Tom Hamilton Plays Wolf At Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Boston Show
By Jeffrey Greenblatt Jul 21, 2018 • 7:09 am PDT
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continued their short July run on Friday night with a gig at Blue Hills Bank Pavillion in Boston. Much like the band’s last visit to Beantown back in December, the Grateful Dead tribute act was joined by a special guest in the form of Jerry Garcia’s famed Wolf guitar, which guitarist Tom Hamilton used for the entire show. It’s now the third that Hamilton has had the opportunity to use the Doug Irwin-built axe.
The five-piece band got their night going at 5,200-capacity amphitheater with a pair of tunes from outside the Grateful Dead songbook. Scott Metzger stepped up first for a spirited take on The Rascals’ classic “Good Lovin’.” The band looked to the New Orleans party staple “Iko Iko” next, which featured a tease on the calypso classic “Man Smart Woman Smarter.” “Cumberland Blues” would kick off a seamless run that would take the band through the rest of their opening frame. The Workingman’s Dead track segued into an unfinished version of “Shakedown Street.” The quintet would then settle in on a jam on “The Wheel,” which they used for a springboard to launch into a freeform “Jam” sequence. “I Need A Miracle” and the Americana-tinged “Ramble On Rose” closed out the first set.
Drummer Joe Russo, guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton, keyboardist Marco Benevento and bassist Dave Dreiwitz got their second set of the evening rolling with “Althea.” Metzger then delivered “Gonesville” from Bob Weir’s solo 2016 collection of cowboy tunes Blue Mountain. An unfinished “Uncle John’s Band” transitioned into “Space” as the band dug in on some cosmic exploration which eventually wound its way into Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew.” The traditional pairing of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” brought the stanza to close. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to the stage as they tapped the summertime classic “Sugar Magnolia” and its extended “Sunshine Daydream” reprise for the encore, with the latter seeing action for the first time in 36 shows.
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JRAD close out their three-show July run tonight with an appearance at the 2018 installment of the Peach Festival. The band’s two-set performance on the Peach Stage comes in between a collaborative set from moe. and Little Feat and Gov’t Mule presenting Dark Side Of The Mule. Watch fan-shot videos captured by Grateful Doug George from last night below:
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Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)
Set One (7:38PM – 8:56PM): Good Lovin’, Iko Iko @, Cumberland Blues > Shakedown Street # -> The Wheel Jam -> Jam -> I Need a Miracle $ > Ramble On Rose
Set Two (9:22PM – 10:52AM): Althea, Gonesville, Uncle John’s Band % -> Space -> Morning Dew, China Cat Sunflower ^ -> I Know You Rider
Encore: Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream &
@ – With a Man Smart Woman Smarter Tease (MB), # – Unfinished, * – Not played since 2017-01-13 Music Farm, Charleston, SC, a gap of 60 shows, $ – With an Unknown Tease (TH), % – Unfinished, ^ – With a DD Bass Solo & The Wheel Teases (TH & Band), & – Not Played since 2017-10-05 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 36 Shows
