Joe Russo’s Almost Dead & Branford Marsalis Deliver Rapturous Red Rocks Concert

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre last night for a special show full of unforgettable moments, augmented by legendary saxophonist and Grateful Dead collaborator Branford Marsalis. There are some shows with “featured guests” where their solos can feel forced or that the spotlight is on them a lot – but Marsalis’ contributions to the JRAD show just felt like he was a natural sixth member on stage.

The weather was absolutely perfect as the rows of steps filled to the brim with people pre-show, a stark contrast to the intimate affair in Vail on Friday night. As the band took the stage at exactly 7:30 p.m., they began the night with a breezy jam that suited the clear early evening air.

Guitarists Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger began to slowly nudge the improv in the direction of “Help On The Way,” teasing the vocal melody and then working around the ending of “Slipknot!” Keyboardist Marco Benevento – complete with a cowboy hat – added some impressive organ texture underneath Hamilton’s solo in the song proper, meshing with Joe Russo’s fluid drumming perfectly.

Benevento then took the lead on some beautiful and soft Rhodes work as the “Slipknot!” jam began, sticking close to home but patiently building some excellent tension. Launching out of the composed ending, JRAD jammed into “Mama Tried,” utilizing a motif that would not have been out of place segueing into “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad.” Some slick “Black-Throated Wind” riffing found its way into the music as Benevento briefly touched on some “Mind Left Body” themes, his cowboy outfit getting really into the vibe of the Metzger-fronted tune.

Russo then welcomed Marsalis, who previously played with the band at the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival, and the saxophonist came onto the stage for “Samson and Delilah.” Russo then proceeded to annihilate the drum intro, his octopus-like style seeming to hit every inch of his kit at once. Marsalis’ comfort on stage was evident from the jump as he added accents and stabs of tenor sax wherever he felt comfortable – not too much or too little at any point.

Russo began an easy beat for the next one, letting Benevento lay down some thick organ (and some spring reverb washes) before Branford began to gently croon, giving the first of many moments of interplay between him and the rest of the band. Metzger dirtied his tone for some call-and-response with the saxophonist and the two musicians locked in on some jazzy riffs, smiles radiating off their faces as they slowly introduced the “West L.A. Fadeaway” melody.

The relaxed vibe of much of the set continued through the tune, and Marsalis continued to lock in with everyone on stage, latching onto melodies from Hamilton, Metzger, and Benevento while putting his own spin on them with ease.

After the final verse was sung, the band quickly began to work in the main “Reuben & Cerise” riff, slowly steering the jam into the JGB classic as Marsalis contributed some sparse melodies around Hamilton’s vocal. As soon as the jam began, JRAD deconstructed to almost nothing, floating atop Benevento’s soft bed of Rhodes as Marsalis switched to soprano sax, adding some upper-register tones to the psychedelic improv. Russo re-entered gently, giving the jam a very “Eyes Of The World”-like feel, though they had played the song on Friday in Vail. With a gradual increase of the intensity and energy, Marsalis’ jazzy style complemented Hamilton’s low-end-heavy guitar tone and the major-key nature of where the music had wound up.

Hitting a gorgeous peak, JRAD effortlessly segued into “Throwing Stones,” a song I am always happy to see at one of their shows. Metzger is absolutely phenomenal at singing this tune, belting the lyrics with a certain grit that nails the Bob Weir tone of voice.

The first jam began with some piano/saxophone interplay, the two musicians chasing each other up what felt like a musical ladder. Metzger shredded the guitar solo upon re-entry and the band moved into the second jam, its thumping beat getting washes of spring reverb from Benevento. The relatively short burst of improv led to a blazing hot ending to “Throwing Stones,” closing the long first set on an extremely high note.

If the first set was largely taken by a more relaxed and patient vibe, JRAD came out for the second frame with an intent that was the exact opposite – a blistering and speedy “King Solomon’s Marbles.” The composed epic was an amazing way to dive back in and featured some truly awe-inspiring play from Benevento on what felt like nonstop sixteenth notes during his Rhodes solo. Marsalis once again demonstrated his comfort with this band, throwing in counterpoints and stabs wherever needed.

