Joe Russo’s Almost Dead performed the second of three concerts at Westville Music Bow in New Haven on Saturday, their second run of 2021 at the venue. JRAD would fit an Allman Brothers Band classic amongst a number of tunes from the Grateful Dead universe.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead –drummer Joe Russo, guitarists Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger, keyboardist Marco Benevento and bassist Dave Dreiwitz — got things underway with a jam before Hamilton led the band through an upbeat “They Love Each Other,” which would lead into Bob Weir’s “Gonesville,” helmed by Metzger, and the GD classic “Cumberland Blues.” JRAD then cooled things down a bit with the favorite “Row Jimmy,” which clocked in at around 13 minutes. A pairing of funky tunes in “Mr. Charlie” and “Viola Lee Blues” followed ahead of set closer, “Brown-Eyed Women.”
A well-jammed “Here Comes Sunshine” would kick off the second set, which featured a similar jam progression the Dead used but gave way to a frenetic section punctuated by Russo’s thunderous fills before the band headed into “Uncle John’s Band.” JRAD continued to stretch their legs on the Workingman’s Dead cut before completing the seamless, three-song opening section with “Aligator.”
The King Radio, Dead-covered tune “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” came next ahead of The Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.” It appears the band last played the song in full in November 2019, which itself was a bust out after last being played in 2017 before that. The band eased their way into the instrumental before getting into the song’s iconic melody and cycling through the various composed sections including a fiery conclusion with a brief Russo drum solo. All told, “Liz Reed” surpassed the 15-minute mark. “Peggy-O” would bring the second set to a close. JRAD would reemerge for an encore of “My Brother “Esau.”
Watch audience-shot video of “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” as well as pro-shot video of the first and second set openers below along with full show audio from Z-Man below:
In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
They Love Each Other > Gonesville
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=415076413269120&ref=watch_permalink
Here Comes Sunshine > Uncle John’s Band
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=827668748115459&ref=watch_permalink
Setlist (via SetlistFM)
Set One: They Love Each Other > Gonesville > Cumberland Blues, Row Jimmy, Mr. Charlie > Vola Lee Blues > Brown-Eye Women
Set Two: Here Comes Sunshine > Uncle John’s Band > Alligator, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, I Memeory Of Elizabeth Reed, Peggy-O
Encore: My Brother Esau
