Bob Weir’s daughter has been photographing the band since 2020
© Chloe Weir
Chloe Weir has been a sharp observer of Dead & Company’s residency at Sphere, capturing her dad, Bob Weir, with his band and the many Deadheads who’ve flocked to Las Vegas this summer to experience some psychedelic magic. “I love to document incredible Deadheads doing what they do,” Weir says over Zoom. “Which is being really cool.”
In an interview over Zoom, Weir walked us through several of her photographs from the residency. “What’s amazing is there’s so many visuals that are dedicated both to the historical moments and to specific song references,” she says. “You’re full of a room of glowing scarlet begonias, or you’re at the historic venues of the Fillmore, Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks, Cornell, and more. My photos only scratch the surface of what it’s like to be at this incredible place. This is only the beginning.”
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High Time
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir “This is taken up at the front of the pit,” Weir says. “But what I love is no matter where you are in the venue, it’s amazing. You’re taking in so many forms of art at once — through audio and visuals — and it’s a really incredible experience to be immersed in art in this way.”
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Wall of Sound
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir One of the many visuals at Dead & Co’s Sphere shows is a recreation of the Wall of Sound, the massive sound system they toured with in 1974. “The Grateful Dead were always on the cutting edge of technology,” Weir says. “I’ve heard so many stories — it was a beast and not easy to move around, but it was really incredible. This Dead Forever residency is so fitting, because they’re still using the newest technology to bring fans an incredible experience. What’s crazy is, if I didn’t know I was in the Sphere, I would think I’m looking at the real Wall of Sound. It’s seriously that realistic. To this day, the Wall of Sound is still an amazing feat, and I just love how it’s being brought back to life here.”
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Estimated Prophet
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Bob Weir deep in the groove. “I love to capture my dad when he’s truly in his element, and I really feel he goes somewhere else when he’s playing and is so connected to the music in a very beautiful way,” Weir says. “It’s really special to me that I’m not only able to document the band’s history, but truly my [own] family history as well. I love photographing him, and I love capturing him doing what he loves.”
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Skull & Roses
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Bob captured inside classic Dead imagery. “Something I love about the visuals at the Sphere is how, in many of the different graphics, they use the art to highlight and frame the musical moments happening in real time, through the use of live feed,” Weir says. “So no matter the seat in the house, you have a truly spectacular view — not only of the screen’s visuals, but of the details of what’s happening on stage, which I love.”
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Shakedown Street
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Bob and John Mayer locked in during the set. “I love this moment of my dad and John connecting to bring it all home at the end of a song,” Weir says. “Being a jam band, they have to really read each other’s playing during every moment of a show, and it’s really amazing to see how they build off each other, and how they truly communicate through their music.”
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The Music Never Stopped
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Dead & Co — drummer Jay Lane, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, Mayer, Bob, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and drummer Mickey Hart — close out their performance with a bow. “I love this moment at the end of the show where the band and the audience really connect, taking a moment to appreciate this journey they’ve all gone on together,” Weir says. “There’s an incredible energy in the air.” She also likens the band to family: “All the guys are so kind and so supportive, and I’ve known them my whole life.”
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Drums and Space
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Hart during soundcheck. “The ‘Drums’ section of these shows bring Mickey’s audio and visual artwork to new dimensions with the Sphere’s technology, and viewers are immersed in visuals, synced to music as haptic seats vibrate to the beat,” Weir says. “He utilizes the entirety of the back drum riser, the beam and more, and it’s seriously out of this world.”
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Eyes of the World
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir A view of Earth towards the end of the set. “During every show, the journey is different both musically and visually, but it bookends with taking off and landing in San Francisco where the band got their start nearly 60 years ago,” Weir says. “This is one of those moments towards the end of the show where you’re coming back to Earth after going on this crazy adventure, and it’s such a beautiful moment. And though the show starts in present-day San Francisco, you actually travel back in time to the Sixties when the band is just starting. It’s both emotional and also mind-blowing. Even though I’ve seen it so many times, it gets me every time.”
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I Know You Rider
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir A live feed of the audience portrayed on the screen. “They don’t do this at every show, but whenever it happens, it’s very special,” Weir says. “This photo in particular was taken during ‘Hey Jude,’ which is something I love that they do. They [cover Traffic’s] ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’ into ‘Hey Jude,’ and it’s amazing. Every time this happens, it’s just such a connecting moment between the fans and the band. The fans are seeing themselves and singing along.”
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One More Saturday Night
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir A colorful moment during “One More Saturday Night,” sung by Weir’s dad. “This photo is one of those rare moments at Sphere where most of the screen is dark, and it’s to bring attention to the historical photographs of the band and other people in the Grateful Dead family, which are being shown above the stage,” Weir says. “I love this shot because it’s so amazing to get to see what the band’s looking at all night. It’s a really cool perspective.”
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Acid Tests
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir A splash of psychedelia that nods to the band’s past. “I love how this visual pays homage to the experimental light shows of the Sixties, that were done with just some oil, water, food coloring, and an overhead projector,” Weir says. “They were shown at the shows during the band’s early days at the Fillmore, the Avalon, and acid tests in San Francisco. Today’s technology totally takes it to the next level and brings this visual experience to people who weren’t there back in the day, like myself. Something that’s crazy about this image is you see John’s guitar is three times the size of the stage, which just goes to show the incredible scale of these immersive visuals.”
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Shake It, Shake It
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Mayer shredding during the show — with the number of the late NBA star and beloved Deadhead Bill Walton on his guitar. “John really puts his all into every song, and you can not only hear it, but you can see it in the way he plays,” Weir says. “In this photo here, I capture one of those moments as he plays ‘Sugaree.’ There’s Bill’s number on his guitar, which is a really beautiful tribute that they did. Those were some of the [most] special shows I’ve ever seen.”
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Haight-Ashbury
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir One of Weir’s favorite parts of the show takes place in the beginning, when the audience is transported to San Francisco. “You’re on the street in front of the 710 Ashbury house, where the Grateful Dead lived in their earliest days of the band,” she explains. “And from there, you slowly lift off into outer space. It’s so incredible to see people’s reactions, whether or not it’s their first time being at a show. The whole crowd is in awe, and it’s so incredible to hear the music while seeing people take this all in. You can see a little bit of that going on in this photograph.”
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Spinners
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir This image, taken from the first night Weir photographed, captures some Spinners — Deadheads who spend the entire evening twirling to the music. “At all shows, including Sphere shows, there’s traditionally the Spinner section, house left, on the pit,” Weir says. “I love how they connect to the music. Something I love about this photo in particular is that it truly captures that feeling of awe that comes from being at Sphere and seeing Dead and Co.”
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Morning Dew
Image Credit: © Chloe Weir Another dancer, this time in front of Earth. “I love this photo because it’s this magical moment of this woman dancing as the earth rises behind her, while the song ‘Morning Dew’ fills the space,” Weir says. “It’s moments like that where I’m reminded how truly one-of-a-kind these shows are, because this is something you can really only experience here at this Sphere residency.”
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