Last fall, the first-ever Waterloo Music Festival was held on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Now, as the 99th installmen of their ongoing Taper Thursdays series, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead released soundboard audio from their headlining set on September 8, 2018, at the inaugural event.
During the Grateful Dead-inspired jam band’s two-hour festival set, the band performed an upbeat and energized show, with a focus on the movement between songs. Furthermore, the group stuck close to the Grateful Dead’s catalog for the performance, unlike other shows on tour where they work in unexpected song choices (or at least teases) from across the decades and genres.
To start the show, the group offered an upbeat “Not Fade Away” jam that eventually built into a nearly 20-minute combination of “Reuben & Cerise” and “Feel Like A Stranger.” After a brief pause, the group used a quick detour through “Help On The Way” to land in “Slipknot!,” which recalled the early-set “Reuben & Cerise” and sported a jam vaguely based off fan-favorite “I Know You Rider.” A 20-minute “Throwing Stones” followed, which served as a pinnacle of the set by incorporating tastes of many of the songs previously played up until that point. From there, the band moved into a soulful “He’s Gone.”
Using a high-energy transition, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead segued into “Truckin’,” which housed a “The Other One” jam. By way of “Truckin’ Reprise,” the band eventually arrived in “The Other One” proper, giving it the full treatment with an extended improvisation featuring a duo jam between Marco Benevento and Tom Hamilton. To close out the festival set, the band returned to their opening number “Not Fade Away,” picking up exactly where their starting song left off to finish off the song and the show.
Listen to the soundboard audio from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s performance at Waterloo Music Festival below, courtesy of Peter Costello and Eric McRoberts:
Setlist
Set: Not Fade Away Jam / Intro @ -> Reuben & Cerise # -> Feel Like Stranger, Help On The Way -> Slipknot! % -> Throwing Stones ^ > He’s Gone & -> Truckin’ -> The Other One Jam -> Truckin’ Reprise -> The Other One * -> Not Fade Away +
- @ – With a Dark Star Tease (Band)
- # – With a Feel Like Stranger Tease (TH)
- $ – With a Reuben & Cerise Tease (TH)
- % – With Reuben & Cerise Teases (TH, MB, Band) & an I Know You Rider Esque Jam
- ^ – With an Unknown Tease (TH), multiple Reuben & Cerise Teases (MB, TH, Band), a Slipknot! Tease (Band), and a Feel Like Stranger Tease (TH)
- & – With a Black Throated Wind Tease (SM) and a Reuben & Cerise Tease (MB)
- * – With an MB & TH Duo Jam
- + – Started at the exact point where the Not Fade Away Jam / Intro opener left off. With a GDTRFB Tease (TH)
