Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Deliver Bust Outs In Albany: Full Show Audio

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to the road on Friday as they kicked off a seven-date run of March shows. The Grateful Dead tribute act reached into their now extensive catalog of songs to pull from to dust off both “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” and “Werewolves Of London,” along with the rarely played “Box Of Rain.”

The five-piece band opened their evening with a freeform jam that would wind its way into a super-charged intro to “Cassidy.” The John Perry Barlow and Bob Weir composition would settle in with guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton handling the vocals. Marco Benevento laid down some gorgeous keyboard work as they eventually transitioned into the traditional folk number “Jack-A-Roe.” A JRAD rarity followed as bassist Dave Dreiwitz fronted the band on “Box Of Rain.” The quartet then closed out their set with a pair of jam-vehicles dedicating roughly the next 30-minutes to a thunderous “The Other One” and a funky “Shakedown Street.”

The psychedelic trucker anthem “Black-Throated Wind” was tapped to open up the second set. The band’s third ever version of “Dupree’s Diamond Blues,” the Grateful Dead’s take on the folk standard “Betty and Dupree” followed. JRAD debuted the tune at their second-ever show back on December 27, 2013, it then sat on the shelf until a one-off last year prior to last night’s performance. An expansive “Playing In The Band” came ahead of a tender and impassioned take on “So Many Roads.” The final stretch of the night featured “Estimated Prophet,” an acid-drenched “St. Stephen” and a rollicking “Bertha.” Joe Russo’s Almost Dead offered up one more rarity as they took the Warren Zevon classic “Werewolves Of London” for a ride as their lone encore.

Watch pro-shot video of “Black-Throated Wind” and listen to full show audio taped by Rob Clarke below:

Black-Throated Wind