David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- Dead & Company celebrated its 100th concert with thousands of fans at Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center Wednesday night.

The milestone marks nearly three years of consistent touring for the new group. Dead & Company has had a rigorous schedule; the last time it played at Blossom was about one year ago.

That time, parking was a mess because of massive crowds.

This time around, the venue was packed yet again, but more prepared to deal with the crowds. Though parking and lines at the venue required patience on the audience's end, most of the audience was present and ready to go at the beginning of Dead & Company's set.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

That crowd was full of Deadheads--many of whom tailgated in Blossom's grassy front lots before the concert took place. Tie-dye shirts, long skirts and old Grateful Dead tour shirts were all commonplace in the crowd.

During the show, puffs of smoke floated up above the dancing crowd. Attendees passed joints around to one another, openly sharing cigarettes and joints.

Some attendees complained about the beer prices at Blossom. Beers at the Dead & Company concert ranged from $13 for a domestic beer to $16 for a craft beer. Mixed drinks were even more expensive at the venue.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

Dead & Company consists of former Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir, drummer Mickey Hart and drummer Bill Kreutzmann -- and "company," which consists of John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti.

The result is a group that honors the classic Grateful Dead lineup that came together in the 1960s. Dead & Company paid homage to that era, playing a variety of songs from the Grateful Dead's catalog during its four-hour concert. The band threw in a few covers, too.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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The show included performances of covers of Grateful Dead songs "Scarlet Begonias," "I Need A Miracle," "Ship Of Fools" and "Feel Like A Stranger." It also included covers of The Valentinos' "It's All Over Now," The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" and Bob Dylan's "Heaven's Door."

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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The band weaved the songs together, tying them seamlessly together at times or pausing only briefly between. Weir took on lead vocals with his gritty sound, and other times Mayer lent his velvety voice to songs.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Mayer's precise guitar solos and buttery singing skills were the perfect fit for Dead & Company. He took up the spot of former singer-guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995.

On all songs, Mayer added expressive guitar solos that flourished under the melodies and earned roaring applause from the audience.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Burbridge sang on a few songs, including "Fire On The Mountain," showing off his smooth vocal ability. The crowd cheered him on loudly, showing support for the musician.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Hart and Kreutzmann banged away on two neighboring drum sets, playing mostly identical drum parts and keeping perfect pace with each other.

There was only one exception to this--the song "Drums/Space."

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Before this portion of the show, I overheard an audience member anticipating the song, which Dead & Company plays at most of its live shows.

"Space is an acquired taste," he said.

There's truth in that; "Drums/Space" was a trippy, lengthy percussion feature that included the drummers banging metal pipes against their instruments and atonally beating at drums. During this song, many attendees sat down in their pavilion seats, or took the chance to walk to the restroom or the beer tents. It wasn't the most accessible listen of the night, but it was an interesting break from the more upbeat, groovy set list.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Overall, Dead & Company showed off its chops for what ended up being four hours of music, spread into two sets with a 30-minute break in between.

The evening showed off not only the former Grateful Dead members' iconic music, but the skill that the newer members of the group had in interpretation and keeping it fresh.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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The group might be called "Dead & Company," but that company felt right at home at Blossom Music Center.

Check out the set list from the concert below.

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

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Set 1:

"Feel Like A Stranger" -- Grateful Dead

"They Love Each Other" -- Jerry Garcia

"It's All Over Now" -- The Valentinos

"Row Jimmy" -- Grateful Dead

"West LA Fadeaway" -- Grateful Dead

"Loose Lucy" -- Grateful Dead

"Ship Of Fools" -- Grateful Dead

"Passenger" -- Grateful

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Set 2:

"Lost Sailor" -- Grateful Dead

"Saint Of Circumstance" -- Grateful Dead

"He's Gone" -- Grateful Dead

"Scarlet Begonias" -- Grateful Dead

"Fire On The Mountain" -- Grateful Dead

"Drums/Space" -- Grateful Dead

"I Need A Miracle" -- Grateful Dead

"Dear Prudence" -- The Beatles

"Throwin' Stones" -- Grateful Dead

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Encore:

"Heaven's Door" -- Bob Dylan

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Watch scenes from the concert in the video below.

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