals on the 1977 classic "Terrapin Station" ensemble. "If you're a Dead superfan, you'll understand this: I'll be singing 'Lady With a Fan' and Bob will be singing 'Terrapin,'" Mayer explained.
Trailing their inaugural gig at Albany's Times Union Center, Dead & Company will take the stage at Madison Square Garden for a three-night run, including an exclusive, free gig which will be live streamed for fans stuck at home. As Rolling Stone notes, the band's first excursion will wrap up on New Years Eve at Los Angeles' Forum.
