Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Offer Up Debuts To Close Out Three-Night Run At Brooklyn Bowl

On Saturday, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead brought their three-night run at their home away from home to a close with a sold-out show at Brooklyn Bowl. The five-piece band delivered a wild non-stop segued-filled affair that saw them deliver a handful of debuts and tease Radiohead throughout.

Drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Marco Benevento, bassist Dave Dreiwitz and guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton offered up a JRAD debut right out of the gate with a take on The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time.” The Out of Our Heads track was first played by the Grateful Dead in February of 1990 and would remain in their setlists through their final tour in 1995, getting played a total of 70 times. “Shakedown Street” followed as the band worked in their first tease of Radiohead’s “Myxomatosis” from the indie-rock band’s 2003 release Hail to the Thief, a theme they would return to numerous times through the night.

The title track from the Dead’s 1978 release segued straight into “The Other One” as they dropped a number of glitchy Radiohead-inspired guitar licks and keyboard fills prior to diving head first into the thunderous ode Neal Cassady. “Mission In The Rain” followed as the Jerry Garcia Band staple saw action for the first time since last St. Patrick’s Day at the very same venue – a span of 41 shows. “Crazy Fingers” devolved into Benevento and Hamilton locking into a duo jam as it eventually wound its way back into a jam on “The Last Time.” The first frame was brought to a close with “Truckin'” and a jam on “The Other One” before they headed off stage.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead got their final set of the run underway with an open-ended “Jam” that wound its into an abbreviated stand-alone “Slipknot!” ahead of their debut take on “Foolish Heart.” Hamilton sung lead on the Built To Last track which was followed by “Help On The Way” and a more fleshed-out take on “Slipknot!” Rather than connect the Blues For Allah tunes in a traditional way Joe Russo & Co. slotted “I Need A Miracle” in next before delivering “Franklin’s Tower.” The band stuck with latter-day Weir songs looking to “Throwing Stones” next. The biggest surprise of the night followed as JRAD served up their debut take on Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” in the middle of the In The Dark track. The tune was played as an instrumental in the style of Bustle In Your Hedgerow, a Zeppelin tribute band that features all the members of Almost Dead except Hamilton.

The Zep song eventually segued back into “Throwing Stones” with a take on The Band’s “Chest Fever” getting its debut next. The partial version of the Music From The Pink song only featured the first and second verse and they capped up the night with a “Throwing Stones Reprise.” Joe Russo’s Almost Dead brought their three-night Brooklyn Bowl run to a close with the night-appropriate party anthem “One More Saturday Night.”

Watch pro and fan-shot video and check out the fully annotated setlist below:

[The Last Time]

[Jam > Slipknot!]

[The Last Time > Shakedown Street | Captured by monihampton]

[Good Times, Bad Times > Chest Fever | Captured by LazyLightning55a]

Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)

Set One (9:27PM – 11:06PM) The Last Time @ > Shakedown Street # -> The Other One -> Mission In The Rain % -> Crazy Fingers ^ -> Last Time Jam & -> Truckin’ -> The Other One Jam *

Set Two (11:41PM – 1:11AM): Jam + -> Slipknot! @@ -> Foolish Heart ## -> Help On The Way -> Slipknot! $$ -> I Need A Miracle %% -> Franklin’s Tower ^^ -> Throwing Stones && -> Good Times Bad Times ** -> Throwing Stones -> Chest Fever ++ -> Throwing Stones Reprise

ENC: One More Saturday Night

@ – Rolling Stones Cover, First Time Played By Almost Dead, Sung by SM

# – Unfinished, With “Myxomatosis” (Radiohead) Teases (Band)

$ – With Myxomatosis” (Radiohead) Teases (Band) and an Estimated Prophet Tease (Band)

% – Not Played by Almost Dead since 2017-03-17 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 41 shows.

^ – With a MB/TH duo Jam

& – Short Instrumental version to connect Crazy Fingers to Trucking, First Time Played By Almost Dead

* – Short Instrumental version to end Truckin, Not Played by Almost Dead since 2017-03-11 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 43 shows.

+ – With a Scarlet Begonias Tease (Band)

@@ – Short Instrumental version to connect Jam to Foolish Heart

## – First Time Played By Almost Dead, Sung by TH

$$ – with a short Marco Solo, more “Myxomatosis” (Radiohead) Teases (Band), a DD Bass Solo and a “Havana” (Camila Cabello) jam

%% – With an Unknown Tease (TH) and a “Fastso’s Last Stand” (WOLF) Jam

^^ – With Foolish Heart Teases (Band) and Throwing Stones Teases (Band)

&& – With a Franklin’s Tower Jam and Foolish Heart Teases (Band)

** – Led Zeppelin Cover, First Time Played by Almost Dead, done Bustle Style (instrumentally) with no lyrics song

++ – The Band Cover, Partial version – 1st & 2nd verse I think & 2 refrains, First Time Played by Almost Dead, sung by JR, with some help from TH

The whole show had numerous teases, jams & quick returns to Myxomatosis, Foolish Heart, Slipknot!, The Other One, Terrapin, Throwing Stones and probably a ton of other tunes.