Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Dusts Off ZZ Top’s ‘La Grange’ In Dallas

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead kicked off a three-show Texas/Louisiana run last night at Dallas House of Blues, paying tribute to one of the Lone Star State’s most iconic acts with a rare ZZ Top cover to close their second set.

The quintet — namesake drummer Joe Russo, guitarists Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger, bassist Dave Dreiwitz and keyboardist Marco Benevento — first performed ZZ Top’s “La Grange” on January 13, 2024 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. JRAD’s second version came on Thursday in Dallas, over two years after the debut.

Marco Benevento handled lead vocals on the song originally released by ZZ Top on the trio’s 1973 album Tres Hombres. Tom Hamilton channeled Billy F Gibbons on lead guitar with a frenetic solo. Gibbons and bandmates Dusty Hill and Frank Beard wrote “La Grange” about a brothel in the song’s namesake Texas town. Benevento also stepped into the spotlight to trip the ivories fantastic before JRAD closed out the song and second set.

Watch fan-captured video of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead covering “La Grange” at Dallas House of Blues below:

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead stuck with live staples from the Grateful Dead live repertoire until the final two songs of the night. The opening sequence saw Hamilton front “Bertha” before passing the mic to Metzger for “Feel Like A Stranger.” Tommy and Scott continued to trade lead vocal duties with the “Candyman”/”The Music Never Stopped” pairing that trailed behind. “The Music Never Stopped” flowed into “Dancing In The Street” before JRAD punctuated the set with “Uncle John’s Band.”

“Jack Straw” was called upon to launch the second set. This was an unusual instance where Hamilton and Metzger volleyed verses ala Garcia and Weir. Almost Dead then tackled Jerry favorites “He’s Gone” and “Loose Lucy.” Psychedelic era gem “St. Stephen” followed to lead into the aforementioned “La Grange.” The lone encore was The Allman Brothers Band instrumental “Jessica,” which JRAD had only played twice prior since 2022.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead completes a Texas two-step tonight in Austin. The short run ends on Saturday night in New Orleans. Livestreams of both shows are available for nugs subscribers.