Joe Russo’s Almost Dead teamed up with Fruit Bats for a two-night California run with stop at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater and L.A.’s Greek Theatre on Friday and Saturday. JRAD served as the backing band for Fruit Bats’ opening set and was joined by Eric Johnson each night for unforgettable sit-ins.
Friday saw the musicians join forces at the end of the first set for “The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)” and again at the end of the show for a powerful cover of “The Song Remains the Same” by Led Zeppelin, with Johnson taking over as frontman and delivering an impressive take on the tune, soaring falsetto and all. The collaboration was a throwback to JRAD’s nascent stage as Zeppelin-centric Bustle In Your Hedgerow.
Saturday once again saw an opening set from “Fruit Rads”, as Russo dubbed the collaboration, and another sit-in from Johnson during JRAD’s headlining sets. Again John sat in at the end of the first set, this time on a cover of “Chest Fever” by The Band, and then during the encore for a second explosive Zeppelin cover, capping off the weekend with “Black Dog”.
Watch fan-shot footage of Fruit Bats and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead playing “The Song Remains The Same” and Black Dog by Led Zeppelin and “Chest Fever” by The Band below, and scroll through clips from their Fruit Rads set shared by Joe Russo.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead With Eric Johnson – “The Song Remains The Same” (Led Zeppelin) – 10/13/23
[Video: Ted Silverman AKA TedToob]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead –”Help On The Way”, “Chest Fever” (The Band) With Eric Johnson – 10/14/23
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead With Eric Johnson – “Black Dog” (Led Zeppelin) – 10/14/23
[Video: Todd Norris]
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Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Frost Amphitheater | Stanford, CA | 10/14/23
Set 1: I Second That Emotion (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles), New Minglewood Blues, Let It Grow, Cats Under the Stars, Here Comes Sunshine, Where It’s At (Beck) (Snippet), The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion) (with Eric Johnson)
Set 2: Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance, Foolish Heart, Eyes of the World, The Music Never Stopped, Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson), The Song Remains the Same
(Led Zeppelin) (with Eric Johnson)
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, CA | 10/14/23
Set 1: The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion), Estimated Prophet, Loose Lucy, Feel Like a Stranger, Help on the Way, Slipknot!, Chest Fever (The Band) (with Eric Johnson)
Set 2: Truckin’, Row Jimmy, Greatest Story Ever Told, China Cat Sunflower, St. Stephen, I Know You Rider, Playing in the Band
Encore: Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) (with Eric Johnson)
The post Joe Russo’s Almost Dead & Fruit Bats Team Up On Led Zeppelin, The Band, Grateful Dead Covers In California [Video] appeared first on L4LM.
