If you thought that hippies in the style of the Summer of Love were a thing of the past, a stroll down Participation Row would quickly change that idea. From pot – duh, it’s legal here now – to mushroom-infused chocolate to giant balloons filled with nitrous oxide – laughing gas like your dentist used to give you, you could find it. You may not be surprised to learn that other things are also on offer throughout the parking lot. Dancing bears, a nod to the Dead’s legendary soundman Owsley “Bear” Stanley, were another popular motif on everything from infant onesies to bucket hats made of hemp. You want something with a skull or a skeleton on it? They got you covered. Tie-dyed T-shirts and other wearable merch filled many of the 100 or so booths on the Manchester Avenue border of the Kia Forum. You don’t really need one given the show that takes place hours before the concert in Participation Row, a vendor village that travels with the Dead from venue to venue selling, well, anything a Deadhead might want or need. There’s no opening act for Dead & Company. Ninety minutes after it started, “Deal,” one of three songs pulled from Jerry Garcia’s 1972 solo debut “Garcia,” wrapped up the first set with a hard-rocking blues that showcased both Mayer’s similarities to Garcia as a musician – the lyrical beauty of his playing most of all – and his differences: He’s often got a heavy, harder edge to his sound. Stephen,” at 20 minutes, the longest single song of the night, was gorgeous from start to finish, but especially an extended section where Weir and Mayer traded guitar licks back and forth. Other highlights of the opening set included the rollicking “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and the slow blues of “They Have Each Other.” The fan favorite “St.
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