While “Eyes Of The World” was not to make an appearance with Marsalis last night, the other song at the top of fans’ minds to hear with saxophone was “Bird Song.” JRAD began with a dreamy soundscape, only fragmented by Hamilton’s bassy synth effect, Benevento laying down some gorgeous piano as Russo’s mallets gently washed into the song proper.

Once the jam began, the dreamy vibe of the song was quickly abandoned as Russo drove into the shuffle beat of “Truckin’,” another hint at a song that was played in Vail. Marsalis wove melodies around the guitars on the way to the peak, staying in the bluesy shuffle for a while before winding back around to the next verse of “Bird Song.”

As the final washes faded into the night sky, Russo began an insistent hi-hat motif that informed the intro to “Let It Grow.” While I am a big believer in playing the full “Weather Report Suite,” JRAD absolutely destroys this song (shocking, I know), and I was over the moon to get such an expansive version at Red Rocks.

Marsalis and Benevento returned to each other – some more fantastic interplay coming from opposite ends of the stage – before the band launched into “Let It Grow” proper. The ensuing jam was foot-to-the-floor, high-octane stuff, leaning into wild tension builds before descending into a more exploratory zone for a while. The guitars began to re-introduce the ascending riff of the song as JRAD viciously tore back into the ending, concluding with a very rare occurrence of a song starting from a hard stop.

The ensuing “Wharf Rat,” what I felt was the only cool-down of the show, was breathtakingly gorgeous – something in the combination of the song itself, Red Rocks being the ideal setting, and the patterns and lights washing over the band and stage. Hamilton put on an exemplary performance on both vocals and guitar here – though his finest work of the evening was still yet to come.

Segueing nicely into a monster “Cassidy” next, JRAD dove headlong into a propulsive and jazzy zone, locking in on some excellent full-band dynamics with Russo at the forefront, directing the other musicians and throwing in fluid fills like it was nothing. Hamilton hinted at “Playing In The Band” for a spell before doing his best imitation of a European police siren over the continued aggression in the jam.

Marsalis re-entered on soprano sax as the cacophony reached its apex, his finest work of the night coming during this jam. I would say that if there’s one thing to listen to from last night’s show to showcase how well the legendary musician fit in with JRAD, it’s “Cassidy.”

A concise “Playing in the Band,” complete with the extended intro and outro JRAD does so well, closed the second set.

Returning for the encore, I expected a “One More Saturday Night” or a similar quick rocker, but instead JRAD decided to play one of the most incredible renditions of “Morning Dew” I’ve ever heard. Initially rocking, the band dropped it down to almost nothing for Hamilton to sing the verses, accompanied by only Benevento on his Reem combo organ – and the previously chatty crowd stood in rapt attention, 10,000 people locked in to the beautiful song.

The band crashed back in for a standout solo by Marsalis, who sent melody after melody up into the night sky with passion and joy that was palpable from the audience.

JRAD returned to quieter dynamics for the “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway verse,” which was followed by a top musical moment of all time for me. Benevento and Hamilton stood to face each other as the rest of the band and crowd looked on, and proceeded to intertwine their instruments and melodies for what felt like several minutes of gorgeous playing. The gorgeous Rhodes tone, touches of jazzy playing, and Hamilton’s sparse inclusion of his synth washes made for a truly mind-blowing conclusion to the encore and show as the rest of the band blew up the ending – smiles abounded as “Dew” drew to its conclusion.

I left Red Rocks last night feeling incredibly lucky to have witnessed such an amazing night of music – and I have no doubt that we will see Marsalis play with JRAD again. His ability to gel with the musicians like he has been a part of the band for years was awe-inspiring, and you could see the gratitude coming from everybody on stage as Russo thanked the crowd and wished us good night.

The livestreams of both Friday’s show in Vail and last night’s show at Red Rocks can be relived with a nugs.net subscription for a limited time – if you have not been able to catch this weekend’s music yet, I urge you to take some time to watch these. This is truly some of the Grateful Dead’s music at its best.

Photos by Bill Grenfell

Audio (Taped by Jeff Travitz)