Ok, this time I knew Dead and Co are not a cover band (though they very kind of are). I was ready.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Bob and I took a little trip to Vegas to see Dead & Co in the Sphere. We had an amazing weekend doing almost nothing. Let’s get into it.

We drove to Detroit to fly to Vegas, because it’s a direct flight from Detroit and if you factor in getting to the Buffalo airport, that flight, and then layover, it’s a little shorter just to drive to Detroit. We went to the Delta Sky Club to have lunch (and some wine) before we took off, and then strolled onto the plane. I fell asleep briefly after take-off, and then worked on some board material stuff for work, and sent off the pre-read and board deck. In the air! In a tube of metal! What a time to be alive. Then I watched part of Iron Man over Bob’s shoulder, and then part of Moneyball in the same manner. Why didn’t I just watch my own screen? Why do we all watch our neighbor’s screens? I’m only human, and I was on vacation, and possibly a teeny bit drunk.

We got to Vegas around 5:30pm local time, and checked into our hotel. There are a lot more where that sphere photo came from, baby. I really wanted ramen, so we went to this adorable little place that only had about 8 seats. It was very good and really hit the spot!

Then we walked around the strip a little bit, which was ok, but not my favorite. Then it was time to head to the Bellagio for Cirque du Soliel’s show “O.” It was very good! Lots of divers, elaborate storyline, lots of gasps. I actually can’t stop thinking about it, more than a month later. It was such an interesting mix of acrobatics and clowns and synchronized swimming. Art, man. I took no photos, but did take a photo of us outside at the fountain (which wasn’t running because it was too windy).

Then we went to sleep, and woke up early for Vegas and got breakfast at this nearby old-school casino called Ellis Island, which had a diner-type of restaurant inside and loaded up on omlette (me) and steak (Bob). Then we hit the pool for hours.

Saturday was our “Big Day” in Vegas. Besides the pool, we had dinner at The NoMad Library (they were right, I was no mad at the food) and our first show at the Sphere! We also visited Shakedown Street to see if there was any merch that tickled our fancy.

Bob really rolls his eyes at my very good jokes a lot! These are from NoMad Library and when we first walked up to the Sphere. She big.

I took a selfie and sent it to Bob. He made it his lock screen right away (my love), which later on came in handy. This is skipping ahead a little, but it’s worth it. By the end of the show, we were pretty tipsy, and we went to an afterparty at a nearby casino (Tuscany, I think, since that’s where Shakedown Street was too). We proceeded to get drunker. Bob lost his phone, and we looked and looked, and finally asked a bartender what we should do, and he sent us to security. I was skipping up to the security desk and said, “he lost his phone!” tossing a thumb back towards Bob. The security guy looks at the desk and is looking at phones (I suspect) and said “what’s your lock scree… never mind” and I was, much like a celebrated opera star, spreading my arms wide and proclaiming, “IT’S MEEEEEE,” as I was still wearing what I was wearing in the photo on his lock screen. They handed Bob his phone. Here’s that photo:

The first night, we had regular general admission seats, which was awesome, because we were very close to the stage (John Mayer side), and also the entire screen wrapped all the way around our vision. It was so trippy.

Once again, Bob Weir was the most sartorially advanced person on the stage, and looked absolutely furious about it. John Mayer looked like he was from Connecticut circa 1997, and was happy with the situation. Oteil always looks like he’s from 10 years in the future.

The Sphere is truly an experience. Really wild, especially from the floor, because you can’t see the edges of the screen at all. This was a super fun way to experience Dead and Co, because everyone is SO NICE. The first night we just went out onto the floor and pretty much stayed there until intermission. At intermission we went to the nearest bar/restroom area and chatted up these two older guys who were execs at some place and were big dead heads. Bob’s The Last Waltz shirt got a lot of attention, which usually doesn’t happen! But the demographics do overlap quite a bit.

After intermission, we switched sides of the floor and were on the Bob Weir side. I don’t think we were quite as close, but it was still amazing to watch, of course. There aren’t bad viewing areas in the Sphere (well… more on that later).

More images from the first night:

So after the show, we walked with the billion other people back the few blocks to the casino where the after party was. The after party was a Grateful Dead cover band inside a casino, in this little room with just rows of tightly packed banquet chairs, and a bar. We went to the bar, we lost the phone, we laughed, I gave a woman in need a tampon (then another, because it’s dangerous and the tampon shouldn’t be alone), and she gave me stickers! We finally finally staggered back to our hotel, and since it was one with two queen beds, we each collapsed into a different bed, stretched all the way out, and slept like kings.

In the morning, we again loaded up on the greasy breakfast at the Ellis Island diner, until we felt better, then hit the pool for literally the entire day. We staked out a good spot, and I finished my book. Around 3 or so, we ordered tacos from a local place.

For our second trip to the Sphere, we were in seats. When we got there, we entered a totally different area of the Sphere and saw much more of the inside. It’s gigantic inside. I thought it was so big because of the concert part, but the other part of it is much, much bigger. Also, it had these really long, steep escalators, and I had a mini panic attack on one, so we had to go all the way down the rest of the way using the stairs. Better down than up, I suppose!

This is the main floor. Each of those green/orange stripes is another floor. The scaffolding looking stuff that says Forever Dead is actually a bunch of fans, and the image is being projected onto them. If you blinked really fast, you could see the fans. (And in the photo below.) Before the show, we grabbed some food at one of the many dining spots, and explored all the way up. Here’s where I think the seating may not be for me. On the top floor, the seats are so high, and the angle so severe, I immediately had vertigo – which is also why I couldn’t take the escalators down and panicked. So no top floor for me.

At intermission, there was a Grateful Dead bear taking photos with everyone. I’m convinced it was John Mayer.

Guess how many shows it took me to realize that “crack” in the building in the video above is the grateful dead lightning bolt thing? Two. Two shows.

After the second show, we very responsibly took ourselves home and packed for our 5am wake-up. In the morning, we got up, got an uber, and headed to the airport. We flew back to Detroit (uneventful), and then drove the long drive home. It was an amazing trip together, and I’m so glad that Bob wanted to go AND take me along!