Full Show Audio: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In Portland With Ween Cover

On Saturday night Joe Russo’s Almost Dead concluded their short Northeast tour with a Saint Patrick’s Day show at the historic State Theatre in Portland, Maine. The Grateful Dead tribute act went heavy on extended jams over the course of the two-set show, which saw them turn to the Ween songbook for the debut of a day-appropriate cover during their encore.

After some brief noodling drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Marco Benevento, bassist Dave Dreiwitz and guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton dove headfirst into “Playing In The Band.” The quintet put the pedal to the metal as they stretched their next three songs each out the near the twenty-minute mark. First up was Hamilton who stepped up to the mic to deliver “Althea,” with Metzger taking the lead on “Greatest Story Ever Told,” which featured teases of both “Dark Star” and The Beatles “Dear Prudence.” Benevento then laid down a gorgeous solo as they melted their way into an expansive “Eyes Of The World” before bringing the first frame to an end with the Americana rocker “Brown-Eyed Women.”

JRAD got their second set of the night underway with an open-ended jam before they settled on Martha Reeves and the Vandella’s Motown hit “Dancing In The Street.” A double-dose of Metzger sung tunes followed as he fronted the band on “New Minglewood Blues” and “Let It Grow.” A spirited take on “Loser” and psychedelic-era chestnut “The Eleven” brought things to a close. The five-piece band had a surprise up their sleeve for their encore as bassist Dave Dreiwitz got a rare chance to sing lead. Dreiwitz helped his current bandmates out on a tune from his full-time band’s catalog as Joe Russo’s Almost Dead served up their debut of Ween’s faux Irish drinking song “The Blarney Stone” from the New Hope, PA act’s 1997 release The Mollusk in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day.

Watch pro-shot video of the openers from both sets and listen to full show audio below:

[Jam > Playing In The Band]

[Dancing In The Street]

Audio | Taped by nick@nickspicks.com