[UPDATED] Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Finishes First Weekend Strong At Brooklyn Bowl

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead were in the middle of a ferocious jam on Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City, when a friend reached over and yelled out “Stella Blue” to me in predicting what would come next. We both had a laugh as the five-piece was raging through a piece of music that was on the complete other end of the spectrum from the ballad. Yet considering the group’s ability to pull off turn-on-a-dime transitions, a move from a raging piece of improv to the Dead’s slowest song was not outside the realm of possibilities. Saturday was the quintet’s third show of the weekend and each was better than the last.

While Tom Hamilton had a particularly impressive night on Friday, it was Scott Metzger who shined brightest on Saturday. Metzger immediately showed this would be no ordinary night for him as led his mates through a triumphant, unfinished “Cassidy.” The concert started with a jam and when JRAD finally slammed into “Cassidy” the capacity crowd went ballistic. Nearly everything the five-piece touched turned to gold in Almost Dead’s hands on Saturday including a “Tennessee Jed” that featured a lengthy piano solo from Marco Benevento that incorporated multiple teases and showed why he’s one of the best in the game.

“Big River” was due next, but in typical JRAD form the band took their time before starting the Johnny Cash cover as they performed portions of “Chuckles” from Metzger’s WOLF! project and the ’60s classic “Tequila.” Russo led the band through a rare “Box Of Rain,” and the entire performance of Phil’s trademark song seemed a little off. It was the only song of the night that could possibly be called a miss. Hamilton starred on “Althea” ahead of an adventurous “Throwing Stones” set closer that had a jam section which was more Talking Heads and Phish than Grateful Dead. Saturday’s “Throwing Stones” is a great example of what makes Almost Dead so different from other GD tribute acts and would be a great place to start if you’re unfamiliar with the band.

Saturday’s second set only contained four full songs over the course of its nearly 90 minutes. Up first was a rollicking “Deal” sung by Hamilton and featuring impressive contributions from the other four members. “Good Lovin'” followed and saw JRAD jam out the initial segment of the tune before they finally started the section with the lyrics. A back and forth between Scott and Marco gave way to a particularly cool jam on “Summer Nights.” Yes, that “Summer Nights” from Grease. Almost Dead reprised “Good Lovin'” and somehow made their way into “Heartbreaker” (Led Zeppelin) territory to the audience’s delight.

“Cumberland Blues” with its high energy and multiple swerves is right in JRAD’s wheelhouse and the band treated it accordingly on Saturday. Russo & Co. then started up a nearly 40-minute “Terrapin Station” that included the parts of the suite from the Dead’s 1977 studio album they wouldn’t regularly play in concert. The evening came to a close in fitting fashion with a “One More Saturday Night” encore. JRAD returns to Brooklyn Bowl for three shows next weekend with Oteil Burbridge on bass since Dave Dreiwitz will be with Ween in Chicago. Webcasts are available via nugs.tv.

Full Show Audio (Taped by Pete Costello & Eric McRoberts)

Photos by Jeremy Gordon

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”492″ gal_title=”20170311 Joe Russos Almost Dead Brooklyn Gordon”]

Videos

[Cassidy | Captured by LazyLightning55]

[Deal]

https://www.facebook.com/JRAlmostDead/videos/1440613295973109/

Setlist (Compiled by Pete Costello)

Set One (9:30PM – 10:46PM): Jam @ -> Cassidy # (SM) -> Let It Grow Jam -> Born Cross Eyed Jam $ -> Tennessee Jed % (TH) -> Jam %% -> Chuckles ^ -> Tequila & -> Chuckles Reprise ^ -> Big River (SM) > Box Of Rain (JR), Althea (TH) * > Throwing Stones (SM)

Set Two (11:18PM – 12:41AM): Deal (TH) > Good Lovin + (SM) -> Summer Nights Jam @@ -> Good Lovin’ Reprise (SM) -> Heartbreaker Jam ## -> Cumberland Blues $$ (All) -> Terrapin Station (TH) -> The Other One Jam -> Terrapin Suite (TH/JR) ^^

Encore: One More Saturday Night (SM)

• @ – With a China>Rider Transition Jam Tease (TH)
• # – Unfinished
• $ – With “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (Bob Dylan) Teases (Band)
• % – With a Spoonful Tease (SM) & a lengthy Marco Solo that included “Chopsticks” that could become its own track
• %% – With “Big River” teases
• ^ – WOLF!! Original, First Time Played By Almost Dead
• & – The Champs Original, First Time Played By Almost Dead
• * – With a “So What” (Miles Davis) Tease (SM) & a full band “All of my Love” (Led Zeppelin) Jam that could become its own track
• + – With a back & forth between Marco & Scott that teased numerous jazz standards including “St. Thomas” (Sonny Rollins) & “Four” (Miles Davis)
• @@ – Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta / Grease Soundtrack Original, (AKA Summer Lovin’ – written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey). First Time Played By Almost Dead
• ## – Led Zeppelin Original, First Time Played By Almost Dead
• $$ – With a “Heartbreaker” (Led Zeppelin) Tease (DD) & a Slipknot! Jam (Band)
• ^^ – This is probably the 1st “split” Terrapin Suite, making me think that I should reassess how I note the full version of the song, vs. when they just play the first part that the GD usually played live…