Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Welcomes Jonathan Goldberger & Red Baraat At 2nd Of 3 At The Capitol Theatre

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead hit the midway point of their three-night stand at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on Saturday. The Grateful Dead tribute act was joined by guitarist Jonathan Goldberger during their second set and teamed up with Red Baraat during their encore on a night that also saw them serve up a pair of bust outs.

The five-piece opened things up with a Tom Hamilton led take on the “Stagger Lee.” The traditional folk tune was followed by the first surprise of the night as they unearthed their take on “My Brother Essau.” The latter-day Grateful Dead chestnut was last played back on March 17, 2017. George Jones country classic “The Race Is On” came ahead of an expansive “Help On The Way” and “Slipknot!” Instead of closing out the classic trifecta with “Franklin’s Tower” the quintet looked to another country tune as they delivered Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.” A tender “Stella Blue” came ahead of a set-closing take on the Americana-rocker “Brown-Eyed Women.”

When JRAD emerged for their second set of the night they were joined by Goldberger. With the extra guitarist in tow, they worked their way through an extended stretch of freeform jazz-tinged weirdness that eventually melted into the psychedelic-drenched “Blues For Allah.” Last night marked the band’s second ever attempted of the title track to the Dead’s 1975 album which had been sitting on the shelf since October 8, 2016. The now six-piece act then dug in on a fiery, must-hear version of “Saint Stephen.” “Truckin,” The Band’s interpretation of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” and “Casey Jones” helped fill out the back half of the frame. The day-appropriate “One More Saturday Night” that featured the band jamming on Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” brought the stanza to an end.

Red Baraat, who played an opening set at Garcia’s, worked their way through the crowd from the back of the venue second line-style to stage to get the encore going. An extended jam followed as, drummer Joe Russo joined in prior to the rest of JRAD emerging as well as Goldberger. The ensemble then lit into a raucous show-closing take on Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” Watch pro-shot video of the opening song from each set along with fan-shot video captured by Monica Hampton:

Stagger Lee, My Brother Esau, The Race Is On

Blues For Allah, St. Stephen

Not Fade Away w. Red Baratt

Brown-Eyed Women

Setlist