Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Pays Tribute To Phil Lesh In Oakland

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, one of many bands who celebrate the music of the Grateful Dead, performed a show on Friday in Oakland, across the bay from where the legendary band formed in 1965. Friday’s JRAD concert at The Fox Theater took place hours after news surfaced of the death of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh at age 84.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – drummer Joe Russo, bassist Dave Dreiwitz, guitarists Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger and keyboardist Marco Benevento – fittingly honored Lesh with their show on Friday, paying tribute to his legacy as an integral figure in the community surrounding the Grateful Dead.

JRAD started Friday’s first set with “Bird Song,” the Grateful Dead song written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia in response to Janis Joplin’s death. The second song was “Box Of Rain,” the Dead song written by Hunter and Lesh.

In his book of lyrics A Box Of Rain, Hunter added a footnote to the “Box Of Rain” entry that stated:

“Phil Lesh wanted a song to sing to his dying father and had composed a piece complete with every vocal nuance but the words. I ever a lyric ‘wrote itself,’ this did — as fast as the pen would pull.”

The first set was filled in with other Grateful Dead staples, “Scarlet Begonias,” “Bertha,” “I Need A Miracle” and “Playing In The Band.”

Returning for the second set, JRAD launched the second set with “Eyes Of The World,” one of the Grateful Dead’s original songs with the most distinct Lesh-provided bassline. The show continued with “The Music Never Stopped” enveloping a performance of “Candyman.”

Next came back-to-back selections of songs co-credited to Lesh, “St. Stephen” and “Cumberland Blues.” Among the teases sprinkled into “Cumberland” was the Lesh-written GD original “Unbroken Chain,” which the full band centered on for a lengthy passage, essentially laying out an instrumental version of the song.

The latter half of the set was built around “Feel Like A Stranger” encircling a performance of “Brown-Eyed Women,” followed by “Throwing Stones.

Bob Dylan’s heartfelt “I Shall Be Released” put a poignant stamp on the end of the second set. Before the encore break, Russo addressed the audience. Russo was a member of the band Furthur alongside Lesh and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Lesh joined JRAD on several occasions over the years and left a lasting impact on the members of the band.

Speaking to the audience at The Fox in Oakland on Friday night, a visibly emotional Russo fought back tears and stated:

“I’ve been searching for the right words to say tonight – and I don’t have them. Thank you all for being here. It’s not lost on us that he’d be here right now. Thank you Phil Lesh, for just so much. I’m just going to leave it there. Thank you guys. Thank you Phil. Thank you for being with us tonight.”

The communal vibes remained for the “Not Fade Away” encore, which the audience started chanting during the encore break and faded into a typical singalong with the responsive audience at the end of the night. Watch video highlights of Friday’s emotional JRAD concert at The Fox Theater in Oakland below:

Setlist (via Almost-Dead.net)

Set One: Bird Song, Box of Rain > Scarlet Begonias -> Bertha > I Need A Miracle -> Playing in the Band

Set Two: Eyes of the World -> The Music Never Stopped -> Candyman -> The Music Never Stopped > St. Stephen -> Cumberland Blues -> Feel Like a Stranger -> Brown-Eyed Women -> Feel Like a Stranger > Throwing Stones, I Shall Be Released

Encore: Not Fade Away