THE DEAD, ROBERT HUNTER, USANA Amphitheatre, Tuesday.
The Dead are still alive, and as strong as ever.
Making its first appearance in Utah since 1995 — and since the death of Jerry Garcia — the Grateful Dead, now known as simply the Dead, made a triumphant return to the Beehive State Tuesday night at the USANA Amphitheatre as part of the "Wave That Flag 2004 Summer Tour."
The family of devoted Deadhead followers were right behind, filling the USANA parking lot early with buses and motorhomes for an afternoon tailgate party. Some of the vehicles had license plates from as far away as Massachusetts and Ohio.
The venue was filled with fans of all ages (including a few infants), as well as all sizes. The towering presence of NBA Hall of Famer and renowned Deadhead Bill Walton could be seen dancing Tuesday night near the front of the stage.
The Dead had the audience dancing early and often with "Truckin'," Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle," "Alligator" and "Tennessee Jed."
Bob Weir kept the tie-dyed crowd singing and grooving for "Scarlet Begonias," while Warren Haynes took care of the main vocals for "Night of 1000 Stars" and the classic "Casey Jones."
And that was just the first set.
The core of the Dead are the four original members: Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. But the renewed energy and power of the band can be attributed to group's "new" members and their masterful guitar work. The Other Ones' alum Jimmy Herring (who toured with the Dead in 2002) and Haynes each put on guitar clinics Tuesday. Haynes also provided some of the strongest vocals of the evening.
Jeff Chimenti rounded out the band with some fast-fingered keyboard playing of his own.
The second set found the Dead covering the Beatles' "Come Together" with Haynes on vocals, "Eyes of the World," "Sugaree" and "Not Fade Away," a song first performed by Buddy Holly but made famous with a beat laid down by The Rolling Stones.
"Box of Rain" rounded out the night for the encore. Next year marks the Dead's 40th anniversary. If Tuesday night is any indication, the long strange trip should keep rolling for many years to come.
Longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter opened the show with a solo acoustic set. Those who came early got a little bonus music as Hunter took the stage earlier than scheduled.
"I was sitting around backstage waiting for my time and figured I wasn't doing anything," he told the crowd as he came onstage.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com