Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Covers The Beatles In Colorado

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead hit the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on Friday night. The Grateful Dead tribute act fit in additional covers from The Beatles and Medeski Martin & Wood in their final concert of 2021.

JRAD got the show underway with a raucous “I Need A Miracle.” Guitarist Scott Metzger led the band through the Shakedown Street side two opener with fellow guitarist Tom Hamilton adding fiery licks throughout. The quintet then jammed their way into another Bob Weir/John Perry Barlow classic, “Estimated Prophet,” followed by the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter favorite “Rubin and Cherise.” From The Mars Hotel’s “Scarlet Begonias” then led into the traditional “I Know You Rider” ahead of set closer, “St. Stephen”

The quintet eased into the second set with what appears to be the JRAD debut of Medeski, Martin & Wood’s “Where’s Sly?” from the renowned jazz-funk-fusion trio’s 1993 album, It’s A Jungle In Here. MMW opened up for JRAD the last time they performed at 1stBank Center in 2017. The vibey song’s surge segued perfectly into “Lady With A Fan,” the opening segment of the “Terrapin Suite” which JRAD delivered in full.

Next, “Let It Grow” encompassed “Fire On The Mountain,” which saw old pals keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo on a Benevento/Russo Duo segment. JRAD then cooled things down with “Stella Blue” which quickly escalated back up into “Truckin’” with the band up to their usual mashup tricks. The second set came to a close with “The Other One.” JRAD returned to the stage to deliver an encore of The Beatles’ “I’ve Got A Feeling.” The debut of the Let It Be side two opener was perhaps a nod to the recently released Peter Jackson Get Back documentary.

Watch pro-shot video of “I Need A Miracle” and “Where’s Sly?” below:

Setlist

Source: JamBase.com