Before Dead & Company played the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles earlier this month, a tattoo artist was hawking bootleg T-shirts with two “Peanuts” characters palling around. One was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt, the other a Phish tee. Underneath, it read, “Ain’t no time to hate.” The phrase, taken from the Dead song “Uncle John’s Band,” is partly a nod to how much the two enduring acts share. Both are responsible for shaping the modern jam band formula: two-set concerts with rotating setlists; a sprawling repertoire of originals and covers; long, improvisatory jams; and rabid fan bases. In a rare occurrence, both Dead & Company — which features three Grateful Dead members plus John Mayer — and Phish are bringing their summer tours to the D.C. area in the next week. This allows Deadheads and Phans to double-dip and gives the uninitiated the chance to dive headfirst into both bands in their proper habitat, outdoor amphitheaters. Here’s a comparison of the juggernauts of jam.
The bands
Dead & Company: The latest offshoot of the Grateful Dead, Dead & Company formed in 2015 and includes Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart — along with John Mayer (subbing for the late Jerry Garcia on guitar), bassist Oteil Burbridge and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, who’s been playing in Dead bands with Weir since 1997.
Phish: Guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman formed Phish in Vermont in 1983. Keyboardist Page McConnell joined in 1985 and the four have been playing together ever since, save for a two-year hiatus that began in 2000 and a full-on breakup between 2004 and 2009.
The shows
Dead & Company: Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow, Va.; Wed., 7 p.m., $49.50-$175.50.
Phish: Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, Md.; Sat., 7 p.m., sold out, Sun., 7 p.m., $45.
The music
Dead & Company: Dead & Co. pulls almost exclusively from the Grateful Dead’s vast songbook of originals and covers, a mix of folk, rock, ’60s psychedelia, blues and jazz that can hit on other genres during jams or certain songs. The band plays at a slower pace than the Dead did in its prime (which is intentional, according to a recent GQ interview with Weir), and Mayer’s vocals can take some getting used to, but the group comes close to re-creating the sound and vibe of an actual Dead concert and plays the hits, including “Touch of Grey,” “Truckin’ ” and “Ripple.”
Phish: It’s hard to pin Phish down: The band is capable of playing classic rock, funk, jazz, folksy ballads, prog rock, bluegrass — even carnival-style sounds. Anastasio’s guitar has a distinctive soaring tone that has inspired countless jam band guitarists. Vocally and lyrically, Phish can be either obtuse or direct. The band is also very good at oscillating between uplifting, happy-sounding instrumental passages and darker, evil riffs. Phish has also covered the Dead on a few rare occasions and has welcomed Weir and bassist Phil Lesh for sit-ins. Anastasio even played the Garcia role for the Dead’s “Fare Thee Well” concerts in 2015.
The jams
Dead & Company: Jams tend to build out of predetermined portions of songs and usually don’t deviate too much from the theme. Bluesy songs tend to have bluesy guitar solos; psychedelic songs are often more exploratory and noodle-y. The best improv moments usually focus on the interplay between Mayer and Chimenti, who joyfully trade riffs and licks back and forth — particularly on such Dead & Co. jam vehicles as “Deal” and “Bird Song.”
Phish: The group has two improv forms: Type 1, as it’s dubbed by fans, sticks to the core of the song, while Type 2 quickly veers off course and makes you forget what song the band was even playing. A Type 2 jam can emerge from any song or be driven by any instrument (though it’s often Anastasio’s guitar). In New York in 2017, Phish shocked fans by turning the usually compact lounge song “Lawn Boy” into a half-hour exploration that spurred the “Is this still ‘Lawn Boy’?” meme.
Will there be a drum solo?
Dead & Company: Every show includes a segment called “Drums,” near the end of the second set, with Kreutzmann and Hart banging on drums over pre-programmed beats. Hart then plays a droning instrument called the Beam that leads into a full-band improv dubbed “Space.”
Phish: Maybe, but there isn’t one built into each show. It is, however, possible that drummer Fishman will play a solo on an Electrolux vacuum cleaner, as he has occasionally done over the years.
Social media presence
Dead & Company: The band’s social media accounts post the previous night’s setlist and professional photos after shows. Mayer often reflects on his experiences in glowing posts on his personal accounts and boosts Instagram’s robust bootleg T-shirt scene, which has led to some bootleg artists (such as the distinctive L.A. tie-dye company Online Ceramics) getting the call to make official merch for the band. Weir posts photos and videos of his intense workout routine to his social media channels.
Phish: The Phish From the Road Instagram and Twitter accounts post setlists and photos from concerts as they happen. Bassist Gordon has a tendency to post a photo of his socks to Instagram before showtime. Anastasio has recently gotten more active on Instagram: This week, he posted videos of himself side stage at Bonnaroo watching sets from Cardi B and The Lemon Twigs.
Prevalence of Grateful Dead t-shirts at shows
Dead & Company: The “don’t wear a shirt of the band you’re going to see” rule doesn’t apply here. Most people will be wearing Dead shirts of some kind: shirts from this band or another offshoot, bootleg shirts that reference songs and lots of tie-dye.
Phish: Because of the fan base crossover, plenty of people will be decked out in Dead shirts. Still, most folks will be wearing Phish gear — look for belts, socks, shorts or other more subtle clothing items covered with the band’s blue and red doughnut logo.
Expect the unexpected
Dead & Company: At the Hollywood Bowl this month, Dead & Company began a show with the help of Los Angeles High School’s jazz band and marching drumline, which jammed on John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and the Dead’s disco anthem “Shakedown Street” with the band.
Phish: For a Halloween hoax last year in Las Vegas, Phish created an elaborate backstory for a Scandinavian prog rock outfit called Kasvot Växt and played a set of that band’s tunes (in costume with choreography). Fans figured out that Kasvot Växt doesn’t exist and that the set was actually new Phish songs.
